I'll take you in my backpack

10/23/11 I took this picture in Austin TX this summer, and just rediscovered it while going through some of my photos and trying to organize things. I have to say, I love it!

10/22/11 Finally, a day that didn't involve getting saturated in rain! It was absolutely beautiful today! I may have been a little eager when I put on my bathing suit, sundress, sandals and bolted for the door with my camera! The swimsuit probably wasn't necessary. One does crazy things in the presence of weekend sun! Visited a World Heritage Site called Sefa Utaki, it is a Shinto Shrine that has been recognized as a sacred place since the earliest times in Okinawa history. The shrine consists of a lot of caves and rock formations with breathtaking views of the sea. It all has ties to the Kingdom of Ryuku, although there are no structures standing on the property anymore. After that took the scenic route, literally drove the entire southern part of the island. Went through some quaint villages, along the sea, through the mountain (if you want to call it that) until we eventually made it back. Books Read: Catching Fire

10/9/11 I was given a printout at work the other day that had my name in Kanji and then had a bunch of Japanese translations of my name. I scanned it but apparently my blog hates pdf files and wont let me upload it! I'll share some of my favorites with you... phonetic & denotative transcription: a good and elegant wax tree phonetic & eulogistic transcription: one who is considerate and heroic; tender dew drops on a snail; a considerate nightingale in the ivy attention getting transcription: a stupid wild duck in the ivy; a wolf which chases a mule brainteaser: a short mule Note: "Lau" =low in Japanese So as you can see, my name is very...diverse...and I'm sure noble. In another language perhaps.

10/7/11 So today after work, I convinced a coworker to go with me to a Japanese pharmacy because she speaks some Japanese (enough to get by) and I trust their medicine more than I do American medicine. Here's how that trip went. We find this place in an ally, which isn't a stretch since almost everything here is located in something resembling an ally (really those are two lane roads). Go into the shop and are greeted by a nice man (the pharmacist) who proceeds to speak to me in Japanese even though it's very clear that my dear coworker is Japanese and speaking with him in Japanese (as I cannot). She relays my symptoms. He then asks if I have a fever, through translation I indicate that I don't think so. He offers a thermometer to check. I pull out the thermometer and it's a digital one but not one of the ones that comes with the disposable plastic sanitary shields. Crap. So my coworker kindly asks for something to clean it with. He gives me hand sanitizer and a

10/5/11 First pedicure of the trip...and I can say with 100% confidence that I now have happy feet! Unfortunately, because of Cocok's I'll never be able to be happy with a pedicure outside of Okinawa! They do an amazing job! Every toe has stars on it, with glittery detail! Aside from the artwork, the actual pedicure and leg/foot massage are out of this world. If I had millions I would do this daily! I assure you, this will not be my last Cocok's/pedicure picture of the trip. There will be many more to come, in fact, I need to schedule my appointment for the day before I leave so go home with some fresh looking toes :)

10/3/11 Today after work I stopped into the Japanese grocery store. I prefer these to the ones available on base because lets face it, the produce is WAY better (it's not brought in on a cargo ship/plane), they don't use pesticides here, and organic is a way of life not an expensive trendy option. In shopping at the Japanese grocery store you are always taking a risk, unless of course you speak Japanese or can read one of the three alphabets that they utilize...none of those I can do, but I enjoy the adventure! It's always fun to get home and prepare dinner wondering what exactly it is that you're eating/cooking! One of the things that I love about the Japanese grocery store is the size of the carts and the system that you must follow. The carts are tiny, picture the smallest carts available at US grocery stores and make it even smaller, now you get the idea. They literally are crafted to fit a basket (also smaller than their US counterparts) on it. This is the pr

10/2/11 Nothing says Sunday like overeating, good company, and a pineapple themed park adorned with pineapple golf carts to transport you through this "it's a small world-esque" experience. One song played throughout the park, on repeat, and after hearing it once you realized that you'd want to have earplugs if you worked in an establishment like this. But of course the Japanese employees were all very cheerful and happy, as if this was the best song they heard all day, for the 10,000th time! After pineapple park and all of the samples (again I ate too much fresh pineapple and had some kind of mild allergic reaction, my lip started to get tingly and feel swollen, only then did I step away from the fresh pineapple table and stop eating!) we went to Ufuya, a little gem of a restaurant that we discovered last go round. You literally have to follow a sign in Kanji to find the place (no English indication anywhere), through a back road (very narrow), through a cemetery