Chinese New Year...in Japan

Last year we vowed to escape the 2012 Chinese New Year madness in Shenyang, and we kept our promise. While many other expats traveled to tropical locations in Thailand, Singapore, or Malaysia, we opted for what I would call the best of both worlds. We visited Farell's aunt living in Okinawa, Japan. We got a little taste of culture along with a little taste of home.


Okinawa is a small island off the coast of mainland Japan, and anyone familiar with this island knows that it's home to several military bases. Farell's aunt and her husband are both civilian employees at Kadena Air Force base, so we had the privilege of spending time on base in "little America". 


In addition to being able to eat out at Chili's and stock up on grits and grape jelly at the commissary, we took in a little Japanese culture as well - Pinapple Park, Gyokusendo Cave, and an Eisa dance show. We even celebrated Morgan's birthday at a Japanese restaurant -- followed by a traditional butter cream cake and ice cream, of course. Ahhh, the little things...


The best thing about this trip, though, was that we were able to hang out with family and it only took us eight hours to get there!


Enjoy the pics!

On Kadena Air Force Base

I'm soooo glad the kids had the opportunity to spend time together.
Priceless!

Christian did not appreciate dressing up for these photos.
I love, love, love them!

We missed our turn headed to Pineapple Park, and then Christian got
car sick...all over Angela's back seat. But look what we stumbled on!!
The water is a crystal clear aquamarine. Gorgeous!
We've had these "God winks" in every vacation so far.

Christian, Aunt Angela, Farell, Morgan, and little cousin Nyla

We finally made it to Pineapple Park -
Home of pineapple cookies, pineapple cake, pineapple tea
pineapple chocolate, pineapple wine... The kids OD'd
on the pineapple chocolate.

Pineapple smiles!

As we strolled through the museum at Pineapple Park

Japanese "Dollar Tree" (100 yen is equivalent to about $1). 

Eisa Dancers

Lion dance - This was very similar to the lion dances in China.

Floral lion that greeted us at the entrance to the Eisa dance performance.

Our own little lion

Habu snakes are the venomous inhabitants of Okinawa Island.
After we watched a Habu demonstration, Farell and Christian decided
they could be snake handlers (this of course is not a Habu).

Habu Sake -
Yes, those are real venomous Habu inside the bottle. I think
you may need to have consumed a couple of shots of sake to
even consider drinking this!

Inside the 300,000 year-old Gyokusendo cave

My big girl and me enjoying the beautiful, lush environment

Japanese restaurant with traditional seating. As customary, we had to
remove our shoes.

The Family - Diante, Angela, Luis, Farell, DeVita,
Morgan, Christian, and (sleepy) Nyla.

2011

It's our anniversary! One year ago today, we arrived in China. Boy has this year been full of ups and downs, laughter and tears, bonding and self-awareness. "It seems like yesterday" is such a cliche that I hesitate to use it here, but really...it seems like yesterday. 


My goal from the beginning of this journey was to remember to appreciate everything within the experience. I knew that there would be challenges, and I knew that I would tend to let the challenges overshadow the gems. And, to be honest, most days my brain was so overloaded that I took little time to truly reflect on what an amazing experience this is for my family. Every now and then, however, I would slap myself on the cheeks, pull myself out of the look-at-what-I-can't-do rut, and flip through the mental photo album of this journey so far. Wow! What an experience! I can sincerely say that I'm thankful for every moment - from simple every day victories like making macaroni and cheese to once-in-a-lifetime feats like climbing the Great Wall.


Today, on our China anniversary, I'm feeling nostalgic (if nostalgic can apply to a mere one year of experiences). At any rate, just look at what we've done! Correction...look at what God is doing.

On our way to China: This was the first plane ride for the
 kids. Now, they have flown on  more than a dozen planes.

Morgan's birthday was about three weeks
after we arrived. I spoke NO Chinese at that
point, and it took three painfully
confusing hours to order this birthday cake.

We arrived in the heart of winter's deep freeze. Brrrrrr! 

The kids started school a little over a week
after arriving. It took a while for all of us to adjust to
the differences, but now they run the place. ;-) 

The fireworks during Chinese New Year

Christian earned a spot in the school spelling bee with only
two weeks of preparation. The other students had two months.

Here's one of the ways we adapted to Chinese lifestyle.
We have no clothes dryer, so we hang our laundry
in the window. Homeowners associations all over
the U.S. are cringing.

