Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Okinawa-Scuba And A Refunded Ticket
Beyond the grass…green, green Oregon grass…is the ocean I went diving in.
I liked the toilet and shell-door.
Diving was great, but not as impressive as the first time. The instructor was really patient and kind, and we dived for almost an hour (not sure ‘cause he forgot his watch) but I thought Goto’s ocean had just as much to offer as Okinawa’s. I liked the experience of doing a boat dive, but I think I prefer a land dive. I felt like we submerged too quickly and my ears had a hard time popping. When I got back to the boat I felt like I had a lot of phlegm in my throat—so much, in fact that I decided to spit it out rather than swallow it—and when I looked at it in the water, it was all bloody! I told the instructor because it really scared me and he said it could be because I didn’t unplug my ears well enough or because the air in the tank is so dry and may have irritated my throat. Because I had that pain in my ears in the beginning, I think it was the former.
He too said I was a good diver—although I’m still unsure what “makes” a good diver—I certainly don’t think coughing up blood is a good sign. He recommended I have Yoshida-sensei, here on Goto, help me get my license. Yoshida-sensei and I have set up a date and beginning October 15th I’m going to start my first of six dives needed for my diving license. He says he’s not worried about the practical diving tests, but the written test, which includes some physics might be hard because he can’t speak English. The textbook is in English, but he can’t give additional explanations. Then he said, “Aw, you’re smart, you can do it,” and so we’re going for it. I especially like the price: the cost of air (and other baked goods I make for him).
Back to Okinawa. The next day I had hoped to take a ferry to Ishigaki and Iriomoto (two very beautiful islands south of mainland Okinawa). These were all the places Naoki had recommended to me, but he mistook the ferry schedule and I missed the only boat that left for that week. Flying was out of the question because of the cost, but I could do day trips to closer islands instead. For that day, I decided to explore some parks and beaches around Naha. I happened to find a Chinese park called Fukushuen and I lolled around the grounds, feeding fish and taking pictures for a very long time. I took a lot of pictures, but I think these give the idea.
Up close this was really cool. You could walk behind the waterfall and there were lots of tunnels under and around the building. If I had had someone to play hide-and-go-seek with, I would have.
Then I found a beach and went for a quick swim. I didn’t have sunscreen, so it was a quick dip. I learned my lesson from Naoki and applied SPF liberally the whole time. Going to the beach alone—again, takes a bit more courage than I had at the time, but I was really brave and decided to strike up a conversation with some other boys in the water. They were nice and we chatted for a few minutes, but more importantly I worked up the guts to be the first one to talk to a shiranaihito whereas before I let everyone else approach me.
I showered and then read in this spot in the shade for a very long time. It was a relaxing afternoon.
I met a Canadian guy and his Japanese friend playing the guitar and drinking beer on the beach and they invited me to their fireshow that night. I went and it was very impressive.
He really enjoyed getting screams out of girls.
He’s spinning poi—I wouldn’t know that if it weren’t for Vicky who can also do this little trick!
The next day I decided to sleep in late and go for a run because I knew I needed to do some training for my upcoming triathlon. The run is definitely my least favorite part of the race and I practice swimming and biking plenty. Being away from the pool and without a bike is the perfect excuse to run, run, run. I ran once. Hee, hee.
I managed to run to the ferry port and refund Naoki’s ticket—would they ever let you refund a ticket you didn’t use after the boat already sailed in America? I don’t think so!! They’d probably give you a hard time even if you were canceling a week early, never mind having a random foreigner do it for you! They can’t do cheese, but they can do customer service!
Another relaxing day I think I did some laundry, shopping and ate overpriced Indian food. I bought some Japanese novels because my reading supply was getting low and prepared for going to another island the next day.
Just realized today is Tuesday and I have karate in a few minutes—will be back soon for more stories! Probably another two entries, can you bare with me?
Love, Sierra
