Takako and the Great Typhoon

Okinawa through a kid's eyes...April (age 9) and Loubie (age 6)

2010-04-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

It sure has been awhile--new baby in the house & mom-in-law moving in have gotten me all wrapped up in life! But we're back in action here at the blog. I've got another "Okinawa Through a Kid's Eyes" today, but this time it's two kids--brother and sister April and Lewis (Loubie). Lovin' their positivity. Thanks April and Loubie!

1. Where did you live before you got to Okinawa?
San Diego, California

2. Do you live on base or off base now?
off base

3. What is your favorite thing about living in Japan?
The really cool parks (LEWIS: they have family land and round 1)

4. What is your favorite Japanese food?
Onigiri (tuna) (LEWIS: onigiri rice and yakatori)

5. What is something difficult about living in Okinawa?
The heat and the cold (!) The mosquitos (LEWIS: nothing)

6. What is something you have done in Okinawa that you never did in the US?
Go on 50 foot swings. (LEWIS: played at family land and round 1)

7. Where do you like to go (off base)...why?
To the parks because they are really awesome (LEWIS: wonder museum, it is so much fun)

8. What advice do you have for kids who are moving to Okinawa?
Go to as many parks as possible because they are really awesome! (LEWIS: get a plane here (LOL!)

Fun With Sea Glass...and other beach stuff.

2010-02-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

Some of the beach baubles found floating around my house.

I was at the Virginia Aquarium this weekend. Passing by the gift shop I saw some beautiful sea glass jewelry. It made me think of all the bits of sea glass I have floating around my house. Whenever I went to the beach in Okinawa, I’d invariably pick up a pretty sea glass piece that would find its way into my pocket and eventually wind up in some car compartment, at home in a vase, or, most typically, in the bottom of my washing machine. My laundry room was a magnet for sea glass.

Occasionally, I actually did something cool with the glass. It’s such a beautiful material and there are so many creative uses for it. Unfortunately, I'm not a particularly skilled crafter. I bet you guys out there have bunches of neat ways you have used your sea glass. But I'll share mine anyway!

Project #1: My most ambitious sea glass project…The Christmas Ornament.

In my mind, I was going to make dozens of sea glass Christmas ornaments to adorn my tree. In reality, I created one. Here it is. Sea glass hot glued to a regular old Christmas ball. Okay, I'll be the first to admit it's not even that pretty. But, I like it anyway. Unfortunately, the ball never made it onto the tree. I failed to take into account the weight of the glass. It would have tipped my tree over. So the bottom is naked. I still use it in decorating though. I just pop it into a dish w/ other Christmas stuff, strategically placed to disguise it's bald spot.

If I were to do it again, I’d use much smaller Christmas balls. Maybe Styrofoam. Or just polka dot the glass on so it’s not too heavy.

Project #2: Sea glass magnets and thumb tacks.

I saw these at a Japanese gift shop and so decided to copy. Buy some cheap-o magnets at the 100 Yen store. Arm yourself with a glue gun and go to town. The result -- pretty refrigerator jewelry and less sea glass clutter.

Project #3: The sea glass hurricane glass.

This looked a lot more artful until my husband took the candle out and dumped every shell he could find into it. But you get the picture.

Okay, so this isn’t terribly creative. But go buy one of those glasses you put candles and stuff in. They have tons at the Navy Gift Shop. Pop a candle inside and then fill around the candle with your sea glass, coral (that looks really pretty) and/or shells.

Project #4: Kids Nature Dish

I stole this idea from my amazingly creative friend, Shyla. Shyla would put the rocks, leaves, shells, and the stuff her son would invariably pick up on their outings and keep them in a little “nature dish”. It was a special place to keep these little souvenirs of their days out together. She moved and I don’t know if the nature dish moved with her, but I loved that idea.

Project #5: Jewelry

Okay, so I never ever did this, ‘cause I know it would look terrible, but I know there are very talented people on island who will string your precious bits of sea glass into something beautiful for you. What if you took some of your daughter’s glass and made it into a pretty bracelet for her? What a cool gift. The Army Gift Shop I know has several artisans who work with sea glass.

OTHER IDEAS!

*Make a shadow box of your glass/shells with your kids. The frame shop on Camp Foster has free/discounted scrap matting to glue your things to. When I worked there a home school group did that as a project together and they looked really cool.
*Scrapbooking. Add glass to your beach pages.
*Wine tags. Different color/shape for everyone.

Okinawa through a kid's eyes...Sebastian, Age 4 and a half

2010-02-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

Meet Sebastian. He's 4 1/2 years old!

Here's the second installation in the "Okinawa Through a Kid's Eyes" feature -- a little mini interview from a child who lives in or has lived in Okinawa. This one comes from my friend Staci's son, Sebastian. Sebastian went to a local school in Okinawa, where he was able to pick up a fair bit of Japanese. Actually, even though they've moved to California, he's still speaking it. They were able to find a Japanese school for him to attend there. Way to go Sebastian!

