Now Jon and I are both on Twitter. You can either follow us on Twitter itself at Lovecat23 for Kristin, or MeganeSensei for Jon. Or, you can just check our blogsite for all of our twitter updates. My favorite thing about this is that I can take a photo with my cellphone, send it to twitter, and it ends up on this blog site! That means you can all see everything I see that I think is omoshiroi (interesting/funny)! How fabulous is that?
Also, we are limited to 10 spots for publishing this blog into email, so please let me know if you have a blogger.com account and can follow our blog instead of us emailing it to you, so we can free up the spot for someone else. We have more than 10 people who want to read about our crazy lives here!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
And now for something completely different...
So, last night I did something that I thought was delicious, but made me feel very sad afterward. I tried horse sashimi. And it was good. You wouldn't think raw horse would taste good, but Jon and I would argue otherwise! But, I did feel quite sad after realizing I ate an animal I liked to ride. It's different from chicken, fish, or cows, because.... It's a freaking horse! Oh well, it was just one small bite (of delicious heaven).
Also, I don't have a hangover today, but if I did, the Japanese would call me a "second day drunk". Funny, huh?
Also, I don't have a hangover today, but if I did, the Japanese would call me a "second day drunk". Funny, huh?
What's shakin'?
Last night I went to farewell party for Hyakuna Elementary. Japanese schools have these every year for the staff of the school to honor the teachers leaving. The nijikai (second) party was still going on when Jon and I left at midnight. After watching the Craig Ferguson show till 1:30, we went to sleep. For some reason, I woke up about 4:15am. I was laying in bed wondering why I woke up, when I started to feel this, which soon woke Jon up. Now, I like earthquakes a lot, but this shook us quite vigorously. Even our bookshelf, which would probably break my legs if it fell since it's against our kitchen/bedroom "wall", was rattling a lot. Eventually, I sat up, but wasn't sure where to go to be safer (I did however, pull my legs up on the bed in case that bookshelf did fall. After the shaking finally stopped, Jon and I guessed the intensity of the quake. I guessed 5.3 and he guessed 5.2... Turns out it was a 6.0!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Okinawa vs. Orange County
I decided to see just how similar and dissimilar my old home and my new home are. Here are the results:
Population- The main island of Okinawa (the one we live on) has 1.15 million people living on it. Orange County boasts 3.12 million people.
Size- Orange County is 948 square miles (2455 square kilometers) and Okinawa is 489 square miles (780.5 square kilometers).
Cities- Okinawa has 11 cities, while Orange County has 34.
Highways- Orange County has 16 major highways, Okinawa 12 (although, there are 2 of some with the same name).
Orange County has 42 miles of coastline while Okinawa has about 120 miles of coastline, but I’m not sure how much of this can be accessed by civilians.
Population Density- Okinawa has an average of 606 people per square km versus Orange County’s more populated 1,392 per square km. However, much of Okinawa’s population is in Naha which has more than 8,000 people per square km.
Military Bases- Orange County’s 2 military bases are 10 square miles (about 26 square km), while the 14 bases on Okinawa are 90 square miles (233 square km, 18% of the island’s land).
Tourist Attractions- Orange County has Disneyland; Okinawa has Churaumi Aquarium (the 2nd largest aquarium in the world). Both have beaches tourists flock to, but Okinawa’s are much warmer, cleaner, and populated by sea life.
Monorails & International Airports- Orange County and Okinawa have 1 of each
Climate- The annual temperature of Okinawa is 23.7 degrees Celsius (74.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and Orange County’s is 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). Annual rainfall in Orange County is a whopping 13 inches compared to a measly (read sarcasm here folks) 71 inches. Okinawa also has a typhoon (hurricane) season from May to September, while the cold waters of California’s coast can’t produce these storms.
Income- Based on the most recent numbers I could find for Okinawa, the average salary here is 1.995 million Yen per year (approx 20,293 USD) versus Orange County’s $38,367 per person.
Family Size- Orange County has an average of 3.48 people per family (that poor .48 child) while Okinawa has 4.8 people per family. I think Okinawans start (and finish) having children much younger than Californians.
Planned Communities- Nearly 30% of Orange County has been created as such, much less of Okinawa has been created this way, but you’d be surprised. Newer housing developments on the island tend to look like American planned cities.
… And my personal opinion from my research- Both Okinawa and Orange County dislike but are reliant upon “unwelcome” foreigners inhabiting each.
Population- The main island of Okinawa (the one we live on) has 1.15 million people living on it. Orange County boasts 3.12 million people.
Size- Orange County is 948 square miles (2455 square kilometers) and Okinawa is 489 square miles (780.5 square kilometers).
Cities- Okinawa has 11 cities, while Orange County has 34.
Highways- Orange County has 16 major highways, Okinawa 12 (although, there are 2 of some with the same name).
Orange County has 42 miles of coastline while Okinawa has about 120 miles of coastline, but I’m not sure how much of this can be accessed by civilians.
Population Density- Okinawa has an average of 606 people per square km versus Orange County’s more populated 1,392 per square km. However, much of Okinawa’s population is in Naha which has more than 8,000 people per square km.
