After an exhausting day of diving, we decided to get up yet earlier to go diving once again. This time, we were taking a forty minute boat ride to the Kerama Islands where we would be doing not two, but three dives. It was setting up to be an exhausting day when we weren’t able to find the place where we were supposed to meet, but luckily we were able to contact them eventually and get the location. We stocked up an snacks and water at a nearby Family Mart, received a safety briefing and were off into the breeze.
Joining us on our dives was a Danish man who turned out to sadly only speak ein Bisschen German. On the ride, I also saw two sea turtles which apparently is a rarity, but sadly didn’t see a single one of the numerous flying fish that everyone else was seeing. The depth of the water was over a hundred feet and it was breathtaking to be able to see the bottom without even having to jump in. Once we got to the first dive site, we were all ready to get even closer to the nature that we were observing.
Josh and I were buddies on the first dive and descended straight to the bottom where we swam around a big rock, covered with coral and fish while we waited for everyone else. Once everyone was down, we kicked our way around as we explored the bottom of the ocean together. I was still getting used to maintaining buoyancy at this point and was experimenting how to use breathing to control whether I go up or down. I also had a lot of fun doing flips and swimming upside down, but I couldn’t seem to master the skill of bubble-ring making despite my constant attempts.
On the second and third dives, we swam through all sorts of caves, crevices and valleys that challenged our skills. One room, made accessible only by tunnel as it was too shallow to swim in at the surface, reminded Josh of Ariel’s treasure room from The Little Mermaid. We also saw tons of kinds of colorful coral and fish that sadly did not burst out into singing “Under The Sea”, but still swam around us curiously. The third dive was particularly special because we got to see a sea turtle which is something that my parents claim to never have seen in their 75 dives during their three years living in Okinawa. Josh also claims to have seen a shark “as big as Lily”, but we’re not so sure we believe him.
All of us took the opportunity to sleep and soak up the sun on the boat ride back as we were drained of all the energy that we barely had at the beginning of the day. My parents claim that sushi tastes best after diving, but in my opinion it is not very appetizing to eat fish after you have just been admiring them for their stunning beauty. I also think that the fact that we didn’t find a very good sushi restaurant played a factor, but you win some you lose some I guess. After dinner, we hit up another San-A to stock up on food and supplies. I found some Japanese brand deodorant and hair product that I guess is okay after trying, but it turns out that deodorant and hair product are really the same no matter where you buy them.
Thursday
Although all we wanted to do was sit on the beach all day, my mom decided that we needed spend at least one day sightseeing. We started out by driving an hour down to the city of Naha where we saw a rebuilt castle from a long time ago, don’t ask me when it was built because I didn’t read any of the signs. If you ask me, it was the same as any other castle that I’ve been to, except this one was a lot more Asian and had a gorgeous view of the ocean. After picking up some quick lunch from a very enthusiastic man in front of a restaurant, we drove to a Japanese Navy bunker from WWII. It is famous for being the place where many peo[le committed suicide in fear of the Americans penetrating and was on mom’s “must-see” list. Despite being underground, the bunker was just as hot and humid as it was outside and we decided to move on to the next destination.
The next place we went to was definitely the least historically significant of any of the places that we visited, but it was definitely the most fun. The Ryukyu Glass Village was on my mom’s top-four-things-to-see list because she remembers going there while she lived in Okinawa and also was in search of a new set of matching water glasses. Definitely more important than World War II. My dad commented on how tourized it has become in the past 17 years, but still purchased some sake (Japanese rice wine FACT CHECK) in a sea blue, hand blown glass vase. There was also a game where we could pay ¥300 (under $3) for 5 ping pong balls that we could try to throw into various glass containers and try to win. Josh ended up winning three items, Lily got one, Bethany got one and I got a whopping zero. Feeling inspired, my mom picked out the water glasses that we were going to get and we hit the road before this tourist trap sucked away any more of our money.
Just down the road, my dad remembered that there was a big war memorial for soldiers from all sides of WWII that we decided to check out before getting dinner. It was still very hot, but I learned that yet more people had committed suicide at this location by jumping off of the cliffs into the ocean. This time, however, it was the island’s native families and not the Japanese that were victims of fear. Throughout the war, the Okinawans often found themselves stuck between which side to side with and tragically paid the price at this location. There was also a museum that we chose not to go through as it was quite large and we are a family with four children.
Still kind of close to Naha, we hopped on the expressway towards our house and made the inevitable stop at Japanese McDonald’s. In my opinion, everything was very similar which I guess is the point of a franchise, except for the drink sizes. I think most Americans would describe them as being smaller, but I would describe American drink sizes as being larger. I guess you could say I’m a glass-is-too-big type person.
