Things lately

Things here lately have been great!! The weather is starting to warm up and we were able to have a sunny day at the beach with some of our friends. We ventured up north a little to a new beach called Zanpa Beach. How beautiful does it look? Clear blue water, soft sand, and island music playing from the speakers= a perfect beach day! Unfortunately we didn't realize how strong the rays were and failed to put sunscreen on until it was too late. I rarely burn, but I'm definitely a little red under my super tan. Joe on the other hand is a lobster with a distinct sunglass tan (more like burn) which is pretty funny! We've been venturing out exploring the island... we're constantly looking for new places to eat and places to shop and walk around. We love trying new places to eat and we're just so amazed at the variety we have. Since we've been here we've eaten Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Indian, Hawaiian, Mexican, Italian... that's all I can think of right now but I bet there's more! Oh and I just had to snap a picture of one of the many Starbucks we have here! Amazing, I had to move to an island thousands of miles away to live in a town that has Starbucks (maybe one day Columbus you'll branch out). Today we went down south to this outlet mall and it was just really neat to walk around. We even found a Coach outlet but the prices were outrageous!!! We're really enjoying ourselves and we can't wait for Joe's schedule to be a little more flexible so we can get scuba certified! With that said, Joe's been busy at work and I try to keep myself busy by working out, venturing out to find new places to see, playing with the pups, getting to know my neighbors, doing the finishing touches around the house, and of course job hunting! I'm hopeful something will work out and I'll get a job I love. Sooner than later would be better though ;)

I think overall we're pretty much fully adjusted to the Okinawan lifestyle. We're now accustomed to some of the local behaviors and other tidbits. Like the crazy scooter/motocycles who apparently don't have rules on the road and can drive on the middle dashed lines whenever they want and zip infront of you when they please... the red lights with green straight arrows... the crazy huge bats who fly and swoop around at night (seriously, they're HUGE), the 3-second rule where apparently the Japanese believe you have three seconds after the light turns red to keep driving through the light until you really should stop... the .03 BAH rule and if you're involved in an alcohol related accident and you weren't even at fault you could still be found guilty... and I'm enjoying being a part of the majority for once and not the minority. It's funny when Joe and I go out he can tell when the Japanese people are talking about him and say "Gaijin" (meaning foreigner)... I think it's funny because there are Americans everywhere! Anyway, just a few little things we've adjusted to... and I can honestly say I can't remember how to drive on the right side of the road anymore!!!

What would you do it you saw this stoplight? Yes this is the infamous "red light" with a green straight arrow. What does it really mean? It means green light... how odd.