Military Bases- Orange County’s 2 military bases are 10 square miles (about 26 square km), while the 14 bases on Okinawa are 90 square miles (233 square km, 18% of the island’s land).
Tourist Attractions- Orange County has Disneyland; Okinawa has Churaumi Aquarium (the 2nd largest aquarium in the world). Both have beaches tourists flock to, but Okinawa’s are much warmer, cleaner, and populated by sea life.
Monorails & International Airports- Orange County and Okinawa have 1 of each
Climate- The annual temperature of Okinawa is 23.7 degrees Celsius (74.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and Orange County’s is 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). Annual rainfall in Orange County is a whopping 13 inches compared to a measly (read sarcasm here folks) 71 inches. Okinawa also has a typhoon (hurricane) season from May to September, while the cold waters of California’s coast can’t produce these storms.
Income- Based on the most recent numbers I could find for Okinawa, the average salary here is 1.995 million Yen per year (approx 20,293 USD) versus Orange County’s $38,367 per person.
Family Size- Orange County has an average of 3.48 people per family (that poor .48 child) while Okinawa has 4.8 people per family. I think Okinawans start (and finish) having children much younger than Californians.
Planned Communities- Nearly 30% of Orange County has been created as such, much less of Okinawa has been created this way, but you’d be surprised. Newer housing developments on the island tend to look like American planned cities.
… And my personal opinion from my research- Both Okinawa and Orange County dislike but are reliant upon “unwelcome” foreigners inhabiting each.
this is our Japan poster
Yuki Matsuri
As a few of you know that Jon and I, along with one of our friends, took a trip up to Hokkaido to go to the Yuki Matsuri, or "snow festival". It was such a nice break from our sunny warm island and actually refreshing to bundle up in warm coats, hats, and gloves and go out into the negative 2 degree (Celsius) weather. After saying all that, I wouldn't want to live somewhere where it snows so much! It would end up being a hassle. It snowed pretty much non-stop from the time we got there until we left! All the morning flights were delayed the morning we left due to a blizzard!
We saw many grand ice and snow sculptures and even some snowboarders, musicians, and power ranger type characters. One night when we were walking back to our hotel, pretty late, Kim and I got our picture taken with a cat character who was just walking down the street. It was very kawaii (cute). Not sure what the cat's companion (assistant, perhaps) thought of three gaijin (foreigners) running up to them at 11pm...
We even got one day to relax in an onsen, which is a Japanese style bath house. Kim and I knew little about what to do, other than be naked, wash thoroughly before entering the baths, and wash again once finished soaking. Which towel to use and where to go... we had no idea. Luckily a naked lady in the bath was kind enough to show us around. Naked. I don't think you'd ever find anything like it in the States. It was fabulous there though. Very hot. After a short time in one of the inside tubs, our self appointed tour guide told us to check out the outside bath. So we went, and thank goodness she told us about it! Nothing can come close to sitting naked outside in a steaming hot bath, surrounded by beautiful snow covered natural scenery with snow falling on my head. However, after about 30 minutes or so, Kim and I couldn't take the heat anymore, and left our little peaceful haven. As we were leaving, a mother and her daughter who was maybe 6 or 7 walked in. Another thing you wouldn't see in the US if there were onsens there.
One night we stopped in a quaint, kitch-y bar, Mu-Su, because we were freezing, windblown, and tired of walking. We made small talk with the bartender there. The bar only seated about 6 or 7, it was about the size of a walk in closet in California. We couldn't figure out where she went if she had to go to the restroom because Jon had to walk down the street to a convenient store. We got to try Hokkaido's version of Sake, like Okinawa's awamori... They make theirs from the shiso leaf, so it has a sweet flavor. It is much more drinkable than awamori, which I don't care for at all here on Okinawa.
The last day/night we were there we saw the rest of the festival. We also went up in the NHK TV Tower and looked down on the whole park. It was great.
All in all, the trip was totally worth taking, and I would recommend it to anyone who can take it!
Monday, March 23, 2009
I love earthquakes!
Here is a link of the earthquake Jon and I were excited to feel last night! We were just sitting in our living room watching the latest Guy Ritchie movie, Rocknrolla, when we started to feel the room "rolling" beneath us. It lasted for a while, maybe 30 seconds or so. It was fun, even though I started to wonder if we should take shelter. But it never really got frightening. Apparently there are decent-sized earthquakes here all the time, according to that website. Coolness!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Catching up with Kristin and Jon
Oh my, it has been a while! First off, I'm sorry. I need to post more! I will do my best to post at least once a week from now on!
Here's a bit of an update, if I think of more, I will add it later, promise!
On our way back to Okinawa from California, we had a layover in Taiwan (Taipei), and took a tour offered by their tourist board. We got to see some pretty cool places including a shrine with some amazing architecture and a little stone street famous for its pottery. We bought a cool glowing pomegranate because we got into a funny discussion about the word with the tour guide.
