I started up the big hill to Kadena's Gate 1, and before I could even get any hills in I saw a group of Japanese guys playing soccer at Baba Park! I could hardly hop off the board fast enough! I asked to jump in and they roughly briefed me on goal posts, teams, and boundaries. (There were no boundaries, that is.) Within probably twenty minutes I had scored four goals on the little soccer field and gotten kicked off due to the other team's frustration. Never in my life have I seen such angry little Japanese dudes. They proclaimed, "Ookisugiru!" Which Kaito told me meant I was too big to play with them. Kaito was the only "English" speaking guy out there. He also apologized for the other team then bowed and said in broken English, "Stanky you for the goals." It made me feel great. Just to ease my mind I asked him what grade they were in, and he said something to the effect of Ryukyu College. (I didn't want to feel good about whooping up on some high schoolers, but thank goodness they were around my age! Hah. Crybabies.)
I got the board back to the pavement and headed to Gate One. Near the top of that hill there was a sweet little skateboard shop, but they didn't understand the word,"Bearings." Damn language barrier. The wind practically shot me down Highway 58, and I was jamming, so I just continued past Mihama into American Village. Nobody can argue with Audioslave and Bad Company. I did get into trouble with a police officer for the first time in Okinawa yesterday. American Village is a crowded place, usually. It wasn't today so I just skated through, and this mallcop-esque JP popped out and asked me for my ID. I gave it to him and asked why he needed it. Apparently it's not cool to be shirtless outside? I walked just out of sight and hopped back on. The journey continued to change scenery, Foster, Shipwreck Park, slummy ghetto apartment buildings, Uniqlo, Familymart, Lawson, Familymart, Lawson, Lawson. It got to the point where I was simply counting the number of FamilyMarts I passed to judge the distance I went. When I finally decided I'd need to turn around, I had just gotten to this huge entranceway.
Being in an exploratory mood, I conceded to the wanderlust. There were a bunch of flag drills going on in a field and croquet. Croquet was a bit foreign to me so I watched a game while enjoying Pocari Sweat. (Gross right? Wrong. Delicious.) After the old Japanese guys stared at me staring at them, one guy made a gesture as if he wanted me to take his next swing. I was delighted, and obviously partook. I did my best and like to think I was on par with the other croquet players. After my one swing I bowed as elegantly as I could and handed him the club back. Domo arigatou gozaimasu! The locals yet again have made me feel at home. I love that about Okinawan culture. The trip back was a bit arduous, I had forgotten how far I skated, but it was totally worth it.
Right when I decided it was naptime, the family was gearing up for the concert I had forgotten about. Irresponsible? Maybe. Either way, I got lucky and made it back with thirty minutes to shower, shave, and suit up. The main attraction was Dave Ralston Band. Well, that was what we went to see anyway. My main attraction was the all-you-can-eat BBQ food! Wowser. I probably ate several animals. When the food was mostly eaten, Dave Ralston and company marched on-stage. He's a drug and alcohol counselor that doesn't drink; despite this, he is still somewhat raunchy and in my stepmother's opinion, sexy. He hit on every Japanese girl in the place, and invited everyone to an after-party. Pretty cool guy. He also played: (ironically) Cocaine by Clapton, and Crazed Country Rebel by Hank Williams III, and a sweet rendition of No Woman, No Cry. He also, for some reason, had this hilarious, overjoyed woman onstage called Midori. She played the pineapple and the wooden shells and whistle...? It was kinda weird. She had great stage presence though, and energized the whole crowd. Oh and there was a belly dancer? Their original songs were mostly bluesy, but had an incredible range of influences. We returned to the house and I was out cold. I woke up around eight and joined a strange collection of friends to journey to the north end of the island. The plan was to go bathe, swim and whatnot at a mountain waterfall near Okuma. We got to Aja first, and figured we might as well go grab a couple of pictures there as it's the last time we might be here for years. We hopped around the falls and swam with some big German Shepards. A large group of Americans with kids had shown up right after us. We craved a bit more space so we left for an attempt at the original goal. Oku was a bit further down the road, but has a fun waterfall and jumping rock. We brought along dive masks for the rock bottomed clear water. We must've been there for 4 hours before we got hungry. Matt and I had gone to this soba restaurant near Oku last time we were at Okuma, and we knew it was the only option. It was genuinely the best soba I'd had this trip. It was the kind of meal that makes you satisfied enough to laugh at silly things and fall asleep, which is precisely what I did. We also checked out Hedo Point, which scares the crap outta me every time we're up there. It's sheer cliff walls with nothing to hold you back, with a breathtaking view. I passed out in the car again, and this time listening to something mellower than Dave Ralston, Dave Matthews. Big-Eyed Fish rang in my head the whole way home. Tomorrow we have planned a Father's Day around the missed landmarks: Shuri, Gyokousendo, and perhaps Fabb's Curry for dinner. Perfect day, in my opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment