Back to Blue

Thirty seven days and a wake up until the trip.  Once again taking that trip back to a place that I cannot justifiably describe.  It's incredibly blue, immensely warm, and immeasurably friendly.  Back to blue...opening the blinds to see what I have missed for over 3 long years.  It's home, it's comforting, it's Okinawa.
Having lived here in the past for an extended period, I am no longer viewed as a gaijin, or foreigner.  I am rather referred to as Uchinanchu, an Okinawan in spirit.  Quite an honor for me.  Okinawans are quite an accepting society.
I promise to post a picture a day to document my stay.  Pictures of the bluest seas, the greenest mountains, children playing, flowers blooming. and of course the food of the Island.  I will narrate my world daily in a few lines, and I will write poetry when inspired by my Muse.  I might even complain about the stifling heat. That's what I promise.  I hope you'll follow this blog starting in mid May.

Yomitan Revisited

Where I was today is where I needed to be. 

No sounds except a barking dog, 
birds overhead, 

and then silence. 

Banana trees, cerulean ocean,

and papaya trees surrounded me. 

Occasionally a terra cotta roofed home 
would appear 

along the trail I walked. 

Again, this is what I needed today. 

Something told me 
my God already knew.

Happy New Year Gaijin!

Ojiisan is Grandfather in Japanese, so I just couldn't resist...

Hey Ojiisan, What’s for Supper?

We got rice cakes and cookies and tuna galore

but remember to take off your shoes at the door!

The rice is a cookin' and my stomach is rumblin'

the seaweed is washed and the soup is a bubblin'.  

Megumi brought sushi and Miyagi brought rolls

and we’ll all say Happy new year when we hear the bells toll.

So let’s all bow our heads and remember our friends

And pray that we’re blessed to meet here again.

Yum Yum (Oishii)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY GAIJIN FACEBOOK FRIENDS.

Shades of Blue

Azure, baby, 
Carolina blue.

Cerulean, cobalt, 
Robin's egg too.

Electric, iceberg, 
Navy blue.

Powder, Prussian, 
are just a few.

These are the colors 
of my world 
today. 

Photo by Amy Pennebaker Moser from her back yard.

Awase Fish Market

Today has been a wonderful Saturday filled with only things that I enjoy doing.  My wife and I started out early this morning and took a walk to the beach.  We told our daughter we would be back in thirty minutes, but we didn't make it back for a couple of hours.  We got caught up in the beauty of the island.  Sea shells, tropical fruit trees, saying hello to neighbors that didn't speak a word of English.  We both just sat along the ocean and validated to one another how happy we both were to be in the moment.
By 11 am we were taking a long walk up a mountain side attempting to reach the top of Katsuren castle.  After some time our effort rewarded us with a magnificent view of Kin Bay.  Once again a glorious view of Okinawa and the surrounding Pacific Ocean.
By 1pm we found ourselves at Awase Fish Market.  Fresh seafood is cooked right in front of you and you dine al fresco along the seaside.
We found ourselves back home by 3pm, tired but blessed to be in Okinawa.

.

Hell Yeah I'm a Beni Imo

There is an area in Okinawa that grows the best tasting sweet potato.  It's appropriately named the beni imo which means 'purple sweet potato'.  Many kinds of processed foods use beni imo, such as Japanese-style and Western-style sweets and ice cream. Beni imo ice cream is a favorite of the Okinawan people.  
Beni imo farmers stalls can be found on the country roads running through the sugarcane fields of Yomitan, a farming community located on the west coast of Okinawa along the beautiful East China Sea. Farmers sell their potatoes at unmanned stalls along the road, and the price for a bag of these delicious sweet potatoes is posted at each stall.  There is a basket to leave your money. It's all on the honor system.  No one is watching you.  Why can't we do this in the United States I asked myself?  
The Okinawans even have a slang term using the words beni imo.  To be called a beni imo is to be called a redneck, basically a farmer of the soil.  I think it is more a term of affection given from one Okinawan to another, meaning that you are a person of the land.  Kind of like being called a redneck by another redneck.
I would bet that the Okinawans even have their own version of a Gretchen Wilson.  So let me hear a big hell yeah from the beni imo boys like me....hell yeah.

Wax On Wax Off

I met the next door neighbor yesterday.  I introduced myself as Kim and I was here with my wife and we were visiting my daughter and her family. When I told him I was from Florida, he didn't understand, so I said I was from Miami which I figured he had heard of.  His eyes lit up and then he asked me if I knew Crockett and Tubbs.  Oh yeah, I know both of them, I said.  They are my best friends...really cool dudes. 
He introduced himself as Mr. Miyagi.  You can't make this stuff up folks.  So of course I asked him where Daniel-san was.  You know, 'wax on wax off', I said.  That's about the time the conversation started to sour.  He smiled and mumbled something that sounded like 'grasshopper', so I just pardoned myself and walked back into the home that is my fortress and safe haven for the next few months.
He's probably catching flies with chopsticks about now.  Me, well I'm gonna watch reruns of Miami Vice in case he asks me any more questions about my two new friends in Florida.