Marino's

So, one of the biggest annoyances I have experienced since being on Okinawa is the lack of good food! Seriously, you'd think that since we are a part of Japan there would be some amazing Japanese food, or even Chinese food, etc. No Such Luck. One of the websites that many of the wives use as a reference for things to do and places to eat is called http://www.okinawahai.com/. There are TONS of reviews for restaurants, but as I've mentioned before, I wonder what kind of food these people eat back home, because I find many places that get rave reviews mediocre or just plain gross.
I'm sure nobody reads my blog anyway, but just in case someone from Okinawa wants to find some REAL good food, I thought I'd blog about it. In addition to my teaching shenanigans. And adventures. This is really turning into a schmorgesboard of a blog :)

So, this weekend we went to Marino's, which felt like a Japanese version of Olive Garden. They cook their pizzas in a real brick oven and they come out super tasty. There is not a ton of cheese, which I didn't know if I'd like or not since I'm definitely a cheese gal, but the crust was thin and chewy and the sauce was delicious. We all ordered the Margherita Pizza.


The ceasar salad was alright. Most of the ceasar salads do not come with ceasar dressing that I am used to eating in the States. It was more creamy and a lot less tangy. And of course the croutons are min-size. Still, I ate the whole thing and it tasted fine, just not what I was expecting!

Marino's also serves pastas and desserts. This cute little guy brought out this giant cheese, grated a bit on the top (the top dips in, like a crater!), put noodles in it, and mixed them around some before plating the dish. No idea what this was, but I'm going to find out and try that next time!

We didn't get photos of the desserts but you can buy little mini "cakes" which really range from cheesecakes, tarts, brownies, etc. They were delicious as well! We also saw that you can buy a whole tart/cheesecake up by the register!

Here they are cooking the pizza. I LOVE pizza like this!
Another fun thing about Marino's (and many places in Japan) is that they offer meal "sets" for 2, 3, and 4 people. The sets come with choices of pizza, pasta, drinks, desserts, etc. for the number of people ordering the set. They also have fondue, which I need to try (of course, its cheese!)

So, Marino's made the list of "decent food" in Okinawa. Here are a list of places I like that I haven't managed to snag pictures of:
1. Bella Napoli (pizza, but I think I actually prefer Marino's!)

2. Bollywood Dreams (Indian Curry)

4. Coco's (a chain curry restaurant that I SWEAR puts some sort of addictive substance in their food!)

5. Garlic House (go easy on what you order. The food was good but a bit of a garlic overload)

6. Gen Restaurant(Sushi, Tempura, Yakisoba, etc. Not the best, but one of the few places that a California Roll is "normal" way
7. Kami Sushi (in American village) We ate here for lunch and the sushi was good- not sure about the dinner menu
8. Gordies (Burgers-American Style!) You may find that the meat on the island is also "different". This place gets pretty close to the good old America, red meat, cholesterol spiking goodness!

Places to steer clear of- definitely not worth the money or stomachache!:
1. Peacock. If you hear of a lady raving about their AMAZING lemon chicken or their "to die for" fried rice, run away. The rice might be to die FROM.

2. Kitakaisen. Nothing special. The sushi was strange and the rest of the food was below par.

3. Beach Rock Village (hippy food/atmosphere). If you want a wild experience, do it, but be prepared to get lost and have food you could make yourself.

4. Paradise Curry. Now I feel like a hipocrite, because we have eaten here a few times. The curry is not bad, but I prefer Coco's 10 to 1! We only eat here when we are feeling like curry and walking around American Village.
5. MOS Burger or Freshness Burger. Fast food and NASTY

Until next time :)

Zip-lining at Forest Adventure Park

We really wanted to try zip lining before Turf had to leave and before it got dreadfully hot out. We decided last weekend was the perfect weekend! Jess and Evan had been before, and the boys have had to zip line for the military (which Turf said makes zip lining NOT cool), but Kendall and I have never been.

