Bus stopping & city hoppin

This past weekend was exactly what I needed. I got to reunite with my friends on Camp Foster after a long first week of Camp for all of us. The goal of the weekend was to spend as much time off base in areas with the least English as possible, and we were pretty successful with it! We have been using the green line, which is a bus that runs from Camp Kinser through Camp Futenma to Camp Foster, which has been extremely useful in getting us at least half way to places (for free). Friday night we took the green line to Camp Foster and walked to American Village. The village is adorable and filled with great Japanese restaurants, little shops including a great 100 yen store and the infamous ferris wheel. We had dinner at a very authentic Japanese restaurant where we got to sit on the floor, and we had to take our shoes off (which you pretty much have to do at any restaurant here). We got to barbeque our own food and finally try some traditional udon noodles, it was all delicious, despite the fact that everything has egg in it!

The next morning my friends from Camp Foster came over to Kinser and we all took cabs to Shuri Castle, located in the main town of Naha. The castle is nestled in a village, which has all been restored since 1992 after World War II. We got to take a tour of the inside and it was so nice to finally have exposure to some Japanese history. The gardens surrounding the castle and the views from them were incredible. After the castle we managed to maneuver our way onto the Japanese bus system, with help from some local Japanese students that we met. They offered us their bento box and in return we gave them a nutri-grain bar and a PB&J, they replied with “delicious!” The buses in Okinawa are affordable and pretty nice for public transportation. We went to Kokusai street, which is known for it’s massive amounts of traditional Asian stores and some strange shopping. It was so much fun looking into the different stores and seeing what each one had to offer. There are not many American tourists around, and the few that are have some sort of affiliation with the American military on the island, therefore Okinawans don’t know much English. We had dinner at a restaurant named Ohana, overlooking part of Kokusai street and ordered traditional Okinawan food, which meant pointing to a picture that we decided looked good, since there was absolutely no English on the menu. We were served meals from pig ears, to pig stomach to tomato baked over cheese.

Shuri Castle

View of Naha from the Chinese Gardens at Shuri Castle

Japanese bus stop!

Our new Japanese friends

Sunday we were lucky to once again have a nice and sunny day, with 97% humidity of course. We went to the pool on Kinser for a bit, and then took the green line back to Camp Foster and took a cab to the Sunset beach on American village. It was a great and lively beach, the water was nothing compared to the resort we had gone to last weekend, but it was nice to be out and experience something new. We found the best sushi boat place that night, and finally got to taste the Okinawan sushi. My mind was blown and sushi cravings fulfilled. Definitely planning on becoming a regular there!

Kokusai street!

Sunset Beach 

Delicious sushi boat restaurant!

Now we are back to another week of camp, Earth Friendly Extravaganza it is! Hoping to check out a local Japanese grocery store during the week and start planning another weekend of continuing exploring all that this amazing island has to offer! Until then, OKI ALL DAY

The daily sunset from my window

Hey all you Camp A Fans!

Today was our first day of work! It was everything from nervous, to exciting to overwhelming, but overall a great first day at the youth center. Meeting the kids was great, not all of them were there yet, because of the typhoon warning, so we had around 35 kids in the center, and our usual expected number is 54. This first week is pretty much all over the place with getting used to the schedule at the youth center and figuring out how to correctly implement our programming. The kids all range between 5 and 10 years of age, and are absolutely adorable and so much fun, it was so great getting to know them and start getting their names down! All of the counselors and our director go by camp names that the kids and staff call us by while at work, mine being Ms. RolliPolli, and the rest of our Camp A staff being Ms. Bumblebee, Ms. Ladybug, Ms. Spider and Ms. Kiwi.

 Kinser day camp & aquatics staff!

 Themed camp sign that I made!

Beginnings of the Typhoon on Camp Kinser 

We are currently in TCCOR 1 and experiencing a full on typhoon outside, with crazy wind gusts, rain and huge waves. We’re hoping for a day off tomorrow, but the storm is supposedly supposed to pass by the morning. Until then, we’re enjoying some drinks and soba noodles while storytelling and watching She’s The Man. I could get used to this typhoon lifestyle J

Okuma Matata!

Yesterday we headed 2 hours up north of the Island to the Okuma Beach Resort with all of the Camp Adventure staff on Okinawa.  It was our first adventure off of base and we were all beyond excited to finally see some of Okinawa’s infamous beaches! The Okuma resort is known for water sports, and because it is on a military base, we got the discounts for jet skiing, banana boating, and tubing. It was absolutely amazing, jet skiing out into the East China Sea and falling off of the banana boat, and the first time that it truly hit me that I was in Japan.