Here's Sebastian's interview. Unedited. :)

1. Where did you live before you got to Okinawa?
Portland, Maine

2. Do you live on base or off base now?
Off base (San Diego) ***They lived off base in Oki too.--KG

3. What is your favorite thing about living in Japan?
Playing outside at school and in the "allies"

4. What is your favorite Japanese food?
Yakisoba ***Staci mentions that post interview Sebastian added that he also liked, "strap on eggs", which is the perfect name for the sushi that has a bit of egg "strapped" to rice with seaweed. (tamago nigiri)

Tamago nigiri image from www.smallsmallbaker.blogspot.com

5. What is something difficult about living in Okinawa?
Saying goodbye at school

6. What is something you have done in Okinawa that you never did in the US?
I didn't speak enough Japanese

7. Where do you like to go (off base)...why?
Putting sticks and trucks in water bottles

8. What advice do you have for kids who are moving to Okinawa?
Go there.

Thanks Sebastian!!! Feel free to submit your own child's interview to kelly@shisastory.com

Shisa Spotting

2010-02-05T20:39:00.000-08:00

Wall of shisa plaques near Toya Port

SHISA: a traditional Ryukyuan decoration, often found in pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawa mythology. Many people put a pair of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from various evils. When found in pairs, the shisa on the left traditionally has a closed mouth, and the one on the right an open mouth. [1] The open mouth to ward off evil spirits, and the closed mouth to keep good spirits in. ***from Wikipedia***

Courtesy of Scott Light

I had never ever heard of a shisa before I moved to Okinawa. But you pretty much step off the plane and there they are. EVERYWHERE. Rooftops. Doorways. T-shirts. Key chains. Okinawa and shisas go hand in hand. At first, I was indifferent to them, these strange lion-dog creatures. They were kind of scary and mean looking. After all, they are supposed to scare off evil. But something happened--I don't know why exactly, but they came to fascinate me and I started looking for them everywhere. My game was to see how many I could spot on a drive to the store, or on a walk through my neighborhood? No matter how many times I took the same route, it seemed I could find a new set that I'd never noticed before. How cool is that?

Making shisas with roof tiles at Sachi's Japanese Antiques in Motobu

I love shisas for different reasons. For their artistry. For their expression or size or color. They have so much personality. Especially though for their clever positioning. (Sometimes on a piece of scaffolding. Sometimes in a tree.) And gosh darn it if I don't have seven pairs in my house now.

Anyway, thought I'd post this video of the shisa in its element. It's taken in my neighborhood in Yomitan. Pardon the video quality--very homemade. Just wanted to offer peek into Okinawa! Or the chance to be Okinawa nostalgic.

One more for the road....

Okinawa through a kid's eyes...Mia, Age 8

2010-01-30T03:40:00.000-08:00

"Kids...we're moving to Okinawa."

My son wasn't even born when we moved to Okinawa, so figuring out how to tell him we'd be moving to another country wasn't an issue for our family. As a military brat though, I was on the receiving end of this kind of news countless times. I was always excited to be moving to another country. It was a mystery. An adventure. But, I was a strange child. Your kid may (understandably) not be that thrilled to be leaving all he/she knows and loves behind to move to the other side of the world. And you as a grown-up might not be either. So what do you tell your child about a place that you may not know much about yourself. How do you prepare them for that move?

I thought I'd start out here by adding a weekly feature to the blog that may help out. A mini interview with kids who are either currently living in Okinawa or have recently moved. I've gotten a couple of interview responses emailed to me and LOVE them. They're short and sweet and honest and can lead you and your young ones on a little internet research adventure of your own to figure out what the heck they are talking about. So without further ado, let's meet...

Meet Mia, Age 8.

Photo by Aviva Photography

1. Where did you live before you got to Okinawa?
San Diego, California.

2. Do you live on base or off base now?
Off base.

3. What is your favorite thing about living in Japan?
Teppanyaki (where they cook in front of you), Round 1, and snorkeling.

4. What is your favorite Japanese food?
Kappa maki (cucumber rolls)

5. What is something difficult about living in Okinawa?
Being far away from relatives. And having friends move away.

6. What is something you have done in Okinawa that you never did in the US?
Snorkeling, eating onigiri, and learning to speak Japanese.

7. Where do you like to go (off base)...why?
I like to go to Round 1 because there are a lot of fun games there. Parks with roller slides and zip lines. Restaurants with good food (because in Japan they have a lot of good food!).

8. What advice do you have for kids who are moving to Okinawa?
You probably think there’s just boring parent stuff, but there’s actually a lot of kid stuff here. (There might be a little bit more kid things than parent things.)
Be adventurous!

***Thanks Mia!***

If you'd like to submit your child's interview answers, just shoot them to me in an email and I'll post them up. kelly@shisastory.com

Welcome to Takako and the Great Typhoon's blog!

2010-01-26T18:11:00.000-08:00

This is the place on the website to get interactive. It's where you can make a pitstop for the latest information about Takako sales and events...and add your two cents about the book too!

It's also where you can stop in for kid-friendly information about Okinawa: Activities. Cultural tid-bits. Interviews with kids! Basically, stuff that can help your ones appreciate and make the most of their life in Oki. And if you are PCSing here, hopefully it will help gear your kids up for the big Okinawa adventure ahead!

Comments are welcomed. Questions are welcomed. I'd love to hear from y'all...kids and grown-ups. And if you have ideas for posts, drop me a line.