Yaya's Goodbye Rap

Iacinta (a.k.a. Yaya), an OkiJET from New Zealand, wrote the awesomest rap EVER! She's a downright sweetheart and the most coolest girl I know! Thanks Yaya! This made me ugly cry at the airport. I plan to visit you in New Zealand soon! Hobbit holes!


Yo! Yo!
Let me tell you 'bout Gabie
Pretty girl from Miami
Likes having fun in the sun
Making Nuns Buns not puns

Nights out on the town
She'll be tryna "get down"
Causing good kinds of trouble
Sippin' drinks without bubbles

Ain't got no time for shy guys
So she gives them the side-eye
Such a powerful stare
That makes the typhoons disappear

But don't mistake her kindness for fierceness
For she is actually just fearless
We will miss dear Gabie sorely
But we'll catch up one day, won't we?
Surely!
Woooorrrdd.

Wow! Fantastic Baby!

After I said my tearful goodbye to my boyfriend at Naha airport, I boarded a plane to Osaka in order to see the Big Bang concert at Kyocera Dome. Big Bang is a famous Korean band and are also famous in Japan, as they just concluded their Japan Dome Tour (Click here for an article about the tour and fame in Japan).

Just to put some perspective the American Airlines Arena in Miami can hold around 16,000 people, while Kyocera Dome in Osaka can hold over 36,000 people. In other words, this was a huge venue and it was completely sold out. Although the trains were packed and the sea of people in line at Kyocera Dome seemed endless, we purchased our Big Bang goods and made out way to the seats fairly quickly. Before the concert, I got in a few panorama's of the dome, but quickly saw the dome's staff holding signs saying it was prohibited to take pictures. In Japan, you are not allowed to take pictures or videos during a concert. Ever! 

Osaka Kyocera Dome

The concert was amazing and surprising long. I heard most of my favorite songs and then some! One important thing that I noticed is that Japanese fans are relatively quiet. Prior to coming to Japan, I went to a Justin Beiber concert where I almost lost my hearing. So knowing that Big Bang is ridiculously popular in Japan, I expected the same atmosphere. However, everyone was quietly waving their Big Bang sticks in a perfect rhythm...the entire time. No one was dancing, I don't even think people were singing the songs. They just stood there banging their Big Bang sticks. However, during some songs there were chants and before the encore the crowd sang one of their Japanese songs "My Heaven." It was really cute!

 Also, being the loca that I am, I took the risk and snuck in a picture. Using my iphone, I lowered the brightness to my screen, and I turned off the flash while hiding my phone behind the Big Bang stick. BAM it worked! 

One of my favorite songs that I didn't hear :(

South Korea, the Seoul of Asia

After I picked up my boyfriend from the airport, we spent a week in Okinawa visiting the tourist sites before heading to what has easily become my favorite city in East Asia, Seoul, South Korea. I could also be slightly biased towards South Korea because I have an affinity of Korean music, dramas, and makeup. However, in general, Seoul is a fabulous city that creates the perfect balance of internationalization while retaining it's culture. 

DMZ Tour

In the past, friends have expressed their concern over my decisions to live in Japan, a nation fairly close to North Korea. Therefore, I was unfazed when my boyfriend's friends and family also expressed their concern that I had booked a tour to the DMZ (the boarder between North and South Korea), knowing that last year Kim Jeoung Un threaten the U.S. Unless you visit South Korea or the DMZ you'll never gain first-hand knowledge of the situation in South Korea and see how people in Seoul are unfazed to the craziness that goes on up North. 

We woke up early and walked to the Lotte Hotel, to check in for the tour. Although this was the same tour company from my trip last year, they included an additional trip to the War Memorial of Korea. The memorial/museum was immense, but we only had an hour to explore. Therefore, my boyfriend and I quickly separated from the tour group, ran around the museum and back outside to see the display of airplanes, ships, tanks, and helicopters that were used during the Korean War. 

After the museum, we traveled north to eat lunch. During our trip up, our tour guide (the same one I had before), spoke about the war and several defenses that South Korea has in place to prevent invasions. The most interesting were the tank walls, which are walls that are stratigically placed on various roads to block tanks invading from the North. 

