Happy Thanksgiving!

Usually, when I have a few days off, I leave as fast as I can. This time, however, I decided to stay in town and enjoy some rest and relaxation. Yesterday for dinner, I went to my mom's cousin Bill and his wife's house. They only live about 15 minutes away from me. It's kind of funny because she only has 2 cousins on that side of the family and the other one lives in North Carolina. I ended up spending a couple Thanksgivings with them. I haven't spent too much time with Bill and Mary but it's nice to have relatives close. As for my blessings, I'm so thankful for my immediate family, my many friends, the gospel, and all of the experiences I've had in my life that have gotten me where I am today. I'm so blessed!!!

I've never had the desire to go out shopping on black Friday, but for some reason, I woke up this morning and had the urge to go spend some money. Finding a parking spot at the mall was a little tricky, but I found some good deals on some bedding and a nice black dress coat. Not so bad, after all! I've also enjoyed watching plenty of movies over the past few days...pretty nice!

Pictures!

I meant to take pictures of everyone I visited in Utah, unfortunately, I only got a few. This is my good friend Annie. It was so fun to visit with everyone and catch up. I miss them so much!

These are pics of my "beautiful" classroom and of the kids I teach every afternoon. They are the best violinists in the school and I love teaching them because they pick everything up so fast. They are so good to me and I love them! We have a bunch of performances coming up and we're a little behind because of the hurricane, so hopefully everything will all come together. On Friday, we're performing for a group of visitors from Singapore!

I drove around our neighborhood the day after the hurricane with some friends and these are a few pics of the damage we found. The last one is of the interstate closet to my apt...yep, completely underwater. Pretty unbelievable. I can't believe that people are still recovering. I haven't been down to the coast yet, but I've seen pictures of complete destruction. It's absolutely amazing how destructive nature can be.

And finally....SKYDIVING!

Kristell and I and our instructors. Getting suited up...

Outside our plane...right before we went up.And...immediately after. We were on such a high. It was one of the most unbelievable things I've ever done. Can't wait to go again!

Updates...finally!

So the last couple months of my life have been quite eventful...I have a lot to catch up on! Since I don't have internet in my apt. and I can't upload pics onto my work computer, it makes things a little tricky. It's Friday night and I'm still at work because I have a dinner meeting at a parent's house that's right around the corner from school. (Who schedules work meetings on Friday nights?!!!) It doesn't make sense to go home and then come back, so I'm using this time to finally update my very outdated blog. Unfortunately, I'll have to post pictures later. Here's a very abbreviated version of my last couple months. Hopefully I'll be able to elaborate later.

Trip to Utah: Right before I went back to school, I flew out to Utah to stay with my sister and visit some very dear friends of mine who I hadn't seen in over 5 years! It was SO good to see everyone! Yes, it has been that long since I left Utah! I stayed with my sister Kim and good friend Lindsay and caught up with a lot of people! Lindsay and I also had a little adventure tubing down the Provo River. So cold!!!

School Begins: The summer flew by so fast! Fortunately, it's going to be a great year. I have awesome students and some very supportive parents. I'm also teaching our performing group...the most advanced violinists in the school. It's good to be kept on my toes. Our first performance is next Saturday for our schools 50th birthday. Wish me luck!

Hurricane Ike: Yes, I do live in Houston which was hit directly by a hurricane and yes, I was wide awake hunkering down in my apartment during the storm. It was quite the experience...I'd never been through anything like it! Fortunately, I live on the 2nd story of a 4 story cement building and the worst thing we got was screens and shutteres off, muddy windows, and wet hallways. And, complete lack of sleep during one night. The aftermath has definitely been much worse: seeing the 4th largest city completely debilitated is pretty humbling and there are tons of people still affected by it.

Trip home: After 4 days of no power and water, packaged food, flooded roads, no open gas stations or grocery stores, and school off for the rest of the week, I spontaneously decided to take advantage of my unexpected vacation and flew home to spend 6 days with my parents. I was glad I did! I hadn't seen them since March.

Back to School: Coming back to school after the hurricane was like coming back after summer vacation. This week was the first full week of school since our first week in August. I'm finally feeling like we're getting into the routine but at the same time like we've already been here forever...we are so behind! Thankfully, the 7 days we missed due to the hurricane do not need to be made up. Hooray!!!

