Here Comes the Tooth Fairy!

David lost a tooth today! It was one of his bottom teeth.

I didn't even know it was that loose until last night. When David showed me it looked like this (YUCK!!).

He was worried about swallowing it in his sleep, but it managed to stay attached. This morning it was really bothering him so he wiggled it back and forth and finally ripped it out.

Welcome Home Matt!

The Kubasaki wrestlers came home from Yokosuka and the "Beast of the East" tournament today. They flew out of Tokyo sometime after 4 and were supposed to arrive in Naha at 7:00 PM.

We decided to go down and pick up Matt rather than wait for him at the high school- we were too excited to hear about the trip to wait!
We allowed plenty of time to get to the airport since we hadn't been down there before. Didn't take as long as we thought so we drove around for a bit then decided to just park and go in. Found out the flight was delayed 20 minutes so we had plenty of time to look around the airport. The Domestic side of the airport, where we were, wasn't as big as I thought it might be. I would say maybe a quarter or a third of the size of SeaTac. One whole floor seemed to be all shopping. Instead of lots of individual shops in separate spots, it was all open and laid out like a department store...all that separated the different vendors were the walk ways. Great to wander around and see stuff without having to go in and out of shops.

There was LOTS of cool stuff to see! David and I were intrigued with the "Green Caviar". They had samples so we just had to give it a try...although as you can see, it isn't the most attractive looking thing. Taste was...okay. The little "balls" pop in your mouth and it has a salty, sea water taste. Since we couldn't read the signs in Japanese, I'm not sure what the big deal is with it, but they were selling the "Green Caviar" in several spots. I looked it up online once we got home and here is what I found:
It is also called "Umibudo" or "Seagrapes." It is family of Caulerpaceae in the seaweeds genus. "Some species (especially Caulerpa lentillifera and Caulerpa racemosa) are eaten under the names sea grape or green caviar or umi-budo in Okinawa. They have a peppery taste." (Wikipedia). I didn't really taste any peppery taste...maybe a bit of a tang, but not much. I also found that Umibudo is supposed to be "good for beauty and health" and it is often used as a "salad vegetable". Definitely an interesting food! Tempting to take it and pop it like bubble wrap (glad I didn't mention this to David as he would have had to give it a try!) On the way out of the airport, we even got Matt to give it a try. The picture below shows the display of boxes ready to buy- they had large and small boxes available and they looked like they were made of Styrofoam- to keep this stuff cool and fresh I guess. Pretty pricey stuff- 2,100 Yen for these boxes (about $23 right now) As it got closer to the time of the plane arriving we went downstairs to the "Arrivals" area. They had a wonderful aquarium right next to were we were waiting. The fish were fun to watch- especially this HUGE Moray Eel. I am used to seeing the black moray eels- this spotted one was very different, as well as being about three times bigger than any other Moray I've seen.


I would have to say one of my favorite spots of the airport had to be the...bathroom. I know, I know- but they had the coolest toilets! (and a great "nursery" area for nursing moms...a large separate room that even had an area with running water to mix formula). Restrooms here in Okinawa can really vary- from the "Squatty Potties" to the ones like in the airport.As you can see in the picture, these were high speed, low drag, potties! "Flushing Noise" (with volume control) for those with bashful bladders, water spray controls allowing you to select what you want sprayed and with how much pressure you want it sprayed with (and the water is nice and warm!)...and don't forget to use the "Powerful Deodorizer" if necessary (you would have to agree, this is a pretty neat option- and one other patrons can really appreciate!). Top it off with heated seats, and that is one high quality toilet!

I couldn't resist peeking into the stall labeled for mothers. Wow! Where were these when the boys were toddlers? I love that they not only have a safe (and clean) place for the youngsters to sit while Mom uses the pottie, but they also had pottie seats for the kids to use the big toilet without falling in... and a big enough stall to move around comfortably while helping your kids. (FYI- Mike said the men's room wasn't quite so deluxe- not so many "bells and whistles" on the toilets and no "Dad" stalls there.)

Notice the extra toilet paper? All those rolls just stacked there- most of the restrooms we have been in have extra rolls in the stalls. Not in the states- even the rolls in the TP holders are usually locked in! Apparently TP theft is not common here in Okinawa.

The Week in Review...

January is off and running.

This week sure flew by!
Monday saw Mike going in for surgery for a hernia repair. He is feeling better, but still a lot of pain, bruising and swelling. He wasn't quite expecting the incision to be so big (4 inches)- now he has a matching scar to the appendix scar! He has two weeks of convalescent leave, and will definitely need it.