This is a tank wall. The legs blast away, dropping this ridiculously thick wall down

Lunch was held at a quaint little restaurant where I was served bipimbap (veggie options FTW) and my boyfriend was served a bulgogi stew. After lunch, we had a short stop at Imjingak Park. The park has many statues and monuments regarding the Korean War. There is also a Popeye's (I know, the heck?), an observation deck, a pool in the shape of the Korean peninsula, and even a mini amusement park. This might have been my favorite part of the tour as snow beautifully blanketed the park. I had not seen snow since I was 18, so this was very exciting for me. 

Once inside the DMZ, we watched a brief history of the Joint Security Area and signed waivers. We were guided by U.S. (United Nations) soldiers to visit the boarder between North Korea and South Korea. I don't want to go into too much detail, but we were fortunate to see North Korean soldiers as well as visit the JSA building and figuratively cross into North Korea. On a loca note, I personally got a lot of joy while waving goodbye to the U.S. and South Korean soldiers. Our bus would stop by a check point, and as we passed I would smile and wave goodbye to the soldiers. They would look slightly surprised for a moment, smile and wave back. When you have a stressful job, wouldn't you like a smile and wave from an attractive member of the opposite sex? 

They say traveling is like knowledge; the more you see, the more you know you haven't seen. Also, that you shouldn't break in new shoes when traveling. Unfortunately, there are those who have no interest in seeing the world outside of their comfort zone and will never know the terrible mistake of breaking in shoes while traveling. Don't be that person. Here are some more pictures of my trip to inspire you to get out there and see the world!

Shopping in Myeongdong

N Seoul Tower

Padlock Love Wall

Temple in Seoul

Bonenkai: Forgetting the Year Party!

Although the Christmas spirit was next to nonexistent in Japan, the entire month of December was filled with end of the year parties called bonenkai (literally, "forgetting the year"), which I treated like multiple Christmas parties. I was invited to a bonenkai for each of my three schools as well as for the Board of Education. Let's review!

 Board of Education

The BOE bonenkai was held at an izakaya in Nago City, where we sat in benched-styled seating and cooked our own food in a nabe pot. Being a vegetarian, I cooked the vegetables and served myself first. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming with a band playing traditional Okinawan music while we ate. At one point the band stopped and asked my coordinator if I spoke English. My coordinator replied I spoke English and that I also spoke Spanish. To my surprise, the band began to sing in both languages! 

For the party, we were asked to bring an 1,000 ($10) wrapped gift for a gift exchange, but in the whirlwind of getting ready, I completely forgot the gift under my Christmas tree and I had to IOU someone for later. For the gift exchange, someone would be called up by the previous person and you were expected to give a short speech and pick a number from a box that was assigned to a gift. Before walking away with that gift, you had to call upon another person and the pattern would continue. I didn't know about the speech requirement, so I sat quietly as I began to formulate sentences. Ryuichi, a younger fellow who works at the BOE was called up. I noticed that he took quite some time to select someone and I made the mistake of looking up at him. Upon making eye contact, he gave me a sly smile and said, "Gabi, of course."  I gave a short speech in butchered Japanese and received my gift of a takoyaki maker (yes, the same one I used on Christmas). Afterwards, we karaoked the night away!

M. Elementary

 M. Elementary's bonenkai was held at a hotel in northern Okinawa. I don't have much to say about the event because I did not attend. I planned to attend, but I completely forgot. That's right, I forgot! It sounds terrible, and I felt miserable about it at the time, but I honestly felt terrible. Seriously! I went to the hospital/clinic the next day. I was so stressed over being sick, that I completely forgot about the bonenkai. Luckily, I never paid and no one held it against me. They were all genuinely worried as I am sure someone's grandmother's sister's daughter saw me at the hospital's waiting room and told them about it.

G. Elementary

G. Elementary planned the most extravagant of all the bonenkais and it was held at the Marriott in Onna Village. I know in the U.S. a Marriott hotel isn't exactly the Hilton, but it had the ambiance of one, as they rented a large ballroom where the beautiful decorations reminded me of a small wedding. Once I arrived, I choose and number and that number corresponded to a seat. I was a little bummed about the seating arrangement because I wanted to sit with the two younger teaching assistants, but my number placed me next to the 6th grade teacher, who is lovely, but our age difference made us have nothing in common aside from her class that we co-teach. Moreover, the tables were placed far apart from one another so everyone else in the room felt a little distant.

