2nd Impressions

Daniel

• The way everything is built around here, typhoons are to Okinawa what blizzards are to Minnesota;  A day or two off from work or school.
• Produce isn’t all that expensive as long as you know what to buy where.  It’s good to know at least a couple different farmers’ markets and grocery store options.
• If you’re willing to go “adventure fishing” and risk your safety on the way to the fishing spot you can catch some amazing fish from shore!
• F-15s are really cool up close!
  

Lydia

• I’m sorry Minneapolis.  Okinawa takes the cake for scenery and terrain during long rides.
• Tofu is CHEAP.  And FRESH.  I don’t know how, but people make it here and it is awesome.  Almost every meal we make we find a way to incorporate tofu.
• If you want to up your food game, marry Daniel Dahl.  The best meals and coffee consumed on the island so far came from our own kitchen.
• I don’t like fishing.  Unless it is extreme adventure fishing!!!!  Daniel is not too keen on extreme adventure fishing.  Until he sees the size of the fish that can be caught from shore at the mere cost of risking your life to get to the fishing spot!
• Persimmon’s are delicious.  An unexpected new contender to my favorite fruit the blueberry.  
  
  
  
  
  
  The following are  photos from our "extreme adventure fishing" trip to Cape Zanpa.
  
  

  

  Lydia at the top of the cliff that overlooks, the fishing spot

  
  

  

  Daniel made it down the cliff with his gear, only 300 yards more of this stuff..

  
  

  

  The scenery

  
  

  

  Daniel gets partial credit for helping this guy get his fish out of the water with the gaff hook.

Typhoon Alley

June 1^st – November 1^st is typhoon season in Okinawa.  At this time last year, 6 typhoons had already hit the island.  This year, there haven’t been any.  Until this past weekend.  We started hearing about the potential of Typhoon Fito hitting Okinawa last Monday.  Nothing new, there was another typhoon forecasted to hit the island a couple weekends ago that was a false alarm.  But, when Wednesday rolled around and the forecast continued to confirm, Typhoon Fito is heading straight for Okinawa we started to prepare.  Another seemingly tell-tale sign that this one was for real is that small talk begins revolving around “the typhoon.”    

“I’m heading to the grocery store, to stock up for the typhoon.”

“Better get there early.  The lines are going to be terrible, because of the typhoon.”

“You all ready for the typhoon? 

“Yep.  All stocked up on video games and food.”  

“So what if the power goes out?” 

“All hopes lost.”

“Of course, this one would hit on the weekend.  Last 4 typhoons in a row. All over the weekends.  Don’t even get to take off work.”

Daniel left work on Friday only after closing all the blinds on the windows to minimize damage, and, for offices and operatories on the 1^st and 2^nd floors, placing a plastic bag over the computer and ensuring all electronics were elevated from the ground.  When he arrived home, we proceeded to bike to the grocery store to buy 2 water jugs to supplement the one that I had gotten already to put in our “typhoon readiness kit,”  something that everyone new to the island is encouraged to create.  Daniel filled up the bathroom tub with water for washing and flushing toilets if the electricity and water pressure went out, parked the car securely next to the curb with the emergency brake locked, and I moved all the trash bins and outdoor furniture indoors.  

The sky lit up in an orangey glow color as the sun set that evening.  Similar to the peculiarly radiant colors that sometimes occur before a tornado.   And we went to bed.

Orange sky and Daniel :)

We awoke to a rainy windy Saturday morning.  Since we do not have internet, we turned on the radio.  There is one English radio channel in Okinawa and that is the military station, AFN.  We eventually heard the information we wanted, the weather report.   TCCOR-1 Caution.  This means winds of 35-50 knots are occurring and winds of 50 knots or greater are likely within hours, stay indoors.  Schools close and all support centers close and, you have to stay on the base. 

So, we spent much of the morning watching the gusty winds blow the trees and rain around out of the window.  By the afternoon, I could no longer resist the urge.  I put my raincoat on and went outside for an adventure walk.  I came back soaked and happy.  My curiosity was satiated as much as it could be without violating military guidelines too much.