Monday also started Tackle Football Practice for David- and Mike too of course, since he is coaching. He was VERY slow moving on Monday (I am actually surprised he made it out there at all with having surgery in the morning). The team did conditioning all week, and will condition next week also. It's killing Mike has to just stand around during practice- no lifting, no running,...not much of anything. He has several assistant coaches and is glad for the help. David has been sleeping well this week- I guess two hours of working out during practice can do that to a kid. :)

The weather this week has been cool- and felt down right cold on Saturday! All the neighborhood kids were bundled up while playing outside- big jackets, gloves, hats...you would have thought it was Washington or Idaho...just minus the snow. Friday night the wind kicked up and blew all through Saturday. Temperature was about 50 degrees, but with wind chill they said it was 40. Burr! Warm for anywhere else, but we were freezing here! When David and I were down at the seawall today Sunday) there was sand everywhere. So much sand blew up onto the grass areas that it completely covered the grass- almost looked like it had snowed (we can dream at least!). It looked like they had already swept off the walkways, but sand was still piled up along the sides of the walkway to the seawall- about 18 inches deep in some areas.

Saturday night we took David to see "Bedtime Stories". Very much an Adam Sandler movie. David really enjoyed it- Mike and I liked it, but a lot of things really bothered us about the movie and it was not as good as we had hoped. Still, it was cute- especially "Bugsy"- the bug eyed Guinea pig.

Matt is back from Japan tonight- trying to catch up on some more homework before crashing. We went to the airport to pick him up (see other post) and stopped for dinner on the way home. Made for a late night getting home after 9pm.

Time to take Ty for a walk and call it a night...another busy week is on the horizon.

Beast of the East Wrestling Tournament

Congratulations Matt!

This weekend Matt is in Yokosuka, Japan, for the "Beast of the East" Wrestling Tournament. The team left Thursday after school, they spent Friday practicing, and today (Saturday) was the Tournament. They will arrive back to Naha Airport at 7:00 tomorrow night.

Matt just called a few hours ago to give us an update. Of course, he couldn't just come right out and say how he did- he spent 15 minutes giving us a minute by minute account of the day. FINALLY he broke the news- he had placed 3rd in his weight division!! We were SO excited!! (and I bet Matt was grinning ear to ear since he drug out the story for so long before telling us the final result- brat that he is!!)

We weren't sure how Matt would do there at the Beast, especially since he was "wrestling up" . What is "Wrestling up"? you ask? The boys are allowed to wrestle one weight class above their actual weight. Since the Kubasaki team has more than one kid in some of the weight classes, they "wrestle off" to see who is going to wrestle at that weight (at the Varsity level). For this big tournament they did the wrestled off before Christmas. Matt was out wrestled for his actual weight class, but could "Wrestle up" and try for the next weight class. He wrestled the boy in the next weight class and beat him, so he was allowed to go to the Beast and wrestle in the 181-215 pound class. (for the trip to Beast of the East, only one student per weight class was allowed to go- there are no JV/Varsity matches).

One thing Matt didn't realize- he had to weigh at least 181 since he was wrestling up...and he had dropped a few pounds this last week and was down to 179 pounds. He had lots to drink before the weigh in to make weight! (only my kid is trying to ADD weight to wrestle...aren't most wrestlers doing any thing possible to LOSE weight??)

A brief summary of Matt's matches (I will update this once Matt is home and can give me the full story again- so check back!!):

For the first match he received a "bye", meaning he didn't wrestle- it is an automatic advancement to the next round (a lucky draw and the first time he has ever had a bye).
He had to wait 3 hours until he actually wrestled. It was against someone weighing in at exactly 215 pounds (so he outweighed Matt by over 33 pounds). Guess he got Matt in a headlock, bloodied his nose and his lip and took the first round by points. Second round he again bloodied Matt's nose and took him by points. Since it is the best 2 out of 3, Matt took that match as a lose.

Next match was against a 197 pound guy. First round went to the other guy by one point. In the second round Matt pinned him about half way through. A Win for Matt!

Matt's final match was against another giant- full 215 pounds. This kid was from Kinnick, so he had hometown advantage. Matt took the first round by points. Second round went to the local boy by points. This put them into a third round- Matt said both of them were completely sucking wind. The guy shot at Matt's legs, but he was able to sprawl out and then get behind him to score. He was pushed right up against the line (if you are pushed out of the circle, your opponent scores a point), but was able to get away and score. The Win goes to Matt!

