The Branch we belong to here does a cultural exchange about once a week with the local Okinawan members. Yesterday, we joined them on a trip to Shuri-jo castle. This is a castle that was the home for the Ryuku ruler (emperor of Okinawa). He was appointed by the ruler of China. The castle that we visited is actually a replica built above the ruins. The castle has been destroyed 6 times, and as you walk through, there is a section of the floor through which you can actually see the ruins. It's pretty neat, with explanation placards each step of the way in several different languages. We walked through the royal chamber, the rooms the private rooms for the imperial family, and saw a replica of both the crown and the throne sat on during ceremonies in the square and while conducting business. The tour through the castle required an entry fee and, in true Japanese fashion, the removal of our shoes. There are several gates that lead from the entrance of the park up to the courtyard and castle itself. We were given a "map" of the different spots of interest along the route, with a spot to place a commemerative stamp. In a fun twist, Junior High students that do this and get 11 stamps get a special sticker at the end. Obviously, we aren't Junior High students, so we weren't eligible for the sticker, but we did manage to get all but 5 of the stamps. We plan to go back later and get all of them!
Before we went through the castle itself, we watched a show put on by the Ryuku dancers. These are dancers trained in the traditional dances of the Ryuku islands, now known as Okinawa Prefecture. The show included 4 of the 6 commonly recognized traditional dances, but it was beautiful. Each dance depicts a different aspect of life during Okinawa's imperical era. We saw a dance that was usually performed during ceremonies held for visiting dignitaries. We also saw a dance generally performed to show the joy that the young men and women had for their daily tasks like fishing and then selling the fish. We also saw one that was traditionally done by men and showed their strength as males of the kingdom. It was very interesting, and while we couldn't understand the announcement before each dance, we could see the precision and pride they take in doing what they do 3 times a day every day.
When we got back, we got in our rental car (we will get our car tomorrow once all the paperwork is finished), and did a dry run to the meetinghouse so we would have no problem getting there for meetings today. After that, we went to eat at Coco Ichibanya (a curry house), where we both ate for less than 10 bucks!!!
On another exciting note, we have housing!!! We will be moving into a 2 bedroom apartment newly renovated on base. Its pretty good sized for this part of the world, so we're excited about that. We are on the second floor of our building, and can't take the dogs in the elevator, so they will be getting plenty of exercise every day to go potty outside. We have 2 balconies, but the views are of the playground on one side and a tree windbreak on the other. We are going to be right close to several members in the branch, and more centrally located to the places we will be needing to go. Hopefully we can get some pictures of it up soon. We will have our "rental" furniture delivered Wednesday, and we will be moving in on Thursday, with hopefully our unaccompanied baggage being delivered that same day, since it has been on island for almost a week now. Our furniture from home will be arriving in our Household Goods (HHG) shipment the middle of next month. We're enjoying life here on Okinawa so far, and keeping finding and being introduced to new things to experience.
I'm hoping to learn to make some of these foods that we've already come to love and bring them home to all our family and friends back in the states....you guys will be in for a treat!!!
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