While we ate our six-course meal, they announced the top 10 schools news of the year. I'm not sure what happened to me that night, it might have been the ambiance or it may be that I still have not warmed up to this particular school, but during the announcements my listening comprehension dropped from my usual 70% to nothing. At one point I felt myself burning a hole into the table. I caught myself a few times and willfully tried to change my mood, but I would revert back to just staring into space, changing my focus on a different object in a room every few minutes.

Later, we moved to a separate room to have more drinks. Here the seating arrangement from the previous room was forgotten as I shimmied my way to the younger teachers. At around 10, our time at the Marriot was up and everyone began to leave for home. I stayed back with the younger teachers and we decided to head to an izakaya for further debauchery. The debauchery quickly turned to stress as my mother informed me of some terrible news back at home, which explained my previous mood (6th sense). At around 3am, we all left the izakaya, as I mentally noted a few phone calls I would need to make in the morning.  

K. Elementary

K. Elementary planned their bonenkai at hotel located in Nago City. This hotel was not as extravagant as the Marriott, but the set up was small and personal. At K. the teachers are split up into groups where they would plan the entertainment at certain parts of the bonenkai. I don't mean that someone would be responsible for hiring a DJ or something to that extent, instead the groups are the entertainment. This entertainment can be games, skits, songs, dances, whatever!  I was told a few days prior to the bonenkai that I would be part of the team that would provide the entertainment. My co-english teacher asked if I could put the the Cupid Shuffle and Feliz Navidad on a CD to use as entertainment. I did so and just like in English class I taught all the teaching and supporting staff the Cupid Shuffle (with a twist) and Feliz Navidad. It was a little embarrassing, but it felt so nice to be included. During the top-10 school news, a substitute teacher, who I originally met when he subbed at G. Elementary for a few months, gave a speech.

~Slight Tangent~

This teacher is 26 and is currently substituting for the 5th grade teacher at K. since she's on maternity leave. When I first met him at G. Elementary he asked if I had a boyfriend since we are both close in age. I told him that I did, but I later found out that he has a girlfriend living in Tokyo. Men are dumb! Am I right ladies? Either way, since he came to K. Elementary, he has not greeted me. Not once! Everyone knows about the ackwardness between us and they thought that the bonenkai would be the perfect time to bring it up.

~End of Tangent~

After his speech, the librarian announted that I had a question for the substitute teacher. I mentally died as I looked at him and said,「何であいさつしてくれないの?」or "Why don't you greet me?" Everyone in the room began to laugh as he nervously shifted from side to side. He explained that he was extremely nervous when he first came to K. and that he was so busy that it slipped his mind. The vice principal interrupted him and said, "No, you should apologize and say that from now on you'll say hi." The substitute quickly apologized, which caused another round of laughter. The principal and vice principal turned to me, gave me the thumbs up and said good job. 

As the bonenkai came to a close, we all linked arms during the principal speech. She stated that we were all a family and how lucky she is for having such a wonderful teaching team. I couldn't stay for the second half, because I had to leave to pick up my boyfriend at the airport. They all wished me a safe trip and happy new year. Definitely the best bonenkai ever! 

Dance like everyone is watching

A few months ago I received a call from my Board of Education asking if I would like to take traditional Okinawan dance classes with international students from Peru, Argentina and Brazil. I figured that it would be like a once-a-week type of deal so I joined. Instead, dance practice was conducted everyday for two hours in preparation for a performance in front of all the members of the Board of Education. Yikes! For this performance, I learned the Kagiyadefu (woman's part), a very slow but graceful Okinawan dance.

The Kagiyadefu is not a difficult dance when compared to my time as a ballet dancer. However, the pace is slow and sometimes the dance does not follow the rhythm of the music. Moreover, instead of teaching the basic 8 count, I had to listen to the lyrics for cues. Because the dance is a traditional Okinawan dance, the lyrics are also in a traditional Okinawan language, called Unchinaguchi. A lot of those studying Japanese will say "RyūKyū-ben" or RyūKyū dialect, but this is incorrect and you will be firmly corrected in Okinawa because it's considered a completely separate language from Japanese. After several weeks of practice, I perfected the Kagiyadefu. 

