This week in Boot Camp

This week has been a tough week. Although I'm sure I've had harder weeks, had weeks where we've done more reps or weeks where we started over more often. Yet this week for me has been increasingly tough. I suppose without pain there is no change. I know the plan, I know the way to be successful is through diet and exercise. I know these things yet I continually make bad choices. Like chocolate ice cream for dessert instead of nothing. Monday and Tuesday of this week were standard days, weights, crunches and pain. Wednesday we ran and I had a realization about my journey. When I started boot camp in August the very first week I got lost running around the same park I ran at on Wednesday. I suppose a change is that I don't get lost any more that my path at that park is ingrained into my brain now. But that wasn't the realization. When I started in August they had just started working on a building at this park. I believe it's for a sporting event coming up sometime late this summer. Possibly an Olympic try out center or something, I'm not sure. I don't read Japanese. But that's not the point. The point is that on Wednesday I realized how much this building has been completed. The windows are in, the smell of fresh paint spills out into the cool early morning air. This building has gone from just a foundation to a beautiful structure in 5 months. I couldn't help but see the similarities between this building and myself. I suppose I already had the foundation when I entered boot camp, I was relatively healthy and I had the desire to complete this challenge. Just like the building has been put together so have I. As the building had walls constructed I constructed healthier eating habits. When the building got floors I was probably strengthening my legs or as it got a roof my brain began to praise my own accomplishments in self improvement. Now this building is almost finished, the outer facade looks wonderful, very artful and modern. I too feel like my facade is looking nicer these days but what I'm really proud of is my structure, my inner workings which are firing on all cylinders and working efficiently for the first time in a very long time. This is all thanks to boot camp: getting up every day at 4:12 am, working as hard as I can for 1 hour and then coming home and continuing the program throughout the rest of my day. I have a mere 5 weeks left until this second session is over and I'm unsure if I will continue. Do I have the necessary skills to keep my new building from falling down or should I stay and work a little longer with the architect that helped sculpt this new me. That is a question I will consider in the coming weeks but this week I'm just celebrating the building of a new me.

Ole, Bullfight in Okinawa

This weekend Ishikawa, a small city to our north, held a Bullfight. Since we've heard it was a must do activity we purchased tickets earlier in the week and headed up to Ishikawa Saturday afternoon. We arrived earlier enough that we were able to park in a great parking spot just next to the sport dome. As we walked towards the event we passed the small paddocks where the bulls were being held before their fights. There was a small playground so Gabriella was able to play for a few minutes before we ventured inside the venue. Once inside we purchased a small toy bull for Gabriella, it was adorned in a fabric pattern famous here in Okinawa. Some of our friends had already arrived so after we perused the food and drink booths we moved down the bleacher seats to sit with them. Before the match they invited members of the audience down into the bullring to take pictures with one of the bulls. He was draped with a red banner and his handlers kept a close watch on him to make sure he was calm during the photos. Many people placed their children on his back or climbed up themselves for the pictures. After the photo opportunity the program began in earnest. There was a brief explanation of how the fights would work, which was acted out by four men dressed up like 2 bulls. They demonstrated the different types of movements the bulls would employ to win his fight. It is important to state that in Okinawa the bullfights take place between two bulls, their handlers are on hand to help to keep them safe and from what I could tell they do not move the bull in the fight unless they are too close to an edge or the winner has been determined. Once the explanation was complete the first Eisa drum/dance group performed some very rousing numbers. Then it was time for the first 2 bullfights. The first two fights ended in a draw and the winner was determined by audience applause. The intermission had another Eisa drum group performing. Then the final fight was set to begin. The last bull fight was much more exciting than the previous two. The bulls seemed to be in better condition which meant they were able to fight longer, this fight had a clear winner. The bullfights were very different then I imagined, without a toreador attempting to stab a bull with knives it seemed almost humane. The bulls were very well treated and seemed to enjoy sparing with each other.