 There was a whole cool course of different zip lines. The boys got real crazy and started doing some upside down tricks. No, thank you! Anyway, its quite the work out because you have to climb up and down the ladders and nets, hike up and down hills between courses, and the crash landings don't feel too good either.  There was some beautiful jungle scenery throughout the whole course, and it felt amazing to be swinging around through a bunch of trees :)

 The whole thing took us about 2 hours to go through and the very last course is kind of obstacle-like. It starts with a Tarzan jump (exactly as it sounds. You climb up to the top of this big platform and jump off of it and swing into a net on the other side). You then have to climb that net to reach another platform, cross over some wobbly planks, go through a swinging rings course, and finally make it to your final zip line.

It was definitely a ton of fun and something that we will do again, probably not frequently but once a year would be fun! We left tired, sweaty, and dirty.


Also, I got a job. No, not the Ed Tech position that I was originally hired for. And no, not the Assistant Manager position that I was also hired for. Right before human resources called me back about the assistant management position, I got an email from the principal at one of the elementary schools on base. I had submitted my teaching application but honestly didn't think I'd be hired. He said one of his 1st grade teachers was moving off the island and he needed a replacement for the rest of the year and ideally, next year. Any hiring that DOD does after January is only good through the end of the school year, but if I am already in the position I should be able to keep it, unless there is a crisis and there are tons of displaced permanent DOD employees. Anyway, I interviewed and was given the position on the same day.
This week was my first week of school. After the bad experiences that I had subbing in the Escambia district schools, I didn't want to get my hopes up about being great at the job. I was amazingly surprised. My class is small and SO well behaved. They are so sweet and all are adorable. There are some very supportive parents, the school is very well organized, and I was given two awesome mentor teachers who are helping me out so incredibly much. I have actually been able to leave work by 4:30 every day and not work crazy hours at home.
Granted, I am sticking pretty strictly to the curriculum since that's what the other teachers are doing. Since I'm still new, I don't want to go too crazy with planning my own things, and the kiddos are also pretty used to the old schedule and their old teacher's way of doing things (I have to add, she was amazing as well. Left me a week of lesson plans with all of the materials, met with me beforehand to explain things, etc. ). Of course, since all teachers do things differently, there are some things I will change next year, but for now I'm kind of just following along with the set up that I have been given.
I do have some pretty good ideas for next year already though, and am hoping I get the chance to become a permanent employee!
Pictures of some projects and the classroom are soon to come. I was very surprised that ALL the kids in my class celebrate Easter. No kidding, they all were talking about how excited they were for Easter. I know I'm supposed to teach diverse perspectives and all, but I couldn't help but send home a bunny project for the kids to do over the weekend. They are supposed to decorate a blank bunny template using only materials they find outside or around the house (no pens, crayons, markers, colored pencils, or pencils). Should be interesting to see what they come up with :)

Bunco Madness!

So traditionally, you play bunco with 12 girls. In Okinawa, we are obviously not traditional, and we had trouble finding 12 girls to play (we were 4 short since several ladies couldn't make it!), so we played with 8. Y'all...it was still a blast! There was yelling, scrambling for dice, prizes, and pink decorations. We all decided we'd make it a monthly thing and start our own bunco group and now...snaps for us...we have a full 12 ladies to play! Let me take a minute to introduce you to some of the friends I've made!

You all know Kendall, Amber, and Jess. Kendall is on the far left and is the sweetest mean girl you'll ever meet. Seriously. If someone is driving too fast she'll say "maybe after this corner we'll slow down..." or "I feel like maybe we could slow down". She's also super fiesty if angered and very competitive in couples charades- don't mess with this Aggie!
Amber is the second from the left and my sweet little Oklahoma girl. She loooooves her cats and was the first one in our little group to start working. She looks and sings like Avril Lavigne and I forsee some very good karaoke nights with her.
And Jess is standing next to me. My little New Yawrker. She has an accent that we all love and is the 21 year old baby of the group. She also lives on Kinser a few towers away from Turf and I. Jess knows the most Japanese out of all of us since she's taking classes, so we are constantly relying on her when we go out in town.
I love these girls!
The other girls in the picture are Lindsey (she and her husband also have some crazy karaoke skills), Christina (who is a crafty-homemaking goddess), Megan (also a sweet little Texan girl), Diana (very nice and did a great job teaching Boomer tricks!), and Kara (who is also studying to be a teacher!). Such a fun group of ladies and I look forward to our next girl's night!

