Sea Creatures that Sting

Yesterday, I had a very interesting first experience: I was stung by a venomous creature in the waters of Higashi.

During the summer, groups of students from two villages on the mainland of Japan come to Higashi to participate in an exchange program of sorts. While only lasting for a few days, one of those days is always spent at the beach. The kids swim, canoe, snorkel, and ride a banana boat (seen below). It's really great fun.

Picture is NOT of the actual exchange students, sadly.

So there I was, snorkeling in the water, making sure the kids didn't venture too far from shore, when it happened. I felt the sting on my face first. I went to swat at whatever it was, which only got me stung on the arm as well. Not realizing what was going on, my constant movement only served to get me stung in a few more places. It wasn't until I got stung from my right chest to my right shoulder blade that I realized I was in the grasp of jellyfish (actually, what stung me isn't technically a jellyfish, rather four independent creatures living symbiotically that resemble a jellyfish). This one, to be exact:

In Japanese, it's called カツオノエボシ (katsuo no eboshi). In English, it's known as a Portuguese Man of War.

I started backing up only to notice the body of the thing trailing after me, the stingers still attached to my arm. Luckily, I had a pair of goggles with me, so I swung them to sever the connection. The stingers that were left over in my arm, while very painful, upon later inspection were actually quite pretty. The blue of the stingers was so bright it was hard not to be a little amazed at the color.

A kind fellow at the board of education pulled the stingers from my arm. Another guy came over to help, only to pull the stingers off of me and get them all over his own finger (they stung, he said). We learned a valuable lesson, too. And that is that vinegar should NOT be used for a Man of War sting. Cold water or sea water is the best remedy. Given the nature of the poison of the Man of War, vinegar only serves to make the pain worse, or in some cases cause increased swelling.

The pain lessened quickly but I could still feel it about an hour later. A few hours later I didn't notice anything at all. Today, there are some red marks where the stingers were, but nothing serious.

I have always been told that there are jellyfish (or things like it) in the ocean near Higashi, but this was my first run in. I'm just thankful I didn't run into one of these suckers. My day would have very likely been over, at best.

Proof of Practice

Bruises left over from last night's bo practice (棒術). Pretty soon, I won't be able to feel anything on these spots.

Cool

Today, it's 31° in Okinawa.

But it's not hot.

I just took a nap on my couch at my apartment in Nago. The sliding door of the balcony facing south is open, the windows too. The breeze is pretty steady, the curtains blowing back and forth as the wind changes. Shorts and towels from this mornings ocean swim flutter on the clothesline. I've got a fan set to medium. The afternoon sun is just creeping onto the ledge of the balcony, creating a thin strip of sunlight on the concrete.

Yeah, Okinawa isn't hot at all. In fact, it's pretty cool.

And They Advance!

I woke up this morning at 3:25 am to connect to the internet and find a live feed for the Denmark v. Japan game. I'm a little tired right now, but the catching the game was worth the effort.

Coming into this final game of the group, Japan had a 1 goal advantage (in terms of points) over Denmark. That means that all Japan had to do to advance to the Round of 16 was to tie. It didn't seem likely that the game would be scoreless, because the idea of settling for a tie is very close to just waiting for the opposing team to strike one in.

And so Japan went on the offensive, as did Denmark. But at 17' into the first half, Keisuke Honda, with the help of a smooth set piece, sent in a brilliant free kick that the Danish keeper had no chance of touching. From that point on, things seemed good for Japan. And they continued to head that way. At 30', Yasuhito Endo put another in the back of the net (again, off of a set piece) to put Japan ahead 0-2 before the half.

The Danish answered with a goal with just under 10 minutes left to play, but Japan sealed the match when Shinji Okasaki tapped in an assist from Honda, Japan's third goal of the game, with just a few minutes left to play.

Watching Japan solidify their game was great, especially coming off the previous 0-1 loss to the Netherlands. This World Cup has witnessed Japan winning its first two games outside of their own country, not to mention progressing into the Round of 16. I'm excited to watch them in action again. I'll be cheering heartily for them.

In other great news, the USA and Germany also advanced. The USA's Landon Donovan saved the day with a goal in the first minute of stoppage time in the second half of the game against Algeria. And it was Mesut Özil who scored in Germany's third game, against Ghana. Both teams advance as the leaders of their group, which means they will play the second seeded teams from opposing groups.

I'm looking forward to all the games and hope to see my three favorite teams do as well as they can.

Welcome!

We have a new secretary at one of my schools. She's young, very nice, seems shy. Yesterday (Monday) we had a welcome party for her. There was a short speech by the vice principal, some good food, introductions from each of the teachers and staff, and finally a few words by our newest member. She was moved by the welcome she had received from everyone here at school (moving her to tears, even).

Of note was the vice principal's speech. He starts off by saying,

"Hello, everyone. Well, I think the person happiest about N-san's arrival...is Sonofhigashi."

Oh, shame!

It's only funny 'cause it's true. Just a few weeks ago, I was talking with the vice principal, telling him how I would appreciate whatever he could do to fill the secretary spot "as best [he] can." He asked me, "What, was something wrong with the old secretary?" No, no, not at all, I replied. She was great. But nobody's perfect and there is always room for improvement.

So, N-san, welcome!