49

Straight from the tree...

Ok, this entry my be counter-productive, but not even 10 minutes ago, I saw single-handly the most disgusting thing of my entire life. It is so bad, that for the sake of my dear mother and family that read this blog, I will not write about it. However, if you are curious --and I am able to not block the horrific encounter from my mind between now and then-- feel free to call me tonight and ask about "red paint."

 

48

The Three Amigos +1

Alright, it's 3:20 and it has already been a pretty eventful day...

1) Today I saw a Japanese military helicopter (I am fairly certain it was an American Blackhawk, but don't quote me) take off from my island. The helicopters themselves are nothing new or unusual to the Daitos. You'll see them fly by from time to time, and originally I thought it was the American military doing training excercises. That is until my friend told me that whenever someone gets seriously injured (basically anything which our tiny clinic can't take care of), the Japanese military gets sent to airlift them to the mainland. Pretty nuts, eh? But as many times as I have seen them (also Huey's, and another type I don't know...) circling the island, I have never actually seen them take off. Judging from the crowd at the airport I am assuming that it was a sugar cane worker who got injured, but I am sure I will hear about it as the gossip mill turns on KD...

2) I can almost guarantee and hysterical entry this Saturday/Sunday. My island has invited a famous Okinawan comedian to come and perform. However, I have a feeling he won't be the only funny thing that night-- or at least for my teachers. You see one of my really good friends on the island, coincidentally the "jokester" of the teachers, decided to prep me for the event. Every time the comedian says something funny, he is going to gently tap me behind my back, and that is my cue to laugh obnoxiously. I am positive this is what he wants because he had me practice it with him while we were out to lunch today. And the louder and more obnoxious my laugh was, the more he approved...

-Andy

 

47

This is one of my cat's kittens.

This entry is going to be really short:

1) I had a great run last night (7 miles) and running at night really makes the difference temperature wise. Never mind that there are virtually no street lights and you are running blind for the most part; you still have an insanely beautiful starry night to guide your path. It's Complete with shooting stars, eerie heat lighting over the ocean, and what you swear is a UFO or two...

2) That is one of my stray cat's kittens above. This one, in particular, has no fear about "exploring" my apartment should I leave a door or window open. Need I say more?

 

46

Muro Taicho strikes again!!!

Due to many personal requests, I have decided to start back up my blog. Aside from pleasing a few close friends and family, I think this decision is for the wiser. Without a blog, I won't be able to catalogue the nearly daily insanity of Kita Daito. Stories that 13 months ago would have wracked my brain with their incomprehensible insanity, no longer phase me. I have become either acclimated to them, or comfortably numb to them; however, you choose to describe it, I have been missing stories like this:

Today was the school clean up. In a very Japanese way, we are all assigned to teams with an area to "sogi" or clean-up. Now, my Japanese still isn't the best, but when you are handed a large hand saw and told to go over to a tree and wait, you have a sinking sensation something "interesting" is about to happen. When about 30 of the parents come over with similar saws to the same tree, you know something is about to happen. I was told in a few words, we were going to, "cut down the trees." At this point, I am thinking, "No, way, there is literally no way they are expecting us to chop down this entire tree or the 5 or so trees around it with merely handsaws..." Luckily for me, I was right. They just wanted to chop down all of the the branches hanging over the street!

So, I am staring at these branches and wondering when the cherry picker is going to roll up with the heavy duty machinery when Okinawan-PTA Member #1, throws a rickity tin ladder against one of the trees and scurries up. Within a minute, branches are raining down around me. NOT the little branches that birds make nests in, but rather the branches kids build tree houses in. While I am dodging the falling logs, my art teacher sees me and decides that I need something to do. He points me to a rather large weed (small tree) that was growing out of some shrubbery. This, I thought, I can handle.

I get down and visit my prey eye-to-eye, much akin to a lion stalking his prey. With a few quick pulls of the saw, that meddlesome weed was no more. I held this vile monster over my head with pride, and then tossed it into the growing log pile. But destroying that weed was not enough, I was blood, err vine-thirsty for more. The remaining two trunks of this weed had to go. I saw furiously away and after a good 10 minutes; I cut through the last two trunks. I reach in for my prize and pull. It occurs to me, when I have both trunks almost out of the row of bushs, that I had in my hands what they call in the gardening business, "collateral damage." In my frenzied state of mind, I had totally cut down two of the bushs I was trying to protect! But no matter, I was quick to come up with a remedy. I stealthily made haste to the teacher's lounge where I found the one cure-all for everything: duct tape. With near-ninja like dexterity, I was able to quickly duct the bushs back to their roots. Hey, I know their going to die, but at least this gives them a fighting chance, no? Moreover, the duct tape proved useful in yet another function: deftly hiding any damage I had done until, an unknowning gardener stumbles upon the dead bush weeks from now, and sees the call sign of the "duct-tape bandit."

This is one such story that would be totally lost without a blog system. Three hours later I had practically forgot about it... But in other news, here are some updates of the last week:

1) Today, I saw quite possibly the grossiest thing I have ever seen in Japan. The Japanese use basically an over-grown weedwacker to cut their lawns (think weedwacker plus serrated circular saw), possibly the most dangerous, non-essential, irrational thing ever invented. As, A) the lawn never looks even when your done, and B) you are wielding and open circular saw with little to no safety acutriments --enough said. And yet, I have seen countless Okinawans listlessly swining away at entire fields... Well the lawns are pretty thick around here --and as we are living on a small, sub-tropical island in the pacific-- they are usually flush with all sorts of life (snails, toads, kittens, etc.). I have always wondered what would happen if a critter in said lawn got hit by one of these death-mowers... As I walk home from the aforementioned log-fest, I look down and notice the biggest toad I have ever seen on KD. It is hunched over and walking slowly in the same direction I am. The hunch was suspicious, but then I realized, "Wow, this must be a mother toad and she is carrying her eggs on her back; just as I had read in countless Zoo Babies books! What an awesome natural experience to witness first-hand! Let's get a closer look..." Upon closer examination, the toad was not carrying its young at all, but rather its guts as they hung from a clean, wide death-mower strike. I will never use a weedwacker again.

2) Some of my teachers have conned me into training for the Naha marathon. Training has been tedious at best... I have trained for a marathon before, but never in the tropics. The only realistic time to train is either late at night or early in the morning-- the heat and humidity is THAT BAD. I have been pretty religious about my training, but the heat has kept me from completing most of my scheduled runs. I am only 2 weeks into my 16 week training scheme; so much can and will change. But, I will keep you posted on the "shinkasen's" (bullet train) progress.

3) Ahhh, and here's a supremely good omen. With the fishermen on the island, I was giving the nickname, "Muro-Taicho," or "Captain Muro." Now, I am fairly certain this nickname was given in jest, but I don't think it is offensive at all, as Muro (a type of fish; pictured above) are prized for their sashimi (raw meat). Although there are many theories of the reasoning/origin of "Muro-Taicho," I think the nickname has more to do with Muro being the first fish I ever caught on the Kita Daito. Well, I went fishing last yesterday with my boss, the first time of the new year, and I nabbed three Muro in a row. Coincidence? Good Omen? Just Lucky? That is for the higher powers to decide...

-Andy