The stuff that dreams are made of….

Last year at this time I was working two jobs during my summer vacation; this year I’m living on a tropical island, not working outside of the home, just enjoying quality time with my husband-wild. I never would’ve thought that this would be my reality. The longer I am here, the more I love the people, the culture, and the pace of life.  I do not think that I have been this relaxed in years, it is so nice.

For example, we went to dinner with some of G’ coworkers at a hibachi restaurant two weeks ago, we had a wonderful dinner with great conversation then walked around the area called American Village. One of his coworkers then took us to a friend’s business that was just opening. When walking in I was amazed at the difference between American lounges and Okinawan. There were only 6 stools and 2 L shaped couches, this is typical here. In fact, it is nearly impossible to get a restaurant to cater to a party of 10 or more. While we were at the lounge the owner/host was more than gracious, he tolerated my broken Japanese and was the perfect host. He offered us a snack of his mother’s homemade pickled gobo. This was delicious! The flavor was a bit like bacon bits. Bacon bit flavored vegetables, what’s not to love. After thanking our host we continued to walk the area, I have never felt as comfortable walking around at night as I do here. Everyone we passed said hello. It’s kind of like being in a country town at times.

Another evening G and I were trying to go to our local Italian restaurant but it was closed, so we ventured into a sushi restaurant across the street. Usually, the restaurants we go to have an American menu (one with pictures) this one did not, but surprisingly I wasn’t intimidated. We ordered sashimi and tempura, the fish was so fresh it melted in my mouth. I never realized sashimi could taste so good, what we’ve been eating in the states pales in comparison. Again the people here were kind and accommodating, they even smiled when I got out my Japanese phrase book to ask questions, they did not get frustrated or impatient with me at all. Because of this, I am more willing to continue to try speaking Japanese since I have been receiving such positive support from everyone.

Last Friday we went to our neighbor’s party. He is a Brit working at a local university and is also a concert flutist, which is lovely when we plays with the windows open the notes float down the hill and float into our house as well. This is so much nicer than the child who used to practice his trumpet in Dallas J

The people there were amazing. The university hires 50% Japanese researchers and 50% foreigners. As we walked in the host immediately ushered me in for pictures with the others, they were being silly and doing human pyramids. So we started off giggling and the evening continued on the same fun note. I had to step back a few times and digest that we were really discussing medical research with a Frenchman who has a patent on a new drug to treat the swelling in the brain for advanced cases of malaria. Some of the other guests were from England, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Argentina, and the Canary Islands, all over Asia and DelawareJ. Their research was just as fascinating, ranging from oceanography to physics. I was in awe that so many people are working on research that I have only read about and here I was listening to their theories and how they came to the point that they are at now. The whole evening was mesmerizing to say the least.

I am loving it here, tapping into the adventurous side that I had previously forgotten. I cannot wait to experience new things each and every day.