Wendy departed Okinawa Sunday morning and has arrived back home safely. We had a great time together, it was a great surprise visit =)
The week before Wendy arrived, I joined a gym a few blocks down the street from my apartment. Rocky told me about the gym, since I was complaining about not being able to workout outside in the rain and humidly. The gym is small but has what is needed. There is a swimming pool there that some of my students take lessons at. I've seen some of my students and their parents a few times and they were very excited to see me doing something other than teaching. The workers at the gym are very friendly and I've enjoyed talking with the ones that speak English. The gym is so close and convenient, I've been able to work out 6 days a week which is nice. Generally, the monthly membership is expenive, however since I joined on 5/17, I paid only a partial amount of the monthly membership good until 5/31. Now that it's June, I paid for the next 2 weeks so I can continue working out until I leave Okinawa. Besides the benefit of a good workout, it's nice to have something to do after work each afternoon and makes time go by a whole lot faster!
My official Japan gym card:
Here are the pictures I promised I'd post from Wendy's first Saturday when we toured with Rocky. Rocky, Wendy and I headed up north (once again) for a fun tour day.
Our first stop: The glass factory, I made a tea light candle holder to match the flower candle holder I made in August. This was a different glass factory than the one I had been to previously. It was a very humid day out and the inside of the factory was very hot. We were sweating when we got near the fire!
I was hesitant to put my mouth on this but the worker insisted.
After 5 minutes and some guidance from the workers my candle holder was complete.
Rocky was so nice to wait patiently for us in the hot, humid factory!
Next, it was Wendy's turn. She made a little glass jar for her daughter to play house with.
It came out very cute!
The finished product.
After leaving the glass factory, our next stop was Pineapple Park. Wendy LOVED the park and bought some souvenirs to take home. I enjoyed sampling the fresh pineapple for the 4th time =)
Our next stop: Butterfly Garden. We were only there a few minutes since it was so humid out. This time they had yellow and purple hats to wear. I've now worn red, blue and yellow hats inside the garden. I'm starting to wonder what color really attracts butterflies.
After Butterfly Garden we headed to Pizza in the Sky. Wendy and I shared a pizza and salad. The salad was a huge mixture of fresh greens, onions, carrots, corn, red bell peppers, cucumbers and Japanese dressing (which is an Italian based dressing). I haven't had a good salad since being here and this was by far the best salad I've had on the island. All the veggies were crisp and fresh which was refreshing on a hot day. Sorry, no pictures from Pizza in the Sky, I guess we were too tired and hungry by that point.
After lunch, Rocky brought us to a secluded beach in Nago. We parked on a dirt road an had to walk down a small hill to see the ocean. It was a beautiful, quiet place to relax.
Rocky sneaking a picture.
Wendy and I trying to get in as many pictures as we could before the rain started up again.
We arrived home around 7 pm, had dinner and called it a night. We were exhausted from the long day but got a lot in and had a blast!
Sunday, we slept in, cleaned, went to the gym, 100 yen store, Jusco (shopping mall) and Jimmy's Bakery. Wendy bought some souvenirs and enjoyed looking around various shops.
Last Monday was Wendy's birthday. She stayed home while I went to work that day and got a facial and relaxed. After work, we got massages, which we both thoroughly enjoyed so much that we almost fell asleep during them! I took her to Sam's by the Sea for dinner. The restaurant that people say has the best seafood and steak in Okinawa.
Birthday girl in front of the restaurant sign.
We thought this sign was neat!
Fresh lobster displayed in the entrance.
Live birds greeted us at the entryway.
Excited to begin our meal.
View of the ocean from our table.
Wendy ordered a fruit juice drink in a souvenir shisa cup, very cute!
The workers were all so friendly.
Our meal came with a salad, delicious soup and bread.
Wendy ordered steak and lobster.
I ordered teriyaki salmon.
Everything was absolutely delicious! The sauce on my salmon was exceptional. Wendy and I both had to save half of our meals for lunch the next day because it was way too much food. I enjoyed it the next day just as much =)
The workers sang to the birthday girl, served her strawberry ice cream and gave her a present wrapped in wrapping paper and everything! The present was a Sam's by the Sea glass cup. Very nice treat!
I heard the the coconut cream pie was delicious so we ordered a slice to share. It lived up to the hype and we enjoyed every bite!
We were both very full at the end of the meal. Wendy still said at the end of her trip here that her favorite restaurant in Okinawa is Sam's by the Sea.
We did a few fun things during the rest of the week and over the weekend before Wendy headed home. I will post another blog with that info within the next few days in order to help keep this blog from being too long.
The weather here has been going back and forth between humid, hot, rainy and beautiful. Today was a beautiful, cool day. Hopefully we will get more days like this over the next few days.
I am now down to 6 school days left and 12 days left in Okinawa! It's getting close! My students are getting excited and so am I! Tomorrow is Wednesday, so 3 more days of curriculum and hopefully my second graders will be ready to move on to third grade. I will post more adventures with Wendy before the weekend arrives.
Happy Memorial Day to you all, hope your enjoying yourselves. I'll be in touch soon.
XOXO
Kristen
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