Yesterday was another full day. The picture above is from the aquarium… more on that later. But we went up to the north part of the island… First we went to this place called Pineapple Park… They grow pineapples there. You ride around in this pretty goofy pineapple car to see where they grow everything. Afterwards, you get to try all of their products with pineapple in it… Cakes, pies, cookies, juices, wines. It was cool.

For lunch we went to this place called Pizza in the Sky. It was way up in the mountains and had a BEAUTIFUL view of the coastline below. Their specialty is their Okinawan Pizza… It’s made with ham (i think), green peppers, corn, onions, mushrooms, and maybe some other things. It was delicious, but even if the food had been horrible, it would have been worth it for the view.

After lunch, we went to the aquarium. It was AWESOME. I am fascinated by things in the ocean. I don’t really want to be IN the ocean, but I love seeing everything and learning about it… aka I loved the aquarium! They have one of the biggest single tanks in the world… with whale sharks and huge manta rays! So awesome!

For dinner, we had Japanese Curry. AMAZING. It was BY FAR, my favorite food I’ve eaten since I’ve left the states. I could eat that every day. SOOOOOOOO delicious!

Last night, we rented a movie, and I stayed up to watch the Brazil/Netherlands World Cup game. For anyone who cares, Netherlands won, 2-1. I was mostly rooting for Brazil… and was both surprised and unhappy that the Netherlands won. See, Brazil is good. Arguably the best. And I usually don’t root for the team with the upper hand, and Brazil is almost TOO good, so I usually tend to root for whoever is NOT Brazil.  But… after watching for a bit, there were 2 things that made me want Brazil to win.
1. I don’t like how the Netherlands plays. I mean, I don’t like how Brazil plays. But the Netherlands annoys me more than Brazil does.
2. Brazil was CLEARLY the better team. I will say, I only made it to the 65th minute before I fell asleep, so maybe I missed something important. But anyway…

Today we went south. First, we went to the Former Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters… During WWII, the Japanese built all these underground tunnels on Okinawa where they had their headquarters. When the Japanese got to Okinawa, they ordered the Okinawans to build the tunnels using pick-axes! Wow. Eventually, 6 generals and around 150 other people committed suicide in the tunnels when they saw they were about to lose the battle. So, we got to go down in the tunnels to see it all. So crazy.

Next, we went to the southern tip of the island to a park called Peace Prayer Park. It’s devoted in memory of all the people who lost their lives at the Battle of Okinawa. The Okinawans were a peaceful people, so the park was a way of remembering the tragedy of the war, but also remembering the peaceful ways of the Okinawan people. The picture is strands of prayers offered to the giant Buddha statue. And perhaps some written to other gods as well. But they write a prayer on an origami paper, then fold it up, and attach it to the rest of them. 

There was also a beautiful butterfly garden. Butterflies, cocoons, caterpillars, flowers. Awesome. Here’s a few pictures from the butterfly garden. I could have stayed there for hours, I think. There’s just something about butterflies… They’re peaceful. And they bring a certain sense of… hope. Plus, I just love nature anyway… well, most of nature at least.

Another part of the park is the memorial walls… It’s the same idea as the walls at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. with all the names of people who died. This one had a Japanese section, an Okinawan section, and an American section. Afterwards, we hiked up to the Cliffs where the Japanese generals are said to have committed suicide when they saw that the Battle of Okinawa was coming to an end. At the top of the cliffs, they have memorials to different areas of Okinawa that suffered in the war. From the top of the cliffs, there is also a breath-taking view of the ocean. It was really cool. For dinner we ordered a pizza from somewhere on base and watched a few movie… We’re currently watching the Germany/Argentina game.

Tomorrow, I fly to Taiwan!!!! And I start my job on Monday! Slightly nervous, but mostly just excited!

Well, I’ll update you again soon…

Oh, