A street address? No? Really?

It's not like it would matter much anyway, since everything is written in Japanese, but basically when you travel around Okinawa, off AND on base, there's really no such thing as a street address. People give you directions by giving landmarks like: take your first right past the Spot Gate (Ok, but what the heck is the Spot gate?! I mean, I know now, but still. At least I think I know...) Another example would be a bit more complicated, such as: Once you get inside the Spot Gate, take your first left by that big brown building and go down the road until it curves and you'll see another big brown building. Park there and go around to the last building diagonal from the first building you went by. It will be big and brown. With some numbers on it, and I think the letter B. Or D.  (Are you confused yet? Yep. That's about how I feel all the time.)

Basically, traveling around Okinawa requires a lot of trial and error. Then try, try, get lost, then try again. I get lost pretty much everywhere I go. Even when I'm with someone who "knows" where they're going. It's comical, really. You just have to make sure you allow enough time for all those wrong turns. :-)

Before we bought vehicles we were very dependent upon our sponsors for rides here, there and everywhere. Our sponsors have been fantastic, by the way, and we are so thankful for toting us along to places they were going when we first got here so that we weren't stuck at home or at our hotel. Well, being as wonderful as they are, they invited us to eat at one of their favorite "Italian-type" restaurants. Turned out that another surgeon and his girlfriend wanted to join us too, so we all met at a central location, discussed directions, and planned to caravan. Only, part of our party went one way, the other part another. Back in the states, this wouldn't really be a problem because streets are labeled and if you get turned around it's easy to find your way back. We also have begun to rely heavily on GPS systems to mindlessly take us wherever we need to go, and reroute if you get ridiculously lost. Not in Okinawa though. If you get lost or separated from the group, you just might be screwed.

Back to the story...so we're going two different ways to one location. The directions that were given were: It's by Gate 2, across from the Yellow Box store. The correct directions were: It's by Gate 1, across from the Yellow Box. Guess what? There's a Yellow Box across from Gate 2 also, which makes these directions royally confusing.  One car went to Gate 2, and found no restaurant but parked anyway and started walking. The other car, the one I was in, got completely lost trying to find the other half of our party. Long story short, we finally found each other and ended up in a section of Okinawa that used to be "hoppin'" a few years back, but isn't so popular now. We ate at a completely random place (but it was still good food) and found a few little gems while we were there: a wonderful bakery and a fresh produce market. I'm not sure I could ever find where we were that day, but I might just get lost one day trying...

Other things worth mentioning:
-Most places serve food Japanese style, which means no shoes and sitting on the floor with your feet in a space below.
-You can order "sets" of food, which usually include small portions of soup, salad, an entre, a rice, something tempura, something gelatin, and a drink. Even kids get served this way. It's supposed to be just the right amount, but it's always too much for me. Using chopsticks for every meal definitely slows you down when you're not a pro at using them. I think it's a good thing though because I've been used to inhaling my food during my 15 minute lunch time.
-It's pretty cool how they cater to kids. Every restaurant I've been to has a kid's set too, and they use cute dishes and cutlery for the kiddos, and some places have cute little chairs they can sit in so they aren't too low to the table.
-Hello, my name is Jess, and I'm a napkin-aholic. I didn't realize how profound my addiction to paper napkins was until I moved here. Yeah, there's a lot less paper usage and abuse here than in the states. Napkins are more like tissues, really thin and kind of waxy. Some places actually put a Kleenex box in a fancy container on the table to use instead of napkins. Interesting. I'm not sure how I'll actually cut back on napkin use though, because: 1) I'm a klutz, and so are my kids. I always spill or drop. 2) I really don't like my hands to be messy because I'm a klutz, and inevitably I'll wipe something by accident on my face, on my clothes, or in my hair. 3) I am not a chopstick pro yet, and don't manage dumplings (which are pretty greasy) well with them. So I have to use my hands. Which means I'll need a lot of napkins. Oh well. I guess I'll either be bringing my own wet wipes everywhere I go, or I'll just get used to it.
-There is absolutely NO tipping here at restaurants. I like that one (but always feel bad about it). I guess I shouldn't though since I'm paying an extra 25 cents to every dollar already.
-If you eat somewhere on base, they will round up/down to avoid using pennies. No need for a "Give a penny, take a penny" pot here!
-Refills on soft drinks are usually a big no-no.
-There are McDonald's here (or as Claire says "Chicken Nugget's") which is a plus for the kids. Although it's a little different. For instance, the regular burger size is about the size of a happy meal burger. They have Fillet-O-Shrimp instead of Fillet-O-Fish. They serve corn instead of french fries in Happy Meals.

Always so much to say! Until next time...