Japanese and American flags - best of both worlds here

Okuma Resort

Jet skiing in the East China Sea

Surfs uppp!

Banana boating time!

That night our day camp and aquatics staff for Kinser moved onto our own base, sad to leave the Foster group behind, but ready to plan some great weekend trips with them. Our accommodations at Camp Kinser have totally exceeded my expectations, with our own rooms, queen size beds, and bathroom, sink area and fridge. My room has an ocean view, which I couldn’t be happier about.

 We have reached TCCOR 2 tonight, which stands for Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness, and it was a black flag day 

symbolizing extreme heat and humidity. The typhoon is supposed to hit with around 85 -105 mph winds tonight and tomorrow night, therefore we are clueless as to whether we will even have our first day of work tomorrow. We’re stocked up with water and dry foods and ready to take on Typhoon Guchol! #Islandlife #lovinit

FUN FACTS ABOUT OKI: 

Yesterday at one of our orientation seminars, which was for all for new people to the Island, military personelle, families, and civilian staff (camp adventure), we were informed about some cultural differences here on Okinawa. Thought i'd share a few! 

1. Never put your chopsticks straight up into the rice, it's how you offer rice to the dead. 

2. You should never eat the various foods separate, always wait for all the food to have arrived and eat a little from each bowl. 

3. No tipping! It's a sign of disappointment and dissatisfaction with the quality of the restaurant. 

4. All the roads here in Okinawa are made out of Coral. 

5. Slurping one's soup is the proper way to eat it in a restaurant. 

We are still on typhoon warnings for the next few days, but hoping we will be able to get off of base to explore and finally have some japanese food! 

Here are a few more pictures from the past few days! Peace & love <3

 Camp Foster Marine Corps Base

 The best Japanese drinks!

 Poster making prep for Camp! 

 Wrong side of the road? Getting used to a new side of the passenger seat!

Dinner @ Macaroni Grill on base 

“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all.” And so it begins, Summer 2012 in Okinawa, Japan, and this quote is what sets the stage for it all. About six of us camp counselors from the Northern California region, from UC Davis, Sacramento State and Chico State University boarded on a flight out of San Francisco to Seattle at 6 am Saturday morning, all running on about 45 minutes of sleep but so eagerly anxious to begin our journey. In Seattle we met up with fellow Camp Adventure staff from Eastern Washington, Western Washington and Washington State University, as well as from University of Oregon, Eastern Oregon and Oregon State University. From there we took on our 10- hour flight to Tokyo Narita! Landing in Japan and seeing the first sights of the beaches was incredible. In Tokyo we gathered with everyone else that was headed to Okinawa, and 5 hours later we landed in Naha, Okinawa. Extreme exhaustion had hit about everybody at that point, added with the intense humidity, but excitement was definitely still in the air, regardless of the 16-hour time difference and 2 days worth of travel now behind us.

At about 1 am we arrived on Camp Foster, with a quick stop at the shopette for some breakfast food. We were given our room assignments, where Foster and McT staff would reside for the entire summer, and Kinser staff would temporarily stay for the first week of orientation and then move to our own base. Living in the barracks and getting acquainted with the military base and lifestyle has been incredibly interesting. With the military men living on the bottom two floors, and all of us Camp staff walking around in uniform, constant glares have become the norm. We heard our first raising of the flags at around 8 am, where literally everyone including people in their cars stop and turn towards the direction of the flag throughout the anthem.

Our barracks on Camp Foster

Since it has been orientation week, paperwork and meetings are what the week’s schedule is looking like. We were given our base passes, which enable us access to the neighboring bases as well as the Commissary and Px. We took a trip to the Px and saw the theater, as well as the taco bell, burger master and subway, along with a walk to the gym where the only form of Wi-Fi is at the moment. Our walk back to the barracks was in some insane monsoon looking weather. Since June is Typhoon season in Okinawa, intense windy rainstorms and a potential typhoon are predicted throughout the month. It’s crazy to think that we are surrounded by Americans, able to purchase things with dollars and considered in American Territory within the base, when right outside those gates lies all of Okinawa, Japan.

Orientation on Camp Foster

I’m so excited for our trip to the Okuma resort up north on Saturday with our entire Camp staff, getting to know everyone has been great. Saturday night our Kinser staff will move to our base, so that we can have Sunday to work on programming and get settled. I can’t wait to get to meet the kids, unpack, and start planning some weekend trips that will hopefully include a trip to the Kerama Islands, the Pineapple Factory, zip lining and snorkeling! Until the next post, peace & love from Oki!