Not only did Matt take third for his weight class, his placing 3rd put Kubasaki High School into the third place position. Woohoo!!

Wish we could have been there to see it... Extremely proud that he did so very well, especiall wrestling boys so much heavier then him. Guess wrestling those Marines really paid off!

It's Been Exhausting

Being an only child is exhausting I guess! With Matt being gone (he is currently in Yokosuka, Japan, for wrestling), David has been enjoying being an "only child" for the weekend.

One of the benefits- being allowed to stay up a bit later than normal. David was told to head to bed last night...but didn't quite make it upstairs. He only made it off the couch onto the floor...where he promptly fell fast a sleep! Ty soon joined him... and then Willie too.

After about two hours we finally woke David up (not an easy task) and got him upstairs to bed. Today he didn't believe that he fell asleep on the floor- he was sure he had just rested there a few minutes and listened to us the whole time. It wasn't until I showed him all the pictures that I took that he really believed he had crashed out on the floor for so long!
(I think the football practices this week MAY have had something to do with David being so tired by the end of the day...)

Notice Any Differences?

In our everyday travels around Okinawa, we often come across things which highlight some differences in cultures. After being here for several months, we've gotten used to many things here in Okinawa and don't even think twice about them. I took this photo outside a Lawson (similar to an American 7-eleven, only much nicer!).
It wasn't until looking at the photo that several things popped out at me.
Take a look....What do you notice??

Some things I noticed:
The phone- seems in the states that pay phones were not always easy to find. Here they seem very easy to find, even around town.... AND the phone books are usually intact.
The cigarette machine. Where is the last cigarette machine you saw in the states?? I think the last one I saw was inside a bar. Not as common as the soda machines (of course, since they are EVERYWHERE!), but readily found.
The "But Can"- so you don't have to put out your cigarettes on the ground. (and conveniently placed right next to the cigarette machine!)
The Trash Cans- count them, one, two, THREE for recycling your trash (plus an extra can for regular trash)- all nicely color coded. And the locals use them! Even the trash cans seem clean here.

Another thing which is not quite as apparent in the photo- the sidewalks outside the stores are clean. I often see the shop keepers outside sweeping up around their stores. Sure there is trash around, but I have to say things appear much cleaner here then in the states (and I would hazard a guess that a lot of the trash I see around come from non-locals)

Wrestling

Futenma "Tap Out" Wrestling Tournament

Today was the MCCS Wrestling tournament at Futenma. It was a good way to get the boys back on track after the holidays- especially since January is action packed with wrestling events every week.

Wrestling finally got underway just before 10:00am. Matt's first match started out well. He held his own during the first round, but lost by points.

During the second round Matt was ahead on points...but a slick move on his opponents part caught Matt with in a pin.
Matt was frustrated- if he had realized how little time was left in the round, being ahead on points means he could have gone on the defense and possibly won the second round so they could go on to the third round for the best two out of three.

Second match...another scary looking Marine! (Matt has said that after wrestling the Marines at these tournaments, he will never again be intimidated by a high school student on the wrestling mat. This was an issue last year as Matt wrestled, as a freshman, against some very accomplished and scary looking seniors).
On this match, the first round went well for Matt, but the win still went to the Marine on points.

During the second round "after the Marine scored several points, Matt, in a desperate attempt to score, threw his opponent in an impressive head-and-arm, taking him to his back (and holding him there seemingly forever) to win with a pin". (in case you are wondering, those are Matt's words!)s).Yeah!! I'm not sure who was more excited- me or Matt! I was yelling and screaming- very exciting!! Matt was thrilled to
have beaten a Marine. OOOO-RAAAH!

After winning a match, you have to go up to the head table and sign your card. Despite shaking hands, Matt was able to sign his score card (accompanied by a proud little brother)!

Just 10 minutes later Matt was called for his third match. Caught him by surprise- and if he had known, he could have asked to have more time. They are supposed to have a minimum of 15 minutes between matches. With only 12 minutes to recover from a pretty intense second match, Matt was once again on the mats. Matt definitely held his own during the two rounds, but in the end was out pointed.Today was by far the day of wrestling Matt has had- he went out aggressively and fought hard and well. The two Marines may have won their matches, but they worked hard to do it! Great job Matt- Proud of you, Kiddo!

By the way, Matt attributes his stellar performance today to his new red, white and blue Asics wrestling shoes!