some random photos from this month....

Yori, Midori and I went out for dinner at an Izakaya. It was a teeny-tiny little place with only four tables! Yori ordered for me, and I told her NOT to tell me what I was eating until after I ate it. It was a big adventure and lots of fun!!
Midori and I first met each other back in 2001 when I taught english at Minatogawa Elementary School the first time we lived on Okinawa. She was my translator/Co-Teacher. She's a great friend!

We were very adventurous after dinner and made a spur of the moment decision to go to a Pachinko Parlor to look around! It was the first time for any of us to go there and it was so funny. Midori was scared and kept saying the Yakuza was going to grab us! Yori and I giggled so much we could barely walk! (Yakuza is the Japanese crime boss that runs the Pachinko Parlors...that's the story)

Max's last day of work at the pharmacy for his summer job. All his bosses were women!

Mika having fun fingerpainting.....we sent the painting to her foster family in Taiwan and they were very happy to receive it.

Mika starts gymnastics class and Max is driving his car with pride...

Mika has started taking gymnastics class and she absolutely LOVES it! She's very good at it and is always excited to flip upside down or tumble around. She has a great teacher and we really like her.
Max is still working on his car and is now enjoying the freedom that comes with it. He went to the commissary for me for the first time......hmmm, this driving thing might be great after all!!!

David gets promoted and Max buys a car! August 2, 2010

This was a busy day for our family. David got promoted to CWO-3! Yea!! Our friends, the Wolfgangs joined us for the ceremony. Mike is a Captain in the Navy and he performed the ceremony in his conference room. We've known them for about 8 years now and they're stationed on Okinawa also. Later that day, Max bought a car for only $1.24......yep, that's right. Our housekeeper, Michiko San had bought a new car and was planning to junk her old car. When Max heard about this, he asked if he could buy it using his summer job money. She said NO, you can not buy it, but you can have it for FREE! Max and I both told her we didn't feel comfortable taking the car without paying, so she said..."OK, Y100 yen." We all burst out laughing because Y100 yen is only $1.24. Max reached into his pocket, gave her 100 yen and then she said "Do you need receipt??"
Max spent the evening cleaning it and making appointments to have the oil changed and the A/C charged. David and I are so proud of him because he's using his own money from his summer job to pay for everything. Our baby is growing up!

A short trip to Okuma with friends- July 31st

Parasailing and miniature golf at Okuma......

Max, Mika and I went to Okuma last month with our friends Yori and Midori. We only stayed for one night, but we had ALOT of fun! We went parasailing for the first time and it was really funny. Once we stopped giggling, it was a very serene experience.
David was busy at work, but he joined us later that night.

TV commercial for the Okinawa Electric Power Company

OK, I've been trying to load the tv commercial, but I can't seem to figure it out. Here's a link to the tv commercial I did for the Okinawa Electric Power Company! It was so much fun, but boy, for something that took 7 hours to film.....the commercial is very short and if you blink, you'll miss me. The commercial is also on the website and you just need to click on the tab that says TVCM in the top right corner tab. Then click on the clip that is labeled "Experience all-electric Hen Poll15 seconds." (it's the 2nd video toward the bottom of the screen.) http://kaeru.tv/topics/tvcf/index.html


ウチナー主婦の生活をカエル。オール電化　｜　沖縄電力
kaeru.tv
ウチナー主婦

Eisa Festival! August 1, 2010

We went to the annual Eisa festival on Kokusai street. It wasn't as good as last year, but we still had fun.

If you look in the background, you can see a Monk. They don't speak and they don't like to have their photo taken, so I had to be very discreet.

Mika and Daddy drinking a "Quickly" drink....tapioca and yogurt. It's delicious!

This guy was playing music using a broom!

We stopped for a cold treat. Mika is eating frozen pineapple.

Okinawa Awamori! A very strong liquor with a poisonous snake inside.

Me and Midori with some funny street performers.

He really liked Max's "Jenbe." (Okinawa casual summer clothes)

Midori and Mika--time to go home after a long day.