In the Eye of the Storm!

The nights in Okinawa are abuzz and alive on the little main trading streets!! Big neon signs are everywhere!! Bright, bold and beautiful!! What in the day time is a very green and lush looking little island, lights up at night in full neon splendor!!

My friend took me to Sam’s restaurant and we were treated to incredible food and drinks!! Our chief was so adorable as he made our meals right in front of us!! He smiled a lot as he cooked, flipped spice bottles in creative ways up and over and around his back! Catching them skillfully as he cooked!! At one point my friend took a picture to capture this moment and I think the flast caused the chief to loose his concentration and the spice bottle flung over his shoulder and hit the table in front of some women that sat across from us! He smiled and made a comment in Japanese that had the ladies laughing! (probably something like ‘dumbass americans are always taking pictures! lol)

After an incredible meal in a wonderful atmosphere we headed back out onto the streets again!! My friend rented a car both weekends I was there (they dont let most of the military men drive…not a cool rule…but this meant that I needed my International Drivers Licence so that I could drive!) I have to admit that the first day driving on the wrong side of the road in the wrong side of the car was CRAZY! I practiced on the base before I ever ventured out  onto Okinawa’s busy streets!

The cars in Okinawa are SO teeny tiny! And so cute! But the people of Okinawa are also teeny tiny….my friend however is not…so it made it comical see him towering over the vehicles before getting in! Even the trucks are like super mini versions of our long haul trucks in North America! The streets are 6 lanes…but the most narrow lanes you can imagine! There are no curbs and the people STILL park like there are! There are also many many scooters and motorcycles, and these guys will drive between vehicles! SO…it made watching for parked cars and motorcycles, while navigating crazy traffic THE most stressful event of my time in Japan! By the second weekend I was a pro!! No more close calls! And finally getting the hand of where the blinkers are versus where the windshield wipers are!! (something that i’m still adjusting to driving my own car back in Canada now! lmao….I think my heart is still in Okinawa and my driving skills are matching it!)

Friend took me down to a beautiful and lively street to see the many many shops and crazy neon night life!! There were people everywhere and finding a place to park was a little challenging!! But SO worth it!! We walked up and down the streets and enjoyed the culture and night very much!!

The little sketch of me was done by an adorable Okinawan man who spoke no english! We waited for almost an hour as he sketched another drawing! His artwork was displayed on the street and was just incredible, so we had no trouble waiting!! He did try very hard to ask me if I was European, and when I said yes…Italian…he smiled and said, ‘I knew’ lol. That was so sweet!! He also in his way told me I had beautiful eyes which was so sweet as communication with him was not overly easy!!

I got my friend to take a picture of the habu saki that is all over the island!! O.k for all of my fellow tequilla drinkers (i’ve had more worms than I can tell you!) THIS is NOTHING next to the habu saki!! And there is NO WAY I was trying this!! I am sooo ridiculously scared of snakes that even dead ones in alcohol had me completely freaked out!! Makes me wonder what they do with the snakes when they are done with the drinks????

AND…how many snakes are wandering around the little island?? Because these jars were EVERYWHERE! You would think they would be an endangered species!!

This was the most perfect night!!! So beautiful and so full of smiles, laughs and a few tears as my visit was coming close to an end. (there will still be a few more blogs of Okinawa as i’m waiting for the snorkeling pictures to come back!!)

Mothers Day!!!

Yesterday was a fun day!! My daughter for mothers day came with me to workout!! We did a leg workout from Crossfit that didnt involve any weights (Chelly is 14 and while i’m going to start her in the weights a bit…i didnt want to start her there just yet). We had a lot of fun even though we both worked til we were covered in sweat!

We did 3 rounds of what i’m going to call block runs (we ran around one city block), 100ft of lunges, 30 box jumps and 50 Air squats, back to back only resting when we were SO out of breath…and then we both kept moving!! SHE DID GREAT!! She kicked my butt running!! But then I kicked hers on the squats!!

This morning we are both suffering and cursing stairs!! But what an incredible feeling it is to have your children active and healthy and joining you in fitness!! Next weekend we are taking a workout to the park so my son can join in too!! And i’m going to invite two of my clients with kids in the same age group!!!

Hope everyone has an amazing monday!!

From the Eye of the Storm!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 9:05 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.