Taiwan Day Five

The last day of our vacation dawned warm and clear. It was a free morning, we had to meet back at the hotel at 1 pm in order to head to the airport for our return flight. We decided to head out on the subway to check out a few temples and the Chiang Kai Sheck memorial hall. Our first stop was the Confucius temple. On a side note every city, town and village in Taiwan and China as a whole will have a Confucius temple because his teachings are so widely worshiped. The one in Taipei city was under construction, it was very large and even through the rubble of the construction it was beautiful. We went next door to Bao An temple which was open and we were able to explore. The temple is set up with many deities in individual worshiping areas around the outer ring of the temple. There were large alters in the front and the middle which are dedicated to the most powerful of the gods. I can't tell you which they were because there were no signs in English. This particular temple had a gift shop where people could buy offerings as well as trinkets of their gods. It was a beautiful temple and the smell of incense followed us all the way down the street.

Our next stop was the Chiang Kai Sheck memorial hall which not surprisingly has it's own subway stop. It's located in between the National concert hall and opera house. It's a beautiful blue and white pagoda like building surrounded by a lovely garden. There are 150 steps to climb to get to the top of the hall. As you walk into the rotunda there is a huge statue of Chiang Kai Sheck that was a little reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. We were there in time for the changing of the guards, which made 3 times we'd seen their elaborate changing ceremony. There was a bank of elevators off to the side and as we made our way down to the third floor we realized that the memorial hall wasn't just a statue and some guards. Instead the hall boasts a large collection of local paintings, some statues, an animatronic dinosaur exhibit as well as a very interesting collection of memorabilia from Chiang Kai Sheck's life. As we walked through the exhibit rooms we were able to get a better idea, through the photos and small descriptions of events, of who this leader was. It was a beautiful exhibition of his life and I came away knowing a bit more about this iconic historical figure. After our history lesson we headed back to the hotel where we doggedly searched for something to eat.

We were back on the bus at 1 and arrived at the airport before 2. This gave us plenty of time to check in and grab a bite to eat before we loaded onto the plane. Our last meal in Taiwan was a plate of dumplings from the airport food court. Although not as good as the ones from the other night, they were still delicious. All and all we arrived back at our car unscathed and no worse for wear by 8pm. It was a very fun trip and I look forward to taking a few more before our time here is over.

Taiwan Day Four

Sunday was a free day and we opted for an extra tour, we and another couple went to see Chiufen Mining Village and the seaside. The day was slightly warmer than the day before however as we drove out of the city a steady sprinkle of rain began to fall. At the seaside the waves were wicked yet there were still people standing on the rocks fishing. Our tour guide Michelle said that many people die each year by being swept into the sea and seeing how they are precariously perched on rocks while waves crash around them the death toll seemed a bit low. After our view of the Northern Sea we headed to the village of Chiufen. It was quite a drive and as we slowly wound our way through the mountain side we were able to get an idea of the struggle it must have been for the people living in the secluded mountain village. Once we finally got up there, we walked around sampling many of the food products and looking at the merchandise on their market street. On the way back to Taipei City we passed a very large funeral procession, our guide said it must be for a member of the mafia because she’d never seen one with so many bands and floats. Apparently each band or float is sponsored by a family or a business. This particular procession went on for almost a mile. It was truly a sight to see. Once back in the city we went to the Formosa Regent hotel for afternoon tea. It was really more of an afternoon buffet, there was Japanese sushi, Chinese dumplings and 100 other items to eat. The desserts included ice cream that you scooped yourself and a chocolate fountain. Needless to say we were all stuffed by the time we left. Next stop was Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world until a few weeks ago when the Dubai tower opened. We rode the elevator to the top which arrived in 45 nauseating seconds. The view of the city was spectacular and since we were above the clouds we were able to see the bright red sunset. The building itself was quite beautiful, it houses a mall and office buildings. We had a beverage at one of the restaurants to rest our tired feet before the walk back to the subway station. By the way Gabriella is born to live in a city with a subway system. She's loves scanning her token and walking through the little gates. Greg and I imagined her living in NYC taking the subway to school or work, she's a born city girl. On the way back to our hotel we stopped at the night market. Greg was able to get his noodle bowl from the famous noodle house. The noodle house has no seats, a customer orders, is handed the bowl of noodles and eats them standing up in front of the shop. We went to the Risotto stall but sadly I was still too full from lunch to partake in the delicious offering. Greg did surprise me with a coca cola slurpee from 7-11 which made my night.

