Blogs from Okinawa Honto, Okinawa, Japan, Asia - page 2

Okinawa is an interesting champru (Okinawan language) of cultures. For 450 years it was an independent sea trading state called the Ryukyu Kingdom, with a royal family. I teach a “13th from the throne” princess. In 1879 the Meiji Government annexed Okinawa to Japan, and after WW2 it was under American military rule for 27 years. There is an amazing mix of “much beautiful nature” and bustling American and Japanese culture here. It is home to about 20 American military bases with 30,000 military personelle. It is a Japanese tourist haven, with resorts along much of the west coast. It also has distinctly Okinawan culture, holidays and architecture. In Midori machi, my home town, I ride daily past the Agena Castle Ruins and the Gushikawa Bull Fighting Arena. Friday nights, I go to the American Village ... read more

Okinawa AMICUS International Grade Fours went on a Field Trip to visit Uruma City Fire Brigade on the third Friday of the school year. The trip was part of the Social Studies Curriculum. The six teachers and three classes hopped into the gold and silver school buses (two of a fleet of thirteen) and were delivered to the door. The Fire Station Chief formally greeted us, thank you gifts were presented and then the tour began. The students visited the Emergency Call Centre and the fire fighters day quarters. The children also climbed into the ambulances, fire trucks, and sea recue vehicles. The highlights included putting on the emergency breathing apparatus and watching four lucky individuals being decked out in the fire fighters full kit. A good time was had by all. Two Grade Four Classes ... read more

Hello again from the Land of the Rising Sun. It’s been two weeks since we sent out our last blog, and we’ve visited two major places since our departure from Tokyo - Sapporo and Osaka. Ever hear of Sapporo beer? Well, this was the hometown of the famous Asian brew, among many other things this northern Japanese city had to offer. Of course, snow being one of them - we were delayed for seven hours in Narita airport due to heavy snow on the runway in Sapporo. It almost felt like we were heading home already to the cold of Canada (and I highlight the word “almost” - Canada doesn’t have butter corn Ramen like Hokkaido does!) In Sapporo, the sun was wavering around a balmy zero degrees (sometimes lower… okay, often times lower), and never ... read more

podrowienia z Naha, amerykansko -japonskie miasto, ktore nie jest ani japonskie, ani amerykanskie! ale z braku czasu, tylko pare zdjec... read more

Once the immigration process is complete we are on our way an hour late. The day is sunny and the temperature is 64. It is a perfect day for touring. Our guide is Hatsuea (call me Sue). Sue speaks English fluently and appears to love what she does which makes our day quite wonderful. She is assisted by Nana. Nana is about 4’8” and weighs about 85 lbs. Her duty is to insure the group stays together and the count is right. Her English is limited but her smiles are not. We take to calling her “our sheep dog” as at every stop she herds the group along and rounds up stragglers. We leave the pier and drive through downtown Naha, the capital. It is an intriguing city. The architecture is totally random, tall buildings and ... read more