I had to make sure I didn't step on the outter kimono while dancing

My dance life in Okinawa has continue Udui Kuwadisa, at my towns cultural festival. Unless it's for a performance, practice is held Wednesday and Thursday at a performance center in Ginoza. What I love about this is the sense of community from the other dancers who I consider my Japanese aunts (although they are old enough to be my grandmothers). On practice days, I usually skip dinner because they always feed me. I've even been surprised a few times with snacks, such as cakes, secretly stuffed into my purse. Most of the women's names end with a "ko," and since I'm become part of their dance horde they affectionately call me "Gabiko" and, when I'm in costume, I'll introduce myself as 「うちなんちゅう我美子」"Unichinanchū Gabiko" (Okinawan person, Gabiko).  

Auntie attempting to contain the mane, while I'm acting silly with this crazy makeup!

Dancers with Sensei

Taiwan: The Heart of Asia

After experiencing the Okinawan island life for some time, I felt an itch to leave and start my international travels. Taking advantage of a three-day weekend, and requesting a day off of work, two fellow OkiJETs and I set out sights to Taiwan, Okinawa's closest country.

The night before my departure, I picked up Tka in Okinawa City and we spent the night at Alley's in Nishihara. The next morning, we headed out ridiculously early to beat the traffic to Naha Airport. The traffic was horrendous and, what's worse, Google Maps decided to guide us to a frickin' golf course (Thanks Obama)! We had to call out to a pedestrian and ask for directions but fortunately we were not far off.

We made it to the airport just in time to check in and pass the security checkpoint. No one had breakfast that morning and we were expecting to get food at the terminal but since Peach Airlines does not taxi at a terminal, the terminal only sold boxed souvenir food. We met up with some other OkiJETs, who were also headed to Taiwan, and they gave us an apple to split between the three of us. Best apple of my life! We also met with Wendy a Singaporean OkiJET who was off to visit family in Taiwan. She marked our subway map for the best hot spots in Taipei and offered to guide us to Taipei's main subway station since we were all headed there anyway.

The flight was ridiculously short, but I spent the entire hour yawning and attempting to pop my ears since scuba diving temporarily damaged my inner ear. Once we reached Taipei, our main priority was to eat. We walked about a block or two until we found a small cafe that had an menu in English and food that would satisfy everyone, especially me with my food particularities. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel.

Lovely Travel Ladies

A hour passed and we still had not found our hotel. The map that Tka brought was not detailed enough but we  knew the street and were headed in the right direction. I used every bit of Mandarin Chinese that I knew to ask about location of our hotel. Every question was met with people pointing for us to go further down. We even stopped at a convenience store to ask for directions. At one point, we were so frustrated because one person would tell us to go further down and another person would tell us to come back the way we came. Finally, we walked into what we thought was our hotel. It wasn't, but the women working the front desk personally walked us to our hotel. We were so grateful!

As I was moving my suitcase to my corner of the room, I hear Alley laughing and telling us to check out the bed. When I sat on the bed, it felt as though I sat on concrete. This was the hardest bed on God's green Earth! I picked up the pillow assuming that would be just as terrible but, to my relief, it was fairly soft. I looked to Alley who was still laughing now on her hand and knees saying "It's like basement sex!" That's when I lost it, because I could imagine that on a terribly hard and uneven floor. The joy surged through me as I realized I would be spending a few days on the concrete bed (sarcasm). After we settled, we headed out into Taipei.

Taipei at night reminded me a little of New York with its crazy traffic and slightly dirty atmosphere. The only difference was the abundance of scooters. Aside from my ear problems, I also had a terrible cough and the exhaust fumes from the hundreds of thousands of scooters forced me to purchase cough drops at a convenience store. 

The night markets in Taipei were like Jesus, in that they were perfect. Japanese clothes are cute, but sometimes they can get pretty funky with their prints, "Engrish," frills, and fabrics. The clothes at the night markets were surprisingly of good quality, ridiculously cheap, and stuff that I'd actually wear. More importantly, at every corner there were people selling yummy fruits and pastries, along with the nauseating Stinky Tofu. I got the most use of my Chinese while shopping because I could ask for the prince and bargain by saying it was too pricy. 