Friday
We decided to spend our last full day in island paradise on the beach and snorkeling. My mom got me up at 700 because she insisted that there would be good sea shells if we beat the other beach goers to the beach. So we took the two minute walk to the beach. We didn’t start out very well, but our discoveries eventually picked up in rate and I got to spend some “quality time” with my mother. Can’t beat that. At about 1000 we got back to the house to find that everyone else was still sleeping and nagged at them to seize the day. Quite some time later, my parents were ready to go to with me to find a dive shop where we could rent two sets of snorkel gear. After picking Josh, Bethany and Lily up at the house, we finally headed to the beach.
Josh and I started out with the snorkel gear and saw lots of urchins, starfish, fish and coral in the shallow waters. Eventually Josh gave up and my dad came out to meet me and we proceeded to go farther out to where the depth dropped and we could comfortably swim without having to fear damaging coral. Like a lot of what I’ve been seeing of the ocean, it kind of reminded me of Nemo. Once we got tired and cold, we headed back to the beach and found it difficult to swim in the shallow water as the tide had dropped almost a full meter in the time we were out. Next we walked to the German bakery which was also two minutes from the house to find some lunch. It was very German.
In the afternoon, everyone except my dad and I wanted to go snorkeling so everyone else stayed home and did nothing. This time, we drove to Maeda Point which was chock full of people diving and snorkeling, but quickly saw why it was so crowded once we went under the water. It was full of every kind of color of coral and fish and was extremely accessible at the perfect depth for snorkeling. I even got to see a lion fish that was flaunting its striped ribbons saying “don’t screw with me”.
At four, we returned the snorkel gear to the dive shop and headed back to the house to pick the lazy part of the family up for dinner. We were heading back to Naha to meet a friend from church who was stationed in the Marines in Okinawa with one of his friends. The restaurant that we ate at was called “Garlic” which had Bethany over the moon. It’s Sunday now and I’m pretty sure that our breaths still smell from three days ago.
After dinner, we headed north to American Village where we all got some famous Okinawan Blue Seal ice cream and said goodbye to our comrades. Then the family decided to split up and meet again in an hour after a last-minute souvenir and T-shirt hunt.
Saturday
Yesterday was mostly a travel day for us. We left the house at 930, hit up a San-A to get last second Kit-Kats, returned the rent-a-car and took a shuttle to the airport where we waited in our first queue of the day. In total, I bet we spent a good three hours of the day just waiting line for things. After boarding our delayed flight, we finally arrived in Shanghai where we had to wait in line for a very long time as there was only one customs officer who was approving people for layovers. She also made sure to look at every single page of our passports and verify that we were us by looking at our pictures and then at our faces at least three times. Luckily I didn’t have purple hair this time.
Oh, and by the way, you got click baited if you think my dad really got arrested in China. Do you really think that anyone would arrest this lovable creature?
All that happened was a security guard stood up when my dad bent over to get a receipt that he dropped. In America, that could mean "almost arrested".
After getting our luggage, Josh, dad and I decided that we wanted to go downtown to see the skyline at night which proved to be very stressful. First, we didn’t even know what ticket to buy until some lovely person who spoke fabulous English helped us out. Then, we stepped off the train into what seemed to be an endless crowd of people and tried to stay afloat as we swam down the river of people from the station to the view of the skyline. I don’t think the city was super crowded as a whole as it seemed like the side streets were pretty dead and there weren’t that many cars considering the amount of people. So I guess it’s safe to say that my initial impression of China was a false one as Shanghai is a glittering metropolis that has its bad neighborhoods, just like any other.
Sunday
Our Sunday was 38 hours long. One could also say that our flight only lasted for an hour even though we were in it for fourteen. When we got home, we found that our trampoline had taken down the power, internet and phone lines and that two trees had taken down yet more power lines and fractured our deck just hours before. Luckily, the insurance company will be covering everything and the electricity was back up this morning, but we will sadly not have internet until this Wednesday. It is also very convenient that two little angels (our grandparents) left food for us in the fridge so we are able to focus on cleaning the mess up.
Overall, this trip to Asia has shown me that people really aren’t all that different no matter where you are. I used to think of Asia as the “dark side” of the planet where phones come from and westerners aren’t supposed to set foot unless they’re “on business”. I know that this type of thinking came from a lifetime of being told that “China” is responsible for the world’s problems and I’m sure that plenty of people still think that way. This trip has torn down any prejudice that I had against the east and, if anything, has made me think that America is pretty far behind when it comes to being the leader of modernization. To me, China, Korea and Japan are no longer foreign countries, but places where I have been shown kindness, patience and love. As much as I feel like I have broken free of the “American mindset”, I can only come to the conclusion that I am pretty much as American as it gets.
