Friendship Through Music

Last night was the 15th Annual Combined Band Concert. The III MEF Marine Corps Band was joined with the 15th Band from Japan Ground Self Defense Force. It was an amazing concert and I am proud to announce I managed to record every song but one!! I am so proud of Josh and everything he has done. This had to be another amazing experience for him and I’m sure last night sitting next to Sgt. Isa he didn’t regret re-enlisting and coming to Okinawa. If you’re open to it, this is such an amazing experience. Sit back and relax as the 15th and III MEF Bands entertain you! =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This sure was a treat. Feel free to share the videos with friends and family, and the blog too for that matter! Hope you enjoyed!

Shisa

Many of you may have no clue what Shisa are, but I have posted a few pictures in the past of neat pairs that we have come across. Just a little reminder…

   

Shisa are very popular here in Okinawa. They adorn attractions, businesses, and home entrances, and are most often found in pairs. They range from silly to rather serious and scary looking. The lion dog mixes are said to ward off evil spirits. There are different stories about their meaning such as, the one with the open mouth is keeping bad spirits away while the closed mouth is keeping good ones in. At our newcomer's brief one of the speakers joked about how the one with its mouth open is the woman and the one with the closed mouth is the man. Typically though it is considered the other way around. We have seen shisa that can fit in the palm of your hand and some as tall as we are. Shisa can be a big time investment since they are often placed outside of the house they are not to be replaced for some time. We have seen shisa upwards of $2000. Think that’s too much for a pair of ceramic lion dogs? Just remember it wards off evil…

 

 

For more information:

Click here to read more about shisa on wikipedia

I can’t find many other sources, but this includes the legend of the shisa. If you’re interested, enjoy!

96 hours of freedom

This past weekend was a 96 for dear Joshua so he had Saturday-Tuesday off. Saturday was rather uneventful due to the storms, but later in the evening we went to Mike’s Tex Mex and then 6 of us went upstairs to Biachaa, which is a karaoke bar. That was a rather fun experience. Josh and I didn’t really sing, but had a blast watching our friends sing! Sunday was a lazy day for sure, we really didn’t do anything. Monday however we went to Okinawa World which is just a few attractions in a park atmosphere. Not a theme park, don’t get that idea. We walked through a cave looked at a bunch of really neat vendors watched a Habu show, which was rather boring if you can’t speak Japanese. Looked at a bunch of other snakes. Had a snake wrapped around us and had our picture taken!! Sampled some fruit grown in the park. Had some really fresh(but sweet) pineapple and mango juice. Also had some stick juice that Justin bought, it’s actually made from sugar cane but it has a stick aftertaste. Browsed around a superstore of sorts.

The first picture are the Shisa at the park entrance. The picture is so foggy looking because of the humidity here, it automatically fogs up your camera lens. The rest are cave shots, which are blurry because I cannot hold still enough for the night time setting . Hopefully they get the point across though. =D

   

The next bunch are of the fruit they were selling/Justin bought for us to try.

 

A pottery studio and glassblowing demonstration

I’m guessing this is how they make Habu Sake and Josh and I with a snake! And then some of our friends Bryce, Ada, and Justin with the snake!

       

I just thought the spam packaging was funny, and of course loved those stuffed animals!

Probably the largest hibiscus I’ve ever seen.

Sunday was the only day that it didn’t rain out of the four day weekend and so we decided to go snorkeling. The weather said the water conditions were caution, but once we got there we realized it was rather choppy. Josh bought some fins and I guess they were too loose so he didn’t really get to go out. So I guess we’ll be selling those and picking up another pair soon. The visibility underwater was icky because of the conditions, and it wasn’t much fun without my hunny. Corbin went in because it was too rough, so I was stuck with two boys. I ran out and took some pictures before we snorkeled.