Taiwan: The Land of Scooters

The next couple of days involved some sightseeing at Longshan Temple, Taipei 101, and trips to more night markets.

Longshan Temple is a reconstructed Buddhist/Taoist temple in the Wuhua district of Taipei. Although situated on a busy street, Longshan Temple created a peaceful atmosphere with a gorgeous waterfall and a large dragon statue at the enterence. Once inside the temple, there were hundreds of people praying and giving food and flower offerings. 

Taipei 101 is the second largest building in the world with the world's elevator (my ears did not appreciate this). The first two floors consisted of a high-end mall with recognizable brands that I could never afford. At the top, we had an spectacular view of the city as well as a view of the damper ball, which balances the building during storms or earthquakes.

Leaving Taipei, we had a some trouble finding the bus terminals, and we also ran into some trouble or shall I say caught some attitude with the airline personal regarding the weight of our carry-on bags during our check-in. 

I definitely want to go back to Taiwan for a longer weekend and continue shopping sightseeing.

Dying of laughter at Longshan Temple

The Finest Wilderness is Beneath the Waves (Part 1)

After I almost drowned in the ocean as a child, I had always been hesitant about water-related activities. Hundreds of Venezuelan Bolivares were wasted on swimming lessons so that I can later specialize in sunbathing and people watching. This had to change! I am firm believer of taking extreme measures in order to face your fears. A few years ago I went skydiving in order to conquer my fear of heights, and I decided early on that it was time that I did the same with my fear of the wilderness beneath the waves. 

Dont touch me! I'm tanning!

A fellow OkiJET referred a local dive shop and it was there that I made my appointment to become a certified Open Water Diver (OWD). Unfortunately, an ideal three-day weekend had been completely booked by local OIST University students and, because of this, my ocean dives were scheduled 3 weeks after my contained dive lesson. 

The day of the contained dive, I packed by bikini and headed to Onna Village where met with Jan my diving instructor. Jan was a German fellow who moved to Japan sometime ago and settled down with a Japanese wife. At first, his accent was a little rough and hard to understand, but I could sympathize with the difficultly of expressing in a non-native language. He packed the gear and we met with  French dive-mates at a pool where, after basic equipment instruction, I shimmied my way into a ridiculously tight wet suit and strapped on my air tank.

This was the first of many problems as I struggled to stand with the heavy tank strapped onto my back. Moreover, the back plate (which adds weight to level out my buoyancy in the water) was digging into my hips bones from the back. Eventually, the straps were readjusted, but the tank was still too heavy as I made the trek to the pools edge. Once I was in the water, the elephant-sized tank felt as light as a feather, but I passingly worried about my exit from the water.

Once in the water we were asked to perform various skills that are essential for safe diving. The first skill was simply breathing with the regulator. It's human nature to hold you breath, but doing so could result in damaged lungs. I accomplished this skill without any issues. The next skill was breathing in with the regulator but blowing the air out through my nose. However, I could only blow out a few snorts, until the water filled my sinus making it seem as though I was drowning. This specific skill was just not happening for me and it turned out it would be the bane of my scuba experience. The next skill involved removing water from inside of the mask while underwater. Guess what that involved? You guessed it! Blowing the air out through my nose! As I lifted my mask to fill it with water I began to slightly panic once again because the water that collected into my nose had gone into my sinus. I tried to blow the water and air out, but the air would escape out through the sides of my mask instead of the bottom. I tilted my head back so that my bottom of my mask would be the lowest point, but I ended up swallowing water through my sinuses. Once again, I failed this skill.

An example of mask clearing. You know, that skill I can't do.

You could image my frustration as I was told that I could not become certified if I could not perform this skill. Moreover, this skill will be more difficult to perform in the ocean. As the day progressed, I doubted my decision to become certified. Aside from the issue with clearing my mask, the only other issue I had was equalizing my ears. As you dive, the pressure builds and you need to be able to release the pressure. We do it often in airplanes and elevators through swallowing and yawning ("popping your ears") but since those a bit difficult to perform while something is in your mouth, it needs to be done a different way. You guessed it! By breathing out through your nose! F&%$!

