Shuri Castle

Today was fun because Kaylyn took me out to do some touristy things. We went to Shuri Castle and then to a street similar to China towns in the US. To get to the castle, we parked at a mall with only extremely high-end stores (it was fun to walk through) and took the monorail. It was nice to see all the buildings below as we rode the train; the castle is up on a big hill.

The statue is a shisa dog, which protect the building. There are always two of them and they are everywhere. One keeps evil spirits out and the other keeps good spirits in.
The castle! It is the only one in Okinawa to have been rebuilt. They were all pretty much destroyed in WWII.

Inside: (We had to take off our shoes and carry them with us in plastic bags)
The tutami room

An outside garden

The Emperor's throne

Bamboo window blinds

What the castle would have looked like a long time ago

A little garden outside the castle

A shisa dog water faucet in the bathroom. I'm telling you, they are everywhere!

Okay, I'll have to post the rest of my day tomorrow. There's a lot to say, and I'm tired!

Suzuki

Yesterday, I had my first lesson with Sensei. He took me through the teaching points of half of Book 1. Or, showed me how he teaches each piece and what he focuses on. Amazingly, most of it is pretty much the same aside from some small differences in technique. It was also amazing how well we could communicate through music. He doesn't speak too much English (and when he does, it doesn't sound like English!), but I could still understand what he was saying when he showed me on the violin. Later, Kaylyn said that a mom had asked if we were able to communicate and he said "Yes, music is all about feeling." I love it!

Later when I watched some lessons, I did notice one main difference in the teaching style here. It is so simple and straightforward. Lessons were only 20 min., so he would ask them to play, tell them how to fix something, and summarize what to practice at the end of the lesson. No games, stories, or anything really. I think it's a good thing in a way, but students at my school would definitely not be able to handle that. Plus, I like being creative!

Sushi...Mmmmm!

The first restaurant I went to here was a type of sushi restaurant that Americans call: "Sushi go round". Small colored plates with pieces of sushi are placed on mini conveyor belts that go right by the tables. The colors represent different prices. You take what you want, eat, and then they scan the plates to get your total. The scanning takes about 2 seconds. Call me crazy, but I love sushi! The more I eat it, the more I crave it! Trust me, this is heaven for any sushi lover. They have pretty much anything at this place. I did try eel for the first time (it's super tender and tastes like chicken) and also had some octopus. I wasn't brave enough to try the purple octopus legs sitting on a bed of rice, but concluded that maybe I would be in about a week. Later, I was trying to figure out what I eaten earlier (it was some kind of seafood salad on rice), so John (Kaylen's husband) tried the other piece for me. As soon as he put it in his mouth, he said "Tako", or octopus, so I had already eaten it already anyway! We had a good laugh out of that one! It wasn't too bad, just a little chewy!

This is a picture of a "sushi go round", but not the actual restarant we ate at. I forgot to bring my camera, so hopefully we'll go back!

My home for the next month

I have been in Okinawa a few days now and finally feel like I can completely function as a normal person. I've never experienced jet lag like that and didn't know it could be so bad! Though I've taken it a little more easy than I usually do when I travel, I have still done quite a few things. Today was the first day, I've really gotten out to be a tourist and now I'm really feeling like I'm in Japan. First, I wanted to post a few pictures of the apartment I'm staying in. The the family is military, they chose to stay off-base in a Japanese style apartment. They still have many of the luxuries that other Americans do; it's just a little different. Their apt. is also quite a bit bigger than most Japanese apts. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 toilet rooms, 1 shower room, the kitchen, tutami room, dining room, and living area on two floors.

This is the bedroom I'm staying in. I absolute love that all the floors here are a beautiful, dark solid wood. They have to be, because the wood adapts to all of the humidity. Anything else would grow mold and mildew.

This is one of the toilet rooms: just a toilet and miniature sink. It's just big enough for one person to fit comfortably inside. The shower room is completely seperate. It's a little bigger and contains a shower and bathtub. I don't have a picture of it right now but will try and get one later.

And, here is the miniature sink in the toilet room! They sure don't give you too much space!

The tutami room is a traditional Japanese room with mats on the floor, a low table, and Japanese screens. I love it...I'll try and get a picture of that on here, too. It truly gives the apartment a traditional Japanese feel.

This is the view from my bedroom! The buildings here aren't too attractive, which really suprised me. Even the schools look like factories or prisons. However, they are built extremely well in order to withstand the weather. The humidity wears away the paint and causes tons of mold and mildew. Believe me, it's humid here!!! (Worse than Houston!) Anyway, the insides of the buildings are very nice: clean, simple, and well maintained. They really utilize as much land as possible. All the green space is farmland. The small green square in the left center is a grove of banana trees. Just in the last few days, I've become even more aware of how wasteful Americans are! The Japanese are extremely environmentally aware.

Different views from around the patio:

The following video is the sound I woke up to my first morning here! I was warned but was still pretty much scared to death! They don't use television or radio for political advertising so they drive around in minivans with loudspeakers. This one lasted a good 30 minutes. I think I'd determine who to vote for by who I heard from the least! It can get pretty annoying! I was sure I'd have that little song stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

I made it!