Clean Fast Food?!?!

Just thought I'd give everyone a little update from Okinawa. I have had some questions regarding the radiation, Okinawa is still safe! :)
Since we arrived we've been hearing so much about the McDonald's here. Everyone we talk to says it is much better than the McDonald's in the states, something about the meat tasting different. Turf and I don't eat much fast food in the states, I actually don't think I've had McDonald's for 2 years (aside from shakes or a snack wrap), so we thought we'd give it a try and we both ordered a quarter pounder with cheese. The meat did taste a little better, sort of like a Wendy's burger, but all in all, we didn't notice a huge difference. But, we did get started on a conversation about the differences in cleanliness in Japan and American restaurants, particularly fast food!
Looking in the window at the drive-through's in the states, you often see french fries on the floor, employees with loose hair, stained uniforms, etc. Looking in the windows here, we saw a spotless floor, employees hair pulled tightly back or wearing hair nets, and the uniforms were very clean and nice (not just black slacks and a polo t-shirt, but actual uniforms). It made us feel a lot better about eating the food, because we knew it was clean.
We have also been very impressed with the way people at restaurants behave here. They are so welcoming and hospitable. As we are leaving, every single person we can see turns around to say "ARIGATO!!!" If we have finished our food and are just sitting and chatting, they bring out little mini desserts at no charge. AND, they find it offensive to tip! Its amazing.
After eating in one of these friendly restaurants, I decided I'd like to try to make some sushi at home, just for the thrill. It ended badly. Maybe I used too much rice, and I think I bought the wrong type of nori (as I was looking closer I realized the sheet broke into strips!), but I could not create a roll. This has now become a goal of mine before I leave: to be able to make some rockin' sushi!

Taco Rice and Lots and Lots of Garlic!

WARNING: MY EXPERIENCE IN OKINAWA IS QUICKLY TURNING INTO A CULINARY EXPERIMENT.
In addition to my "places I want to see" and "things I want to do" lists, I have now created a "places I want to eat" list. Total fat kid status, and I am having to intensify my work outs and cut down on what I'm eating during the week as a result, but its also totally worth it!

So I have a new favorite food: TACO RICE

No, I'm not talking about Spanish rice that you get in a mexican restaurant. I'm talking about basically the ingredients of a taco slammed on top of rice.

Taco rice is a very popular Okinawan dish. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first, but at lunch with some girls the other day I had some delicious taco rice and it has officially won my heart. I highly encourage all my lovely friends and family back in the states to make this dish at home- it is super delicious and so simple! Taco Rice is definitey on the menu for dinner tonight, but as I'm trying to eat better I might try to make it with brown rice and groud turkey instead. Maybe. I'm not sure if I want to ruin an amazing thing! Here is the link I'm using as a recipe:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://hansen2000.com/recipes/recipesImages/tacoRice.jpg&imgrefurl=http://hansen2000.com/recipes/ourRecipes/tacoRice.html&h=288&w=400&sz=133&tbnid=uK4HtIfrOY4AfM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtaco%2Brice&zoom=1&q=taco+rice&hl=en&usg=__vlnJ_ijU6kM1bHWVnx6LNrknJvk=&sa=X&ei=Zpt9TczEIMGHccj4tLgG&ved=0CEUQ9QEwBw

Turf and I went out with another couple this weekend to a restaurant called Arin Krin, otherwise known as the garlic restaurant. Yes, garlic. The building comes complete with giant garlics painted all over the outside. The menu was very extensive and most dishes cost around $4-$7, so we ordered several different things to sample: Garlic Pizza, Baked Garlic, Garlic Noodles with Bacon, and Sweet and Sour Chicken (yes, with garlic). In the picture are some garlic fries and garlic steak that Kendall and Trevor ordered in addition to their own garlic pizza and a different variety of noodles.