I'm just kidding! Well, you do need to breathe out through your nose, but you pinch your nose so that the air escapes via your ear canal simultaneously releasing the pressure. Surprisingly, I could do this, but it wasn't without its difficulties. I had to equalize my ears often and it took me longer to dive down because of it. I would sink a foot or two and I would feel a squeezing pain within my ears. This isn't necessarily a skill issue because everyone's body is different. Moreover, Jan reassured me that it is fairly common, for those with sensitive ears, to need more time in order to adjust.

Since I had a few weeks until the ocean dives, I bought a mask from the dive shop to fit my small face. I tried to practice the mask cleaning, but the results were the same - failure. Therefore, I used the best source of information acquisition known to man: The Internet. There, I found a simple little life hack that would change everything: 

If you flatten your tongue to the roof of your mouth, you will always blow the air out of your nose!

Did you try it?

Middle School Sport's Day, Okinawan Lucha Libre, and Neo Park Zoo

Undokai (運動会) or sports days is a big deal in Japan, with teachers canceling classes to practice various sporting events. The Sports Days for my elementary schools aren't until later this month, but I was asked by my board of education if I would like to participate in the middle schools sports day as part of a relay. I had just finished getting over a terrible cold, so I was extremely happy to participate and be active once again. On Saturday, I laced up my running shoes and walked to the middle school. There, I met up Justin, the middle school JET, and my two other teammates who were Japanese-Pervian and Japanese-Argentinian. We were officially mcticially the international team. I was extemely nervous because I didn't realize that so many people attended these events. The principals and vice principals from my schools were there too! No big, I'm only representing my whole damn country! We were running the 4X2, and  I was the second runner. Ultimately, we got second place and won a box of tissues. I will be swimming in tissues in Japan since I get them just by entering a store. Afterwards, I felt no obligation to stay, and I left. 

The same week, I went to an Okinawan lucha libre match. It sounds just as corney as it sounds: masked individuals perfomring choreographed pro-wrestling moves. It was cheesy, it was sweaty, it was japanesey, and I frickin' loved it! 

Do you even lift?

I also went to Neo Park Zoo, which is a little less than a zoo and more of an aviary. There were hundred of birds that you could feed, and other animals such as capybaras, lemurs, bats, and wallabies. There was a petting zoo of small animals such as guinea pigs, rabbits, and dogs. The dogs were a little weary of people. I noticed that some would almost corner the dogs to pet them, which made the dogs snap in aggression. I just knelt down and waited for them to come to me. I think they could tell I was an animal person <3.

This little one asked to be picked up and just plopped right down.

I also decided to be a little loca and feed the ostriches. These birds are immense and very intimidating. But when do you get the chance to feed them? Exactly! Never! My first time was a huge fail because my hand was at the same level as the birds beak, so it just clamp down it's mouth on my hand. Surprisingly it didn't hurt, but it scared the crap out of me. For my second attempt, I lowered my hand and it worked!

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium and Nakijin Castle Ruins

The paperwork for transferring my semi-predecessor's car into my name was painless and, most importantly, free. Once that I had my car, I could explore the island to my hearts content. The first adventure on my list was Okinawa Ocean Expo and Churaumi Aquarium. Churaumi Aquarium is one of the world's largest indoor aquariums that houses three large whales sharks. However, it's so much more than a fish bowl. Churaumi Aquarium is located at the Okinawa Ocean Expo. The Expo sits right next to the ocean (hence the name), where visitors can see gardens, laze at the beach and visit outdoor aquariums such as a dolphin theater and manatee and sea turtle exhibits for FREE!

Churaumi Aquarium is just one part of the Ocean Expo, but it is not free. Once inside, the first exhibit had a small petting tank where you could pick up and touch various starfish. I'm pretty sure this exhibit was meant for children, but as an avid animal lover, I couldn't pass up the chance to get hands on. I've been on enough caribbean cruises to know what a starfish feels like, but these was huge! I loved feeling the bottom and sensing the starfish move to get away from my icky human hands. I only wished the kids had been slightly more gentle with them, but there were people reminding the kids to only handle them underwater.

