Follow Feet

The weekend before last, the roommates and I went ziplining through the forest with wonderful ocean views. At some points, we felt like small and fragile imitations of spiderman. The "Tarzan Swing" was the best part! You hook yourself on a line and jump from a platform into air. No safety tug of the harness on your legs. No reasurance of the people in front of you makes it feel safe. For a split second before the rope catches your weight, you fly.   Last weekend, I finally felt completely at my ease in Japan. I ran 12 miles to finish at a coffee shop where I successfully ordered coffee politely in Japanese. They even filled up my running water bottle so I would have water on the way home. SOOOO NICE! Anyway, on the run, a Japanese grandma laughed at my red face, patted the bench beside her and told me to sit beside her. I could only smile back and shake my head for the negative. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. This weekend, I was lazy. A phrase has been churni...

You have a pattern; you may not know it, but you do. When a friend or family member takes a trip or moves overseas, they infallibly get the food question. What food question? I'm glad you asked. Have you eaten anything weird? Hmm. Complicated question... The answer is both yes and no. Most of the foods I find in Okinawa are extremely similar to foods in the US. To be frank, I was a little disappointed at how similar the foods were. For example, Okinawa boasts a Starbucks, KFC, A&W, Subway, and Pizza Hut among many other American options. There are some AWESOME foods that are either Japanese or Okinawan in origin. Here are the highlights so far; pardon the pictures since they taste OH SO MUCH BETTER THAN THEY LOOK.  These little puppies are called "dango." They are mushed and squashed balls of rice with a sweet sauce on top. We only get dango about once a month, but when we do, they are gone within the hour. They look nasty while being truly addicti...