Lost in Paradise

Okay, so long time no talk. ^^ I still don`t have internet at my apartment, so I can`t really update the site too cleverly, but I may as well dish out some details I suppose. I`m currently working in Okinawa, the small chain of islands South of mainland Japan. More specifically I work on a small island to the West of Naha city called Tokashiki-jima (jima is Japanese for island). I`m the only native English speaker, but manage to get along with the people here and have even made a few friends/drinking buddies. I was surprised to find people here who could actually converse, granted quite brokenly, with me in English. Right now we are in the typhoon season, so we tend to get a lot of strong winds and rain, but that doesn`t keep it from still being incredibly hot most of the time. Of course, the only way on and off the island is by ferry, so when the typhoon comes in and even for a couple of days afterward the waves are too large for the boats to travel in, so the people on the island are literally stuck until the storm passes and the boats return. Oh, and the boats also bring supplies to the island, like food for the convenience stores (there aren`t any big markets, just a bunch of small convenience stores) so right before the storm hits, the people make a mad dash to the store to buy food, because they don`t know when the next time the boats will arrive. Fun times. It`s an amazingly beautiful island though, and the ocean is clear and blue. If you like snorkeling or diving then this is one of the best places to be (luckily I happen to enjoy both). The waves aren`t big enough for surfing, but the locals make up for it by becoming pros at wakeboarding, something I`d only done once before arriving here, but am now getting better at. Whew, I don`t think my emails are this long...^^;;; K, done for now, hopefully my internet will be set at home so I can throw some pictures on here.

posted by B and N @ 10:53 PM 0 comments