<3

Afterwards, I visited the multiple exhibits of sea creatures. The main exhibit was their giant acrylic tank. Within the tank there were three large whales sharks, three manta rays and three spotted dolphins. The dolphins were a newly added feature to the exhibit. There were also hundreds of other rays and fish within the tank. Some rays were almost as big as the manta rays! It was amazing to see such giant creatures up close, but I did feel a bit sad for them. These animals usually have the whole ocean to explore and a tank, although large, is extremely small compared to the ocean. However, they looked healthy and relatively happy. One manta ray was the result of the breeding of the first two, as Churaumi is one of the few aquariums that successfully breeds manta rays. I also loved watching the animals interact with the scuba divers inside. What an amazing job! The dolphins where clearly the most interactive, and they played and were pet by the scuba divers. I was very surprised by their interaction with the manta rays as well. The manta rays would postion themselves in front of the scuba divier where he/she would scrach the sides of their mouths (or that part that sticks out). The rays would also chase around the dolphins! It was too cute!

Look at their happy faces!

After buying the cutest whale shark socks on Earth, I hopped into my car and drove to Nakijin Castle Ruins. Nakijin Castle Ruins in a UNESCO World Heritage Site and house the ruler of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. It it currently in a ruined state, but the surrounding area is beautiful and definitely worth the trip. 

The JET Program: Placement (Okinawa)

The semester finally came to an end, my thesis was approved, I graduated from FIU with my Master's in Asian Studies, and I attended commencement. 

Might as well play the part if we are made to look like wizards

It had been two months since I received the "You have been short-listed" email from the consulate and my patience was wearing thin. Everyday, I received countless questions about my placements:

Do you know where you're going?

What's your placement?

Do you know what grade you're teaching?

Do you know where you'll live?

Are you going to live close to Tokyo?

So, what part of Japan are you going to?
Do you know if they'll put your in an apartment or a house?

Do you know anything?

I know everyone was curious, but I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed when my response was constantly, "I don't know." In reality, I was anxious to know about my placement. I requested Kagoshima and Wakayama in my JET application, but I was worried that they might place me in Hokkaido or Aomori. It's not that I have anything against those places (I really don't) and I am sure they are beautiful but as a Miami girl, I have never experienced cold weather. I doubt I could survive it. Seriously, the coldest it gets is 60 degrees and that's for four days out of the year. Four days people!

It was another random day in June when I received a text from my friend telling me to check my email. I really need to start checking my email more often. She received an email concerning her placement. She was placed in Hyogo Prefecture, her number one choice. She was not given a city with that email, which meant that she would be a prefectural JET and would teacing high school. I refreshed my email, but I didn't see anything new. I figured the Miami JET coordinator was going down the list of names, and it might take a little while to reach me. I probably looked like a complete loca refreshing my email over and over, but whatever. 

My email finally refreshed, and there was the email. I was placed in Ginoza-son, Okinawa Prefecture (middle school and/or elementary)!

I can see the map filled with nuclear launch travel markings 

My initial thoughts were, "They send people there?" With the huge military presence in Okinawa, I couldn't imagine why they would send JETs to Okinawa. I was also a little upset because I wasn't placed in mainland Japan, which I have extensively traveled in my previous trips to Japan. It wasn't until later, and at the convincing of my boyfriend, that I realized that this was an amazing placement. 

As I previously mentioned, I hate the cold. Second, I would be placed in a part of Japan that most people do not visit. Third, Okinawa grows a lot of their own fruits and vegetables. So this is great if you are a vegetarian (4 years straight, woot!). Fourth, Okinawa is close to Southeast Asia and China, a great starting point for traveling and it's relatively cheap too. I have been all over Japan and it was time for me to expand internationally. Lastly, great beaches and water sports! I love the beach, and I had planned to get scuba certified in Miami last year but a hurricane ruined those plans. Therefore, what better place to get scuba certified and work on my Miami tan than in Japan! Oh, and Mr. frickin' Miyagi was from Okinawa. Ok, Mr. Miyagi isn't real. The character from the Karate Kid movies was Okinawan, hence his mastery of karate since it originated from Okinawa, but there is actually a Miyagi Jima (Miyagi Island) in Okinawa! Get ready for me Okinawa!