Mid-Year and Tokashiki

The Annual Okinawa Mid-Year Conference was held this past Thursday and Friday in Okinawa City. It was a collection of seminars, from JETs and Japanese Teachers' of English (JTEs), which covered topics from ideas for elementary school games and lessons to the theory of learning a second language. I was mostly pleased with the presentations. I, for some reason though, maintained a slight state of anxiety throughout those two days. Probable reasons include being used to my small-village life in Okinawa and feeling somewhat off about being so physically close, yet emotionally restricted, to certain things.

Seeing JETs I don't see frequently was also nice. Whether over lunch, during a break, or at the bar/evening event, I was able to catch up with those living in vastly different parts of Okinawa, from the outer islands to the urban life in the few cities that do exist here.

The highlight of the weekend came in the trip to Tokashiki Island. James, a JET from New Zealand, lives on the island. And the Tokashiki trip happens every year, sometimes during warmer weather. But it was still awesome.

We caught an early liner on Saturday and set up camp upon arrival. Morning activities included having a couple of drafts at a nearby eatery, fighting away the amazingly bold and aggressive crows, snorkeling, eating, napping, and going for an awesome glass-bottom boat ride. As evening rolled around, the drinking started again, dinner was taken at a local eatery - the name for which I cannot recall for the life of me. After that, it was time to hit the beach.

Having gathered wood before dark, our supply was ready to go. But I have this issue with fires, especially if they are crap. I arrived to a mild bonfire, one clearly in need of improvement. So I did my best with the limited amount of thick wood that we had, helped impressively by John McFarlane, who appeared with a nice bag of charcoal. Amidst building the fire, most likely due to a fair bit of drinking and relative darkness, I grabbed a piece of wood that was actually an ember. I immediately went for the cooler, plunging my hand into the cool, but not cold, water. My second step was to open another beer and hold it with my right hand, soothing the pain in a dual-layered process. I now have a scar on my right palm, though it's small and nothing worse came of it.

The rest of the evening, while generally remembered, is jumbled. I recall singing, drinking, tending the fire, talking about my issues with figuring out I.B. sensei, speaking Japanese, and coming to realize that the beach was cold, it was late, and I needed to go to sleep (this may have occurred after I woke up from a nap I took on the beach - reportedly, since I can't remember).

Bad news is that this morning was extremely crap with headache, ill stomach, lack of food, and feeling quite ill after the liner ride back to Naha. Good news is that we all kind of felt like trash, so it was funny to joke about our condition, though not too loudly.

I have no pictures, deciding to leave my camera in the car (this was an excellent idea as I have found sand in my phone). I don't want to think what would have happened if I brought it. I'll do my best to elicit photographs from friends that took them and post them when I can.

This week is short due to the Japanese Labour Thanksgiving Holiday. It is also quite free seeing as I'll be performing an "observation class" on Wednesday with Natsu-sensei. Thursday brings the arrival of Aaron and Kelly from Hong Kong and a good long weekend of touring and sights. I'll fill you in after, of course, and wish you a good week from here. Waisu desu.