Taiwan Day Three

We started the day again with the hotel breakfast, it was the same as the day before. Our first tour stop was Leofoo Theme Park. I would describe it as Lion Country Safari meets Knotts Berry Farm. The whole tour went together on the safari bus ride and as we drove through the animal enclosures we saw Bengal Tigers, not just one but 10, baboons straight out of that scene in the Omen and enough Lions to start two prides. It’s amazing how many animals there were just roaming around or relaxing. One of the baboons even jumped up on the bus for a free ride around the enclosure. After our safari we hurried to ride as many rides as we could in the scant hour and a half we had left before we had to be back at the tour bus. Greg and Gabriella had a great time riding a few rides while I ordered lunch. Greg said that all the visitors in line at the rides wanted to take pictures with Gabi, she was a mini celebrity. We made it back to the bus 15 minutes late but no one seemed too upset by it. On the way to our next stop Gabriella made the fatal mistake of reading her Princess magazine while driving on a windy road after wolfing down lunch the combination caused her to throw up theme park chicken nuggets all over herself. Needless to say it was a terrible mess that was difficult to clean up and she was forced to spend the rest of her day in Greg’s oversized hoodie and no pants. The flower Oasis was probably nice but I spent most of the time washing out her pants and then trying to will them dry. The next stop was Chiang Kai Shek’s tomb and statue garden. It was interesting to see so many statues of this both beloved and despised dictator. We did make it back to the hotel for a brief rest before heading out for dinner. I was able to shower off Gabriella and get her a new pair of pants before dinner. We went to dinner at a lovely dumpling restaurant. Gabriella’s favorites were the pork dumpling in soup, she must have eaten at least 4 or 5 of them. We learned the proper way to eat a dumpling, with soy sauce, vinegar and ginger shavings on a spoon. I also added hot peppered soy sauce to mine and they were delicious. Everyone was so full we didn’t even want to stop to sample some local Taiwanese delicacies on the way back to the hotel. We were going to go to ice cream but that idea fell by the wayside.

Taiwan Day Two

We got our wake up call at 7 am and realized that sleeping on the rock hard mattresses did nothing for our neck and backs. Even Gabriella had a stiff neck from the bed or pillow. Our hotel stay includes a breakfast buffet so that was the first stop of the day. The breakfast included a salad, yogurt drinks, dried cereal, an awesome espresso machine, toast, hard boiled eggs, breakfast meat and rice pudding. The breakfast was filling and we all arrived at the bus on time.

We drove out of the city to an aboriginal village in the mountains. We were treated to a show who’s first song was one by Enya. I had no idea Enya was a traditional aborigine. The show was beautiful and at the end we all got to go up and dance on stage with the performers. After the show we walked down to Aborigine Street, which was full of food stalls and places to buy traditional outfits and fabrics. After a long walk down the street we loaded into the bus and headed to lunch. Lunch was at a beautiful restaurant who’s speciality was cooking with Tea. Every dish we ate used tea in the cooking process. My favorite food was the greens, they were deliciously prepared and tasted even better when I added hot peppered soy sauce. After lunch we had a leisurely drive back into Taipei City. Once there we headed to Ladies Street. Now I know what your thinking but it turned out to be a shopping market. We traversed the streets and narrow alleys dodging scooters and looking for sales. I got a new hat and Gabriella got a few new sets of PJ’s. The deals were great and Gabriella got a chance to make some new friends at the playground. That night for dinner we went to another Night market. We ate our way through the market starting with some delicious fried rice, then an oyster omelet, some fresh squeezed apple juice, a tepanyaki meal and finally a mountain of shaved ice with chocolate ice cream and bananas. We were so stuffed on the way home all we could do was go to bed.

Taiwan Day One

A vacation never goes seamlessly one can only hope that the snags are unimportant to the overall success of the trip. This trip was no different however the only snag was that our plane was delayed about an hour. Gabriella made a new friend at the airport, his family traveled to Japan and was just heading back to the states via Taiwan. Our arrival in Taiwan was greeted by persimmon head with I heart Taiwan t-shirt on it, he was Gabriella's first friend. Our tour guide Michele picked us up at the airport and our tour started straight away. Our first stop was the Grand Hotel which was something out of a Chinese film. Beautiful marble staircase and ornately carved ceilings and an amazing fountain dragon with an entire village with people carved around the base. Next stop Martyr shrine, we arrived in time to see the changing of the guards which was quite a show. This shrine shows the sacrifice made by the Taiwan people throughout their history. We checked into our hotel aptly named Just Sleep. Our room had 3 twin beds, a serviceable bathroom and a small desk for the laptop. The room was clean and thankfully came with 3 bottles of water, because the water from the sinks in Taiwan is not drinkable. We all loaded back on the bus for dinner at crazy restaurant that celebrated women. It was created by a housewife who loves modern art, there were lots of boob statues. The food was quite good and the atmosphere made the weirdest restaurant pale in comparison. There was another stop on our endless day of touring, the Shinen night market. Gabi and I didn’t go but Greg said we should next time because of the amazing food stalls.

