Peace Prayer Park & Museum

 Thanksgiving weekend, we went down to the very southern tip of the island to the Peace Prayer Park and museum. It's a memorial for WWII and specifically the Battle of Okinawa. It's a very sobering place to be. The Battle of Okinawa was one of the worst in the Pacific side of WWII. Over 200,000 Japanese died (civilian and soldiers) and somewhere around 62,000 Americans casualties, with over 12,000 dead or missing. Being there was a very eye opening experience for us.

 The park itself is extremely beautiful, and despite the sadness that you feel, there is also a great sense of peace there. The whole experience is hard to describe. Just being there brings a lot of emotion.

 These strands of origami were one of my favorite things we saw. They were placed at different monuments with a tag on the end. I wish I could read Japanese so I could know what they said. This wasn't just a little pile of origami either. I can't even imagine how long it would take to fold enough papers for just one strand! It was amazing.

 There are a bunch of caves throughout these cliffs. The Japanese used to hide in them during the day and come out at night, hoping to find food and other shelter. The Japanese soldiers had brainwashed the Okinawans into believing that if they were captured, that the Americans would torture them in indescribable ways. They were urged by the Japanese soldiers to commit suicide in mass numbers. Some of the soldiers would give Okinawans grenades or convinced them to jump from these very cliffs.

Like I said, it was a very eye opening and sobering place to be.

 The boys were just having a great time playing and enjoying being outside. We tried to tell them a little of the story of the war, but they are still so little and unaware of the huge tragedy that it was. In some ways I envy their innocence, not knowing all of the terrible things that are in our world today. 

  

 There were rows and rows of all the names of those who died in the Battle of Okinawa.

Despite all of the sadness we felt, it was such a great day. Justin and I enjoy history so much and love learning as much as we can. Going there made us both grateful to be in Japan and having such memorable experiences. It was one that we won't soon forget.

Thanksgiving

 We had another great Thanksgiving. We offered to host it at our house, which gave me the opportunity to decorate the table. I think this is one of my favorite parts of hosting. I love doing all the preparations and seeing people enjoy the finished product. Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse and I love making it a little fancy. It makes me happy. :)

The food this year was amazing! I swear the food gets better every year. Or maybe I just appreciate it more every year. Everyone ate and ate until we were sick. That's what you do on Thanksgiving though, right?

 Left to right: Emily (Justin's dental assistant), me & Justin, Adam & Hollie, Camron, Blake & Amy, Spencer. (Suzy was taking the picture)

 Jack and Sydney were showing off their artistic skills. I put paper on the table for them to color on and I had to laugh at Jack's face when I told him it was ok to color on the table. I scored myself a few mom points on that one.

 The Case Western crew!

Is it so weird that they all went to dental school together (we are missing Shane and his family) and now we are all here enjoying each other's company in Japan? It's one of those tender mercies for me. It feels so good to have familiar faces and long term friends while adjusting to a far away and not so familiar land. Definitely something on the top of my "thankful list" this year.

 You can't tell, but Hollie is slouching and I am on my tip toes. I am so short!

These two rascals are also at the top of our "thankful list"! They are becoming friends the older they get. We picked up Jack from school yesterday and Anderson was hugging Jack around the neck and saying, "This is my Jack." over and over. Jack had a big smile on his face and just let Anderson continue to half way strangle him while enjoying the moment. Between the arguments and fights, they always say they are each other's best friend. 

Overall the day was filled with gratitude, and for that alone, I would say it was a success.

Katsuren castle ruins

 Right before Thanksgiving, we went to the Katsuren castle ruins. I find all the castle ruins so interesting. Justin and I always talk about how we wish we could see them in their prime, and how things were back then. Apparently, this kingdom, defeated the kingdom of the first castle that we went to (Nakagusuku). This one was a lot better preserved than Nakagusuku was, which was fun to see.

 Jack, Anderson, and Sydney.

Unfortunately, Anderson wasn't feeling too good that day. Justin had to take him all the way back to the bathroom multiple times while we were there and his smiles were few and far between. Thank heavens Justin was there. It was a trek just to get up to the castle! 

 How about that view?!

Jack and Sydney were exploring buddies while we were there.

 I have I mentioned before that these little photo things are everywhere??

 After the castle, we went and did a little beachcombing. On the way we saw an old lady on this funny little three wheeled moped. There are so many funny things about Japan. I need to keep my camera with me everywhere I go so I can get pictures of all the things here that make us laugh.

 The beach we went to was so beautiful! It was on an island, but I can't remember the name of it. There were some clouds that day, and every time the sun would come out from behind the clouds, the water would immediately turn bright blue. But then it just looked like normal water when the clouds would cover up the sun again.

 There were TONS of teeny tiny hermit crabs. If you got close to the sand and watched, you would see them moving everywhere. They were so little!

 We passed this little farmer on the way home, just sitting in the middle of his field. We wondered what he was thinking about.

 The roads to the beach were super skinny. Two cars could barely fit and only in certain spots. The houses are all separated by a concrete wall, which is very common here. 

Exploring has been our favorite thing to do here. I love that every time we go somewhere, we see stuff that is so interesting and that you would never see in the states. Even doing our everyday things has been an adventure! We just hit our 4 month mark (in a couple days) and we are amazed that we have been here that long. Christmas is in a two weeks! Our first of THREE Christmas's here. When I think of it that way, I get a little overwhelmed. On the other hand, we feel like there is so much we want to do here and if we weren't going to be here for 3 years, we would never fit it all in. So we just try and enjoy our time here and soak it all in while we have the chance.