The food looked delicious, but tasted just good. This may have been a result of the massive overload of garlic that we were experiencing, and the meal was pretty much void of any other flavor besides garlic. I liked the pizza the best, but think I probably could have made something similar myself. The sweet and sour chicken is unlike the sweet and sour in the states. This had more of a peanut sauce/maple syrup/garlicy flavor. Turf really enjoyed it- it wasn't my favorite. This is definitely a place you can only go to once in a while, but I think we may go back just to sample some of the other items on the menu.
The baked garlic was probably the most interesting item. It was just that: two bunches of garlic baked and served on top of corn. It had some sort of sauce on it, and you just pull out the cloves and eat them with the corn. Surprisingly, it didn't taste a whole lot like garlic! They also had deep fried garlic, which I might try ;)

Earthquake and Tsunami

First of all we feel so blessed to have so many friends and family who care about us. Thank you to everyone who called or tried to check in with us!
Yesterday was an awesome day up until around 4:00. I went to the gym with some of the girls I met here, we went out to lunch and had a lot of fun, then I came home to check on Boomer quickly before I headed on to the health clinic (side note: I have to have a ridiculous serious/number of shots in order to get my health card for my new job: Child and Youth Program Technician at the base Teen Center. Basically I will do some paperwork/spend time with the teens).
As I was talking with the occupational health administrator marines started evacuating the building. We actually had no idea what was going on, until a marine ran past the door and asked if we heard the announcement (we didnt) that there was a tsunami warning and that we had to evacuate to higher ground. There were some people literally running out of the building, which was kind of freaky, but once I got out to my car the base itself seemed pretty calm. I tried to call Turf and my call wouldn't go through (we later found out that our cell phone provider was down because of the quake in Japan).
I vaguely could hear the loudspeakers on base as I was driving back to our apartment, but I heard them say that floors 1-4 should evacuate higher than the tsunami flood line, which is right above our tower. At this point, I hadn't heard about the earthquake yet, and was thinking this was just a precaution and wasn't a real big deal. I was honestly planning on watching what other people in my building were doing, and if I didn't see many people evacuating I was going to stay home as long as I could. Smart, right?
When I pulled into the parking lot I saw Turf's car in the driveway and knew that it must be a little more serious than I had thought. He had been trying to call me and was upset because he thought I was still at lunch with the girls and wasn't answering my phone, so he had come home to pick up Boomer. We grabbed my car and drove up to a higher spot on base.
At this point, there was still about an hour before the tsunami was supposed to hit, so we ended up going to one of the other bases that sits higher up and farther inland to have dinner and watch a basketball game with a couple of the guys Turf works with. As we were driving up there, we noticed the Okinawan locals shopping leisurely, jogging, and just walking around town. We have always been told to gague our "panic level" on what the locals are doing, so I still wasn't too worried.
Around 9 we tried to come home and were told that we were still on a tsunami warning and couldn't go back to our apartment. We also found out that the waves that hit us were little ripples and nothing serious. We hung out around on base and found families sleeping with their children in cars and many of the single marines sleeping with blankets out in the field. Finally, around 11 we were able to go home. We spent about an hour unpacking our shipment of stuff that just got here before we headed to bed.
This morning we woke up and started watching the news, really for the first time about the disaster in Japan. We are seeing footage of the actual quake (so glad we didn't have to experience that, so sorry for those who did) and the tsunami wiping out houses and cars (again, so glad we did not have to go through that, totally terrifying). We are hearing about the death toll rising and the concerns about fires and the nuclear plant that was effected. We are very lucky to not have felt such a huge quake or experienced such a big tsunami. Our thoughts and prayers are with those in Japan as things continue to unfold.