Concluding of a Visit and the Entering of a New Year

We managed a few more activities before Matt had to return to the states. We did the Churumi Aquarium and Pizza in the Sky. I think he enjoyed all the activities and his time here on Okinawa. It's a beautiful island so full of modern technology yet still safe enough to accept food from strangers at a park.

New Year's Eve arrived and we were lucky enough to secure an invitation to a traditional Japanese New Year's Celebration. Our dear friend Nori shared Japan's most popular holiday with us and a few other doctor's families. His wife Akiko made all the traditional Japanese dishes my favorite was the buckwheat soba. It's extra long noodles symbolize long life. I learned that you are not suppose to bite the noodles but rather slurp them into your mouth. Too bite them would be like cutting short the long life they represent. Gabriella was especially fond of the Japanese chips and the chicken balls. We also had sushi and other specific Japanese New Year's dishes like fish cakes and spicy bamboo shoots. The meal was delicious. After dinner we played a game of Jeopardy which focused on questions about Japan in general and Okinawa specifically. We didn't win, but were a very close second. It was lovely to ring in the New Year with our friends and learn a few new traditions along the way.

Another New Year's tradition that we participated in was the annual shrine visit. This time of year most Japanese visit their local shrine or temple to celebrate the coming year. They wash in the sacred water and make an offering then pray at the shrine. We visited the Naminae Shrine and received our fortunes, all of them were good, and said a prayer for prosperity in the coming year. The shrine was full of food stalls and games, we had some french fries and Gabriella won a very snazzy Stich ballon. On the way back to the car we tried out the ice cream vending machine, it was very delicious. The same day as our shrine visit we went to the Hiraeyri Memorial, it commemorates the students of an Okinawa school who were pressed into service during the battle of Okinawa. The students were used as nurses for the wounded Japanese soldiers and from the stories treated poorly by their patients, when it became clear that the war was not going to be won by the Japanese, the students were told their service was over and that they were on their own. Many died trying to reunite with their families. It humbles me to see the sacrifices that were made by the Okinawan people during this battle, my heart truly hopes that Gabriella will never be called upon to make such sacrifices.

Shuri Castle...again

You can't visit Okinawa without seeing Shuri Castle, so of course we took Matt to see it. Shuri is the only castle on Okinawa which has been rebuilt to it's former splendor. It, like most of Okinawa was destroyed during WWII. The grounds of the castle are scenic but what I find most impressive are the gates, there are quite a few of them. They are tall and regal looking, in my mind I can imagine guards waiting to escort visiting dignitaries to their audience with the king. The castle is an impressive sight. I'm sure Matt enjoyed seeing a little bit of historical Okinawa. After our trip to Shuri we decided to go out to dinner. Since Greg was on call he needed to stay close to the hospital so we selected a restaurant right across the street from our base. The restaurant is referred to as the ticket restaurant, because instead of ordering from a server you actually select your meal from a vending machine, then hand the ticket to the wait staff and take a seat. You order everything from the machine, drinks, food, desserts all at the same time. It was a unique experience and the food was absolutely delicious. Thankfully Greg's pager managed to stay quiet through dinner however once we were finished he was paged to the hospital. Our evening ended watching TV and relaxing at the house while Greg slaved away at work.

Christmas Revisited

Gabriella woke up on Christmas day around 7:30 am, which surprised all of us. I don't think I ever slept past 6 am on any Christmas morning until this year. Once Gabriella was up she came in to wish Greg and I a Merry Christmas then casually suggest that we head downstairs to see what Santa brought. Santa was incredibly generous this year, not only did Gabriella get the Three Musketeer Barbie collection she wanted she also got a new bike. All of our stockings were stuffed full of our favorite magazines and treats. Once we'd gone through everything Santa had given us we ate a quick breakfast and headed to church. When we returned from church we opened gifts with both our families using Skype. Everyone was so generous this year, we all feel very blessed. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and in the evening Greg and Matt headed over to I's for a Christmas beer.

