7.0 Earthquake in Okinawa this Morning

Stayed with A's folks and A last night. Had fun watching the Olympics and playing Wii! At about 5:30 am I woke up because the house was starting to shake. A did not wake up. Then the house REALLY started shaking and I had to grab onto A's head and get both of us up and under a doorway. It went on shaking and throwing things from the walls/shelves onto the ground. Thankfully it stopped with little damage. A's folks live in a part of Okinawa with a higher elevation so I was not too worried about the tsunami warning and went back to bed. Glad the tsunami never hit and the earthquake had little to no damage!

Turns out it was about a 7.0.

Heres some more info on CNN

Random Photos

I am enrolled in lot's and lot's of online University classes, which started the beginning of February and will continue on until July. WOWZERS! So I do not have time to write a super quality post. Thought I would share these random and potentially interesting pics....

First of all, we have this Christmas Cat. I took the pic on Kokusai Dori. This cats owner has a whole set-up for this cat to travel and busk the streets for money. The cat really seemed to be enjoying itself...purring and "smiling" the whole time. This cat sits on a chair with its paws resting on the back of the chair, while wearing a variety of seasonal outfits. Apparently all proceeds go to take care of this cat. I hope they really do...but highly doubt it.

[ Christmas Kitty ]

Went to A's folks house for a Cousin's Birthday dinner. A was cooking.. It was DELICIOUS...except for this tasty treat, which I did not indulge in....

[ Pig Face ]

I am always on the look out for seasonal beer cans OR different beer because usually there are only the standard lagers. Orion, Orion, and Asahi. This Sapporo beer can looked all retro-vintage, so I bought it and took a pic with my Mac.

[ Retro-Sapporo ]

Seasonal Sakura Treats

Japan thrives on the glory of seasonal delights. Foods eaten, dishes created are all based on fresh seasonal ingredients. The same goes for seasonal snacks and drinks. It is now Cherry Blossom Time in Okinawa. Spring has Sprung. We can find special Cherry Blossom treats in the stores.

[ Cherry Blossom Flavoured Potato Chips - Maybe....I can't read the entire label so]

[ Cherry Blossom Orion - Beer with a Seasonal Label ]

CBC News - Furry angel of death profiled in doctor's book

CBC News - Books - Furry angel of death profiled in doctor's book

Cherry Blossom Festival - さくらまつり！

Spring has officially sprung here in Okinawa! This past weekend I went to one of the first Cherry Blossom Festivals in Japan. Okinawa's sakura blossom earlier than anywhere else because it is the most Southern Prefecture. That being said, the Cherry Blossoms in Okinawa are a bit different than those in mainland Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka). Okinawa Cherry Blossoms are very very pink, while in Mainland the blossoms are very light pink or white. Oki blossoms are quite small and tend to drop off the tree's and straight onto the ground, while mainland boasts much bigger, floatier petals that gently float off the trees like snow flakes.

Here are some pictures of the Spring Fun I had this weekend up North in Nago enjoying the Cherry Blossom Festival and down South in Haebaru enjoying a sunny sunday.

[ Shisa in the Sky ]

[ みかん Season ]

[ Festival Games ]

[ A Busy Bee ]

[ Cho-ピンク ]

[ Entrance to Yaedake ]

[ Friendly Friendies ]

[ The Crowd ]

[ Frolicking with Foliage ]

[ A Mochi Delight - Yummy! ]

[ Mochi Mungbeans ]

[ A Treasure found on the Side of the Road ]

[ Sugar Cane blowing in the Wind ]

[ Harvest Time ]

For those of you still locked down with winter, hang in there! Spring is coming soon!

School Lunch - 学校給食 - Friday

I love lunch days when bread is served. The bakery that supplies the baked goods for Haebaru Town's Lunch Center makes really good bread. Today will probably my favourite lunch for the entire month of January.

いただきます！！！！！！

Itadakimasu - said before every meal in Japan. Literally meaning "I humbly receive".

FRIDAY'S MENU

「牛乳，タルタルソース、ゆでやさい、さかなフライ、バーガーパン、パンプキンスープ」

[ Milk, Tartar Sauce, Boiled Vegetables, Breaded Deep Fried Fish Filet, A Hamburger Bun, Pumpkin Soup ]

Rating: * * * * * 5 Star

Comments: Yumm! I loaded the bun with the veggies, tartar sauce, and fish filet. It was a super sandwich for sure! Haebaru Town is famous for it's pumpkin harvest every year. The soup was the perfect creamy consistency and filled with chicken, onion and parsley.

That's it for this weeks kyushoku blog postings. I hope you enjoyed seeing a small glimpse of the variety of foods served in the Japanese School Lunch Program.

ごちそさまでした

Gochisosama deshita - said after every meal in Japan. Literally Meaning- "Thank you for good meal - it was".

School Lunch - 学校給食 - Thursday

THURSDAY'S MENU

「牛乳、きんぴらごぼう、やさいいりかまぼこ、みそしる、ごはん』

[ Milk, Braised Burdock Root, Vegetable Fish-Paste Cake (Kamaboko), Miso Soup with Seaweed and Mushrooms, White Rice ]

Rating: * * * * 4 Stars

Comments: I love burdock root. It has a wonderful earthy flavour. The miso soup was great and very healthy! I don't care for Kamaboko (Fish-Paste Cake) at all. Somehow I always find Kamaboko in one of my dishes at lunch. Apparently it is very amusing to watch Julie carefully pick out/separate the Kamaboko from lunch that day. Hilarious.

Since I hate Kamaboko, before I ate lunch I made a few modifications. I gave my Kamaboko to another teacher, and added some Shiso Furikake to my white rice. I keep a small Jar or Shiso Furikake in my desk for days that I feel the need to pep up my white rice. Putting Soy Sauce on top of white rice is not an acceptable thing to do...ever. Shiso is an amazing herb that I learned about while living in Japan. It is dried and then mixed with salt and who knows what to make it Furikake. Furikake is a dry condiment sprinkled over top of rice to give some extra zip. You can find all different flavours of Furikake.

[ Shiso Furikake for my Rice ]

[ My modified lunch tray ]