Grilling and Temples and Castles, OH MY!

Last night our neighbors took us out for our first real meal off base. Dear Lord, was I glad we were not alone! I don't remember the name of the restaraunt, but I do remember that it had some very bright sparkly lights flashing all around the sign. Seriously, these were the kind of lights that make a girl feel epileptic! Now, everything in Japan is bright and flashy, but these lights were on a whole new level. I am sure we wouldn't have trouble finding the restaraunt again at night time.
This was one of those all you can eat and "cook it yourself" places. We walked in and paid about 2,000 yen (about $20) each and were taken to our table. Each booth has a small little cooking pit in the middle. The menu was unlike anything I've ever seen. Most of it was in Japanese and had pictures, so we just pointed to whatever we wanted. Turf and I each tried a taco salad (which in Japan is white rice, lettuce, meat, and tomatoes...really different, but not bad), I had a cesaer salad (complete with the smallest crutons I have ever seen), a plate of chicken, a combo plate of steak and chicken, white rice, and drinks. The first few pieces of meat that Turf tried to cook were terribly burnt, but the rest was excellent! We all ate with chopsticks, and felt very accomplished. Ice cream was also included with the price, which made me very happy :)
Honestly, I don't know how we would have fared had we been by ourselves. Our neighbors had been there a couple of times and have also been in Okinawa for a while, so they know more about how to order. Turf and I were completely confused. We did learn some new words that will come in handy: Onegai shimasu (please), futatsu (two of an object), hitotsu (one of an object), and mittsu (three of an object). So, to order two rice bowls, we would point at the rice and say "futatsu onegai shimasu". I have no idea how to say rice yet, so I will stick to pointing.

Here is a picture of our little set up! I did see some vegetables on the menu, so I might try to round out the meal by ordering those next time as well!

He's going to slap me for putting this picture of him up! But we found this random temple/shrine as we were driving around looking for this sunflower field that I had heard about (which we never found). Sadly, I don't know what the name of it is :( I have no idea if we were supposed to be there, as we didn't see any other Americans around. There was a gate directly in front of this building that had hundreds of little prayer/fortune papers tied to it- omikuju, I'm told they are called. Anyway, we looked inside and saw that in the corner they were selling little trinkets, so I figured they wouldn't mind us going in. We walked in, took off our shoes, and sat down in front of the shrine. At that point, we really weren't sure what we were supposed to do, and Turfy was feeling insecure about us being there, so we waited a few minutes and then left. As soon as we left, we heard drumming and chanting, so we went back to the entrance and looked in on the little ceremony that was going on. A sweet little Japanese lady motioned for us to come in, so off went the shoes and this time we sat a little farther back from the two ladies in front. It seemed like some sort of blessing or something, because they waved this thing over their heads and the ladies left with something. Just goes to show how educated I am on this stuff. In any case, the inside of the temple was beautiful and elaborate. There was a definite sense of peace and calm within the temple, and even though we don't practice that religion, we appreciated the serenity of it. I have heard it is a big deal to visit a temple/shrine on New Years Day in Japan, so that's on my To-Do list.

Our last stop of the day wasthe Nakagusuku Castle ruins. Again, this was a really beautiful place with a lot of history and great views. One thing we really liked was that we were able to climb the steps of the castle and explore most of it. The legendary Ryukyuan commander, Gosamaru, built the fortress in the early 15th century to defend against attacks from the east by Lord Amawari of Katsuren Castle. The six courtyards of this fortress with stacked stone walls make it a prime example of a gusuku.

This is one of the pictures we took from the 1st enclosure of the castle. Behind me is a great view of the Pacific Ocean.

Once we were done exploring the castle, we ordered some apple-mango ice cream as we were leaving. I practiced my new words by pointing and saying "futatsu onegai shimasu" and was pleasantly surprised when the girl understood me! Now that we are home, I have learned that apparently there is an abandoned, haunted hotel right below the ruins. We just may have to go back to check it out!