We participated in a "joyathlon" today, a triathlon of sorts. We rode our bikes for 15km, walked for 7.5km (a lot of which was uphill), and "swimwalked" walked in water on the beach for 200 meters. We were the only foreigners in this "international triathlon" but we had fun nonetheless. We are a bit sore tonight, but not as bad as I expected, and for some reason, I haven't gotten hungry since the event (even though it was finished at about 1pm).
After we were done, we stuck around to watch this break-dancing competition nearby. It was pretty cool, but we left because the bike-sitting area was closing.
Jon got a new job! He will now be working at Chirorin in Oroku, Naha. It is apparently a hoity toity preschool/kindergarten people send their kids to get them off to the right start. He loves the new kids he's met there and is glad to be working under (hopefully) more organized management than his last *unnamed* employer. He will, however, continue to teach some students at "the abbey" (more like the shack) in Nishihara, so he will have some older students.
I have been super busy with graduation stuff for school. It's the end of the year too, so everyone had to fit in their English classes for the year! I also got my new schedule for this coming school year, which involved a minor change. Hopefully it will lessen my load a bit, but I'm not sure yet if it will. I will no longer be going to Kudaka, my island school, and will be going instead to Chinen Chugakko (jhs). I have mixed feelings about this change. I really got to know my students out on Kudaka, since the classes were so small (6,6,7, and 20 kids in each class) but was going to lose my favorite teacher there (the district moves teachers around every 3 years, to keep everyone on their toes..?). I also didn't like my life being run by the ferry schedule. I have one less class at Chinen Chu, but will have the 6th graders I had this year as 1st graders at Chinen Chu. I don't particularly care for these students, because they have been unruly and rude these past few months. However, I hope that this will change since these kids are going from top to bottom of the totem pole, and will be having to wear uniforms. I hope they straighten up! I also will teach one class of 3rd graders (14year olds) at Chinen Chu. I am looking forward to this because the class of 3rd graders at Kudaka was my favorite this past year.
Luckily, I am on a bit of a break from teaching now. I taught my last class Wednesday and don't start again until April 7th. On to making materials for the new school year! Unfortunately, my schools are all part of a 3 year English study program and will write all new lessons, which means all new cards, games, etc as well. Plus I will have to learn how to prep for junior high. On Kudaka, I didn't have very much responsibility for the junior high students.
That's all for now gotta get some dinner! We haven't eaten since we finished our triathlon... around 1pm!
Here's a bit of an update, if I think of more, I will add it later, promise!
On our way back to Okinawa from California, we had a layover in Taiwan (Taipei), and took a tour offered by their tourist board. We got to see some pretty cool places including a shrine with some amazing architecture and a little stone street famous for its pottery. We bought a cool glowing pomegranate because we got into a funny discussion about the word with the tour guide.
We participated in a "joyathlon" today, a triathlon of sorts. We rode our bikes for 15km, walked for 7.5km (a lot of which was uphill), and "swimwalked" walked in water on the beach for 200 meters. We were the only foreigners in this "international triathlon" but we had fun nonetheless. We are a bit sore tonight, but not as bad as I expected, and for some reason, I haven't gotten hungry since the event (even though it was finished at about 1pm).
After we were done, we stuck around to watch this break-dancing competition nearby. It was pretty cool, but we left because the bike-sitting area was closing.
Jon got a new job! He will now be working at Chirorin in Oroku, Naha. It is apparently a hoity toity preschool/kindergarten people send their kids to get them off to the right start. He loves the new kids he's met there and is glad to be working under (hopefully) more organized management than his last *unnamed* employer. He will, however, continue to teach some students at "the abbey" (more like the shack) in Nishihara, so he will have some older students.
I have been super busy with graduation stuff for school. It's the end of the year too, so everyone had to fit in their English classes for the year! I also got my new schedule for this coming school year, which involved a minor change. Hopefully it will lessen my load a bit, but I'm not sure yet if it will. I will no longer be going to Kudaka, my island school, and will be going instead to Chinen Chugakko (jhs). I have mixed feelings about this change. I really got to know my students out on Kudaka, since the classes were so small (6,6,7, and 20 kids in each class) but was going to lose my favorite teacher there (the district moves teachers around every 3 years, to keep everyone on their toes..?). I also didn't like my life being run by the ferry schedule. I have one less class at Chinen Chu, but will have the 6th graders I had this year as 1st graders at Chinen Chu. I don't particularly care for these students, because they have been unruly and rude these past few months. However, I hope that this will change since these kids are going from top to bottom of the totem pole, and will be having to wear uniforms. I hope they straighten up! I also will teach one class of 3rd graders (14year olds) at Chinen Chu. I am looking forward to this because the class of 3rd graders at Kudaka was my favorite this past year.
Luckily, I am on a bit of a break from teaching now. I taught my last class Wednesday and don't start again until April 7th. On to making materials for the new school year! Unfortunately, my schools are all part of a 3 year English study program and will write all new lessons, which means all new cards, games, etc as well. Plus I will have to learn how to prep for junior high. On Kudaka, I didn't have very much responsibility for the junior high students.
That's all for now gotta get some dinner! We haven't eaten since we finished our triathlon... around 1pm!
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