Overall, it was a great typhoon day.  We did not lose electricity, we did not need the bathtub full of water, and we were not scared.  Some of the highlights: a huge pancake breakfast, fresh baked cookies, some home projects accomplished, lots of storm watching while snuggling, and we starting the new book we are listening to, “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell.  I even got a work-out in on my new bike trainer.

The best part of our first typhoon experience?  Another typhoon is forecasted to hit the island on Monday!... 

J

And it did, Typhoon Danas was forecast to be much more severe than Fito with predicted affects for this area being straight line winds of 90 knots gusting to 110 knots (that’s 104-127 mph).  The dental clinic was closed at lunch time and all personnel were sent home to prepare for the storm, meaning Daniel got the afternoon off! Alas, the storm passed too far to the north of us to raise the alert to TCCOR-1 Emergency (meaning winds of 50 knots or greater are occurring) so we didn’t get to see the full potential of a typhoon for ourselves but we did get more quality time together and some more workouts on the bike trainer.  (We’re not really wishing the brunt of a typhoon on Okinawa but everything here is built to withstand them so it wouldn’t be that big a deal anyway).

TCCOR-1 Caution: quick go for a run before the gate closes!

6164B Camp Lester

Collaborative Post:

As of August 9, 2013 Daniel and I have been living out of the luggage we were allowed to carry with us on the plane to Okinawa.  The first three weeks after our arrival we lived in “temporary housing” on the air base.   The room had a kitchen with 2 of all basic utensils.  Forks, spoons, plates,  bowls, mugs etc.    Two weekends ago, we were assigned and allowed to move into our permanent place of residence at Camp Lester, a marine housing base about 2 miles South of Kadena.   So, Saturday evening after having dinner with a small group from the dental clinic, we packed up our luggage and joyfully left our temporary roach infested and smelly residence.  The military provided temporary furniture until the two shipments with the rest of our belongings arrived.   A bed, couch, table, 2 chairs, and a dresser were there waiting for us.  We were happy and hungry, so I offered Daniel part of my sandwich. 

Crap.   No knife.  

The next morning:  “Hey Daniel, would you like oatmeal for breakfast?” 

Crap. No saucepan.

“How about cereal instead?”

Oh wait.  No bowls or spoons.

We ate bread that morning.

That is how the next couple of days went.  We drank milk and juice straight out of the cartons, ate with our hands, tore our food, or went out for ramen. 

Luckily, ( I talked to a lot of people who lived in their empty house for months before their things arrived) all of our stuff arrived one week later.

Our Stuff arrives :)

Almost all of our stuff arrived safe and sound including two large mirrors, three glass end tables, and countless other items that could easily have fared the long journey differently.  Part of their secret may be that they wrap everything in paper.  Everything.  This made the un-packing process feel like Christmas.  Except better!  Because every gift that we opened was something we forgot we owned and already know we use.  Some of our favorite arrivals:

-Highlander grog coffee beans and a French press   (Good coffee is Haaaard to find in Okinawa so this was a real treat)

-Kitchen knives (much sharper than the two alloted to us in temporary lodging)

-“Basically everything in the kitchen”  -Daniel

-towels (we were continually washing and or re-using the two towels we had packed, my tiny dry wic REI towel and a small hand towel that Daniel packed)

-a really comfortable bed with sheets and pillows (the temporary bed provided did not come with bedding so we spread Daniel's sleeping bag over it for our bedding and woke up every morning to find one of us on the sleeping bag, the other on the mattress, and both of us wondering if it was actually a cardboard box disguised as a bed that we had slept on...)

-biore face soap

-hammock

-fishing gear

-oatmeal

-4 bags of dried beans including garbanzo (for hummus) and split peas (for soup)

-….and  Bikes!!

A random list.  But truly, these items were opened with extra jubilation, possibly a scream, and definitely a large smile. 



Daniel demonstrating how his handiwork and design for hanging the hammock he brought home from Belize holds up.

Lydia displaying her bike rack that, on the second attempt, successfully holds and displays our bikes in a corner of our living room. 

Our barracks.  6164B Camp Lester