Farell quickly found ways to stay active. The basketball
team even gave him a Chinese name.

Hong Kong Disney
By March, we were all in need of a get away. The kids
accepted all the sacrifices and adjustments without uttering
one single complaint. They deserved an awesome get-away.

Prior to Chinese New Year we envisioned huge festivals
with dancing dragons, but there was none of that
here. Our first authentic lion/dragon dance occurred
months later in Hong Kong.

The temperature outside was still a little nippy, but it was
just right inside the greenhouse for strawberries. Of
course in China we wouldn't dare eat them while picking,
but after a good soaking in veggie wash and vinegar...
YUMMY!

Chinese food-eating adventures

This was the first Easter that we didn't have an egg hunt
and dye eggs at my mother's house, but she made
sure we had plastic eggs and decorating supplies. Thank
God for my mama and DHL!

Just as I was beginning to feel defeated
by all things China, our driver helped me
find some gorgeous lilies for Easter.

International day at the Christian fellowship we attend.
What a blessing it is for all us to worship along with
believers from all over the world. Chinese nationals are
not permitted by the government to attend. 

Spring finally arrived. We were so excited to see that
the trees here actually do have leaves.

With Spring came new bikes. By this time my Chinese
was good enough to negotiate at the bike shop.
I got both of these for about $60.

Another lovely occurrence with the arrival of spring is

the 4 am sunrise. Good grief! That's even tough for early 

birds like me.

Just before his birthday, Christian started guitar lessons
and picked out a cool new guitar. I was so glad he
finally had something to call his own.

Tea, glorious tea. I've fallen in love with Chinese tea.

For Mother's day my family gave me my first authentic 

tea set. Tea party anyone?

On Monday, we received a note that on Friday students
should dress up as their favorite book character. What?!!
I spent four hours at Wu Ai market searching for
inspiration.Whoo hoo! Harry Potter glasses! 

Summer came and we wasted no time heading back to the
states. We heard the summer heat is as extreme as the
winter cold.

School resumed with lots of fun. This was the BEST

field day I've ever attended. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Fall comes quickly here and it's beautiful. There's full
color by early October.

The fall also brought a new job for me. I began teaching at
a small Chinese school. It takes another blog post to tell
about how God has used this experience to prune me and
shape me. I'll never be the same.

I asked for pumpkins, and pumpkins I received. I was met
with blank stares when I said, "Um, do you have any
orange ones?" (We did eventually find some.)

During fall break, we went to the aquarium with our driver

and his family. Outings like this are universal; no

translations necessary. 

I love that Morgan has a great balance of girlie and sporty.

Her volleyball team came in 2nd place at the tournament.

Still haven't found any regular team sports or physical
activities for Christian, but in October his P.E. teacher
introduced him to cup stacking (it's a serious sport). He's
actually quite good, but as of yet, there are no official
competitions in China. 

Our Non-traditional Thanksgiving Day

I can't say enough about the awe I felt 

walking the Great Wall with my children.

No textbook or website can compete

with this.

After doggedly turning down many peddlers trying
to get over on the foreigners, we decided to accept a
rickshaw ride. This driver took our money ($7), then dropped
us off one hours walk from our desired destination.
Life lessons learned the hard way... 

Outside the Imperial Palace in Beijing.

After the frustrating rickshaw incident, this is what God

presented to us. Our feet were aching and so was our pride,

but how can you focus on that with such

tranquility in front of you.   

I got the boys to drink tea! Unfortunately, this tea vendor
in Beijing tried to take advantage of us and I came home to
discover I had purchased a used package of tea.

I don't know if they still do them in the states, but this
school had middle school science fair. As usual, my baby
went above and beyond. We put this one away for her PhD
thesis. 

I was determined to have a Christmas tree.
Once again, I came home with something
less than I anticipated. The tree on display
was much fuller than this one, but "yay me"
for accomplishing the purchase.

Another Christmas tradition I was determined to fulfill was
Christmas dinner. No turkeys in Shenyang, but whole
chickens are no problem! Ewww! Yes, I chopped off the
head and feet and removed whatever organs those were
inside. I tell you what, it was the tastiest bird I've ever roasted.
(I forgot to take an after picture.)

A new tradition we began this year was ice
skating on Christmas Eve.

We've come full circle, back to winter. This is our New Year's
ski trip. Fun, but c-c-cold! I don't think any of us are in a
hurry to do it again.

Bring it on 2012!