New Year: New torture

I think my title is a little ominous and very exaggerated. As I play catch up with my Christmas vacation I've decided to also include current entries because I don't want to have to relive this morning again. It's Monday and once again I managed to drag myself out of my nice warm bed and into the John's hall of tortures. As I walked up from the parking lot I saw that the class before us was doing the stairs. There is currently a standing rule at 1 Moore Rep that if you come early then you come up and get started. Today none of us, and there were 4, wanted to go up and get started. The 4 am class was sweating and cursing and exhausted and I had no desire to get a piece of that. Finally at 5 we made our way up the stairs, stairs that the 4 am class was still going up and down, and into the gym. Our first activity was "300" crunches. I use quotes because he says 300 but we just keep going until he comes back into the classroom. Today we actually did 1000 crunches. Then we did triceps curls, to help our arms look better when we wave. He said to grab 4 pound weights and I was so excited, 4 pounds is practically nothing. Yes, well it's nothing if you are just picking it up for a moment, but when you do 400 of these triceps curls suddenly 4 pounds feels like 40 pounds. After our triceps work out we headed to the stairs. Up and down we went, first without weights then with 8 pound weights. I think we went a couple of miles on the stairs. Finally back inside for water, another 100 triceps curls, which really felt like nothing probably because my arms were numb and then back to the stairs for a final 5 trips up and down. Today was really hard and challenging, but as the New Year starts I can see it's only going to get harder from here.

New Traditions: December 24th

Christmas Eve finally arrived and we spent the morning tidying up. Our friends Nori, Akiko, and Yuto arrived at 6 to celebrate Christmas Eve dinner with us. Gifts were exchanged and of course Gabriella instantly asked Akiko to assist her in coloring all of the princess pages she'd just received. We had a few appetizers and some drinks before the main course was ready. This year I made Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, mushroom risotto, and green beans. The dinner was delicious and I think everyone enjoyed it. After dinner the beer tasting began. Even Gabriella had a special "children's beer" I found at Jusco. As you can see from the photo above everyone had a beer to try. Nori and Akiko tried Egg Nog for the first time and we shared a delicious ice cream cake for dessert. Once we said our goodnights to Nori and his family we opened one Christmas gift then quickly put Gabriella to bed before Santa arrived. Greg and Matt snored through Christmas Vacation and then Santa set up all of Gabriella's special gifts and stuffed everyone's stockings. It was wonderful sharing our holiday traditions with our Japanese friends, it made the holiday even more memorable for us.

Snow in Okinawa: December 23rd

Ok, I've really fallen behind on my posting and as tempted as I am to just cut my losses and start fresh. I would be doing an injustice to my holiday season. We had so much fun with a special visitor, introducing and being introduced to holiday traditions and new experiences that I would be remiss if I didn't mention them. So most of these posts will be post dated as I desperately attempt to catch up with the present.

December 23rd was our first full day with our special Christmas guest. Matt, Greg's brother, came to visit for a week over Christmas. Our first day out we took him to our favorite rotating sushi restaurant for lunch, then to the commissary to pick up our Prime Rib, the mini mini egg zoo for a couple dozen eggs, and finally Blue Seal to pick up our Christmas cake. Our little outing took a while and Matt was surprised at the traffic our little island always seems to have. While I'm sure running errands was thrilling, it certainly wasn't the highlight of the day. That night we went to the Snow at the Zoo event at the Okinawa Zoo. It's a winter carnival of sorts which ran from 12/23-12/27. It included a laser show, real snow trucked in for kids to play with and lots and lots of food booths and games. Matt and I shared a delicious bowl of Ramen while Gabriella got her corn dog for dinner. Only a small portion of the zoo was open, none of the animal exhibits were available for viewing. However, the whole zoo was decorated with lights. We walked through Christmas tunnels and past huge inflatable Christmas characters. The funnel cake was delicious and the laser show was quite impressive. While Greg and Gabriella stood in line for the sled ride I watched the Okinawa hip hop dancers. They have some very impressive moves. The whole experience was unique and very fun. The zoo was very crowded and we were fortunate to find a pay parking lot close to the entrance. I found it ironic that Gabriella's first experience with snow happened on a tropical island. I hope she remembers it.