I am in Japan...pretty crazy!!! I think I just might love it here! So, my flights weren't bad, just long. I'm so thankful that I got on all of them and made it to Okinawa with all of my luggage. (Last year, when I went to England, I was without a suitcase for 3 days!) First, I flew to Atlanta, then Tokyo, then Okinawa. Once in Atlanta, I didn't have much time in between flights and went right from one plane to another. When I got into Tokyo, I actually had to take a bus to another airport. I was a little nervous that I wouldn't have enough time and made it to the airport 20 minutes before my flight was scheduled to leave. Then, to make things worse, they made me check my violin because they said it wouldn't fit above the seats. I was so annoyed when I boarded the plane and saw that it was huge and there was plenty of room...I just about lost it right there. I told the flight attendants what happened and they felt really bad. The entire flight I was so worried about it and think I would have had a heart attack if anything had happened to it. Anyway, it arrived safe and sound; thank goodness! The other bad thing was that the day before I left, I couldn't stop sneezing and my nose was a faucet that would not stop. Then, with perfect timing, of course, I was extremely congested the entire way here. Let me just tell you that flying and congestion do not go well together. At times, I could hardly hear anything and my head felt like it was going to explode! Not fun! Anyway, I made it in one piece! I don't feel too tired; I slept really well last night, but completely out of it. I think the best way to describe it would be like being hung over. (Like I know what that feels like! It's only a guess!) Anyway, it's a weird feeling to have your nights become days and vice versa!

I am staying with a family whose twin daughters took lessons from me in IL a couple of years ago. They are nine now and the cutest! Their dad is in the air force and was stationed in Okinawa soon after I began teaching them. Their apartment is on the 6th floor of a building up on a hill; the view is amazing! My room overlooks houses below, hills in the distance, and the ocean! It is absolutely incredible! It's muggy and cloudy right now, but I think it will be even more beautiful when the sun is out! I will post pictures soon!

I'm going to be helping the sensei 3 days a week and tagging along with Kaylyn (the mom) while she teaches English at the girls' Japanese school a couple days a week. I think it will be fascinating to learn of their culture. The rest of the time will be spent exploring, shopping, eating, and relaxing. Next weekend, we are going camping and hiking up to some waterfalls. I'm also excited for snorkeling and spending lots of time on the beach! I don't think I'll ever be ready to leave!

Summer time!

So, I have officially finished my first year of teaching here...I can't believe it! Seems like just yesterday that I was setting up my classroom! I am actually really going to miss my students over the summer. It makes me sad to see everyone go. But, I'm so excited for this summer! I'm taking off for Japan early tomorrow morning and will be back in about a month. I'll have regular access to email there, so I'll try and keep everyone posted. Have a great summer!

Japan here I come!

I'm such a slacker...not too good with this whole blogging thing. Anyway, I can't believe it, but school is just about over; only 9 MORE DAYS!!! Can you tell I'm excited for summer? The crazy part is that I'm leaving the country at 5 am the day after school gets out. It's official...I'm going to Japan! When I was in Illinois, I taught twin girls violin for a few months. Their dad's in the air force and was later stationed in Okinawa. They found a great Suzuki teacher (who actually studied with Dr. Suzuki) and invited me to come study with him. I am leaving right after school's out so that I can make it there in time for his studio's rehearsal and concert, which by the way, I'm performing in :-~ ! So, for a month, I'll be doing more observing, teaching, and playing Suzuki in Japan, living it up on a tropical island, and stuffing my face with sushi! I've been only thinking about it for so long that now it seems so surreal. I'm so not ready to leave in two weeks, but I am very excited. I never thought I'd ever have opportunities like this!

Anyway, there's one update. Another one is that I had my first very own performance with my group class today. I was a little worried about it all coming together, but they definitely came through...I love my students and think I'll actually miss them this summer! The cutest thing was when this little 1st grade hispanic boy who was watching the program came up to me while I was talking to my principal and said, "Ms. Benne, your concert was beautiful!" and then gave me a hug. I teach him lessons and he can be a handful, but he also has a huge heart! Another funny part was when I thanked several people at the end and started getting choked up. I turned to my class and they were all looking at me wide-eyed...they couldn't believe it! How embarrassing...in front of teachers, students, administration, and parents! I'm finally starting to feel relief from the stressful past couple weeks. We have another performance on Monday at a retirement home, but now that today's over, I feel much better.

I guess I should give an update on my neck as well. I'm still extremely sore...it's unbelievable how long the pain has lasted, but I've been going to a doctor that specializes in a technique that helps loosen muscles and heal injuries. They do physical therapy and show me exercises to do at home. I've always had back and shoulder pain, anyway, so now that my neck's starting to get better, we're working on getting my back and shoulders loosened up. Their goal is to heal people, so that they don't have to come back. I've gone 6 times now and I think it's really helping. Anyway, hooray for Fridays!