Lose some, win some

Snorkeling was a wash today. We were all geared up to go out at the Sunabe Seawall, one of Okinawa's premier snorkeling spots. However, we arrived at low tide and unless we wanted to snorkel where we couldn't see the bottom because it was so deep we were out of luck. There was a large pool toward the shore, but the water was very murky and warm because of the tide being out. The girls were freaking about swimming with the starfish and sea cucumbers anyway. Yeah, we have some progress to make in the non-chlorinated swimming arena. So after some minor wading we decided to call it a day.

We went out to dinner with Dionna and Alex to a new place called Satto. It was wonderful. They had all sorts of Japanese food. I had tuna sashimi, a tuna roll, and some sweet potato tempura. It was lovely. The girls had soba and rice. The rest of the table also had soba, but they got a few side dishes too. Brian has made up his mind to be gastronomically adventurous. Tonight he had pig's ear and we all got to try a bite. Not bad. Surprise, surprise, it tastes like bacon. He was tempted to give parrotfish nigri a try, but we were too full to enjoy it. One item on the menu that did not tempt anyone was the goat sashimi. I love raw slabs of sea creature, but uncooked land beast doesn't hold the same allure.

As we were leaving I asked our waiter how to say, "It was a delicious meal" in Japanese. Here it is phonetically: O-ee-she- kah-tay-des. That is my new Japanese phrase to practice since I get most of my interaction with native speakers in a dining setting. The other place I encounter native speakers a lot is at the gates. So I have mastered:
Good Morning (Ohio-go-zi-muss)
Hello (Co-nee-chi-wa)
Good Evening (Cone-ban-wa)

I have also discovered that they seem to be more pleased when you say thank you:
Arr-ee-gah-toe Go-zi-muss than when you just say, "Domo." I think it is because Domo is very simple and informal, ala "Thanks". Whereas, the other way is more like saying, "Thank you very much." I tend to get a more animated smile when I use the formal phrasing. They really like it when the kids speak Japanese too. They are very encouraging of any effort they make. This country really knows how to treat all people, but they specialize in the young and the elderly. It makes me wish that our society would follow a similar model. I sincerely think that we should study their society very closely in sociology classes. What they are doing works. Children are respectful and well mannered; the elderly are valued and cared for; the crime rate is unimaginably low (the bars you see on windows are there for the typhoons, not crime prevention. Graffiti is the main "crime" here.); people are patient and kind; and good manners are the most valuable commodity you can possess.