SKYDIVING!!!: Call me crazy, but I finally fulfilled one of my life-long goals...I jumped out of a plane and fell 14,000 feet to the ground. AMAZING! Last week, we had Thursday off for Yom Kippur and my co-worker, Kristell and I had been planning on going for a while in honor of our 30th birthdays this year. So, we did it! I've always wanted to fly (like a bird) and I think this is the closest you can come. If anyone has ever wanted to do it, I totally recommend it...you feel completely invincible. It's a huge rush and we were on a high for just about the whole week afterward. We are so going again...yes, we already paid for our next jump!

HOUSTON CHAMBER SYMPHONY: So, thanks to one of my awesome parents (student's), I got hooked up with a professional orchestra gig. In the past week, I've had 3 rehearsals and a concert and we have another concert tomorrow. It's kept me busy, but I love playing with a group. Definitely the most professional group I've ever played with; it's such good experience.

So, there you go. I know it's about time. Sorry for the long wait...now you can enjoy it that much more!

Back to the grind...

or, almost! Compared to my trip I'm now doing pretty much nothing, but still enjoying my freedom. I'm trying to take advantage of my time by organizing my life and doing things that I put off during the school year. Like, going to the dentist...I have an appointment in two weeks! I'm a little nervous because it's been forever, but glad to finally get that off my shoulders. I'm also teaching summer violin lessons at my apt. I only have 7-10 students/week, so it's good to have a break but still make some extra money. Next weekend I'm going to Fort Worth for an early childhood music workshop. Should be fun...my first time in the Dallas area.

Okinawa World and Ferris Wheel

I need to finish up documenting my trip. The last few days weren't too exciting; mostly spent doing last minute shopping and getting everything together, but I do have a few more pictures to post.


The following pictures are of our adventures in Okinawa World. We walked through a cave and wandered through a traditional Okinawan village. It was a good summary of everything I'd seen the prior three weeks. We took a scenic route on the way and were lucky to find it, but I'm glad we did!

My hosts while in Okinawa...they were so good to me and I miss them!!! Thank you Chan Family! My trip was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! This picture was taken at the entrance of the cave. It was similar to caves I've been in but I was amazed at how "alive" it was. Water was dripping from everywhere and the rock formations even just above our heads were still "growing". Just another thing that shows how respectful the Japanese people are....they look but don't touch. I miss Japan!

Me excited to see a banana tree; I love bananas! Sorry it sideways; I'm too lazy to flip it around! Even though fruit is delicious here, it's extremely expensive, so I didn't each much. For example, I saw 4 regular sized mangoes for over $50! Other fruits ranged up to $100! I guess I'll stick to the juice!
Me and potted shisa dogs. They come in all forms and sizes.
We saw a lot of handmade things: glass, pottery, fabrics, etc.

Face to face with another habu!I'm so glad I got to see traditional drummers and dancers!

Two nights before I left, Kaylyn and I did some shopping in Chatan Town, the American Village. We were close to the huge Ferris Wheel and I went up in it by myself since Kaylyn doesn't like heights. It was very peaceful and there were some great views!

Glass Bottom Boats

Like the previous ones, this weekend was filled with sightseeing. On Saturday, John, Payton, and I drove north to ride a glass bottom boat. The water was choppy and a little cloudy, but we still saw plenty of fish. It was a short ride and we didn't go out too far, but it was fun to be on the ocean.

We went on the white whale boat.

Maybe I'll come back and stay in this hotel someday!

Kumon

Now, I'm going to do my best to write about my last week there. A lot of it was filled with last minute shopping...trying to find the best deals and exactly what I wanted to take home with me. Thanks to Kaylyn for taking me all over the place!

On Friday, I stayed at the apt. to do some practicing and prepare for Sunday's group class. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but Sensei had given me a bunch of music to learn and I wanted to make sure I wasn't completely clueless!

On Tuesdays and Fridays, the girls go to Kumon to study Japanese (many Japanese children go to Kumon to get ahead or have extra help with the language and also math). There is a series of workbooks, so everyone goes at their own pace. Technically they are supposed to do 10 pages a day. Kumon centers are all over the place. After Kumon, we all went home and watched a movie.

I'm home!

After a long but fairly uneventful trip, I made it back to Houston. On the way from Okinawa to Tokyo, I was fortunate to be on the good side of the plane and I had some great views of the island. I'm going to miss that place!

When I arrived in Tokyo, I had to take an hour-long bus ride from one airport to the other. It was a little nerve-wracking because I didn't have much time, but now I can say I've been to Tokyo! The picture above is about as exciting as it got...I didn't see too much!

Sianara, Okinawa!

I can't believe my trip here is already over...I'm leaving for Houston tomorrow morning. I have loved it here so much and I'm really not ready to leave! Do I have to go back?! This past week has been great as well, so I'll have to write more and post some pictures when I'm home. Asia in general has never been on the top of my list of places to go, but I have enjoyed it more than I ever thought I would. There are some things about the culture here that I just love and am really impressed with. Hopefully, someday, I'll make it back!

Almost caught up now! Yesterday morning I went to school with Kaylyn again. I don't do much, but I enjoy walking around and seeing the different classes. There is a pool on top of the school and the students have swimming a couple times a week. I walked up and was able to watch a few classes. I was also kept company by a few 1st grade girls who weren't able to swim for some reason. We couldn't communicate at all, but sang some of the English songs that they know, thumb wrestled, and play rock, paper, scissors, a popular game for them. They were extremely friendly (hanging all over me) and cute. They were also very fascinated with my camera and took a few pictures for me.

My pool friends. The girl in the middle was the one that was the most energetic; I'm not sure why she looks so serious here!

The showers...so cool! A bunch of kids walk into the middle and they turn on automatically.

As much as I've raved about the school, the school system here is unfortunately not that great. Just like in the states, they suffer from lack of funding. I'm not sure how they were able to build this school, but others don't compare. They're extremely old and are massive concrete buildings that look like prisons because they can't afford to paint them. Even though the girls' school is new, they are already short on resources. There are limited computers and they are already unable to keep printers filled with ink and laminating paper in stock. The school year starts in April, so this school's only been in use for a couple months.

After school, Kaylyn and I went to lunch at a place they call "the gorilla" because there's a huge king kong at the entrance. You pile raw meat and vegetables and then cook it at a grill in the middle of your table. I think it's called "sukiyaki". There were a few things like small silver fish, octopus, liver, pig tounge, etc. that I didn't try, but what I did have was delicious.

Raw meat.

Cooking it at our table.

Part of my lunch: rice and curry, sopa (noodles and sauce), fruit, coconut jelly, mochi, jelly (like jello, in the plastic cups), calimari (yes I ate a piece of it), and green melon slushi.

We then walked around another mall that had a Toys R Us inside. It's similar to ours but with different toys of course. Also very expensive.

These miniatures are so tiny and very popular.

These are rhinocerous beetles that are very popular with the boys here as pets.

Thursday nights are another lesson time for me. We go to an apartment in Naha (the capital) that sensei rents for lessons. I'm really enjoying my lessons with him. Last night wasn't the greatest though because I haven't really been practicing (did I say that?) and we're getting into pieces that I haven't played in a while and are a little more difficult. Group class is on Sunday and there are several things he wants me to play, so I need to get on it. That's the main reason why I didn't go to school today with Kaylyn. My last lesson with sensei is on Monday. : (

Snorkeling, Shopping, and Shuji

On Wednesday, I slept in a little bit and then got up to get ready to try snorkeling at the sea wall again. Thankfully, the sun was shining and even though the wind was blowing, the waves weren't too rough. The snorkeling was great! The coral is actually alive here and we saw tons of brightly colored fish. The only thing that creeped me out a bit was a bright yellow and black sea snake that I saw several feet right below me. It was moving fast, but away from me...good thing! My snorkeling experience now feels complete!

Since Kaylyn's not a big fan of the water, John took me out while she studied and read at a nearby coffee shop. We met her there for lunch and had delicious shrimp and avocado sandwiches. When John went back to work, Kaylyn took me to the base to shower and then we went off to do more shopping. Actually, it ended up being just a lot of looking, but I did buy a few things, including a swimsuit! The fashion style is quite different here; the women wear very long dress-like flowy tops with pants underneath. I like it, but have tried on several tops and they're just a little too different. Some of them have so much material, they make me feel like I'm pregnant! Anyway, I'm happy with the swimsuit I found.

After we picked the girls up from school, I walked with them to Shuji, their Japanese calligraphy class. It's one of the many after school activities that Japanese children are involved in. It was fun to watch. The girls practiced on two characters the entire time and they each gave me their best one. It means "big sky".

Busy Day!

On Tuesday morning, we went to the girls' school for an assembly to remember those who died in the Battle of Okinawa during WWII. I didn't realize they were so badly affected here. Their memorial day is Monday and it's a really big deal. All students in the school had been working on learning 2 songs to sing together, one of which was written by a local rock star who also led the assembly. The other song was about peace. It was really touching to hear everyone sing together. Even though I couldn't understand the words, it gave me goosebumps and there was a special spirit there. Music is so unifying and it reminded me of the students at my school half a world away. They are not so different after all. I do have a video of it, but not on my camera; otherwise I would post a clip of it.

After the assembly, Kaylyn, John and I went for breakfast at a restaurant/bakery. It's not too common for restaurants to serve breakfast, but the ones that do have great food. Some of the pastries/breads looked a little unusual, but most of them look absolutely delicious! They also have really good mango juice! Since John was able to pick up the girls from school, Kaylyn and I had the rest of the day to explore and do a little shopping...we packed a lot into one day, but it was fun!

First, we went to the headquarters for the Japanese here during WWII: a series of underground tunnels. They were deep in the ground a little haunting since thousands of Japanese soldiers committed suicide there when the U.S. took control of the island.

View near the entrance.

The entrance to the stairway going down to the tunnels is lined with thousands of paper cranes strung together. Schools have their students make them and then they bring them here in remembrance of the devastation that happened during WWII.

The tunnel system. It was so hot and muggy down here with drops of water on everything. I don't know how they built these tunnels in this heat!

One of officers' rooms. Sorry for the blurriness!

There's a playground just down from the entrance to the Japanese headquarters. Playgrounds here are awesome! I understand why we don't have them in the US (I can't imagine all the lawsuits that could take place), but our playgrounds are nothing compared to these.

The blue thing is all one slide! It's hard to tell, but the bottom is made up of tiny rollers. I went down this one, and it's so long that by the time I gone to the bottom, my bum was practically numb, but I had to do it at least once. Apparently, Japanese kids go down on their feet in a squatting position, like this boy. Smart...hard to do but it does prevent bum numbness!

Our next main stop was Peace Prayer Memorial Park (another WWII site) but on the way we stopped to see Ryukan glass being blown. It's colorful and very expensive, but apparently Okinawa is known for it.

They also made Shi-Shi dogs here.

It was so hot even with fans blowing! I don't know how they do it!

This mosaic is made from colored glass tiles.

Pretty colored glass!

Our next stop was Peace Prayer Park, a memorial for all the Okinawans that died in WWII. Since the island is in such a strategic location, the US fought Japan to take control of it and eventually they did. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed in crossfire and bombings. Even before that, the Japanese were cruel to the Okinawans and forced them to eliminate their language and culture. After the US took control, they helped the people here and worked to rebuild. The Japanese were later given the island back under the condition that US military bases could remain here. The currency changed back from the dollar to the yen and the roads were again driven on the "wrong side". I think this all happen in the 70's. I really had no idea that all of this took place. It's all very sad, but enlightening...war is such a terrible thing!

This building has a museum inside of it...it was really interesting and eye opening. I felt pretty much the same way when I went through the Holocaust Museum in DC.

Walls and walls of the names of Okinawans who were killed. There were tons of them...this picture doesn't do justice.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE the ocean?! : )

The museum and park; it's huge. You can see the walls with the names on them in the left middle of the picture.

One of the many monuments.

This is turning into a long one! On the way home, we stopped at a mall, tried on some fancy clothes and shoes, and ate a Japanese feast!

Yummy! I love the food here and will miss it! The closest dish is fried pork and an egg on top over rice. There was so much food...we had a Japanese feast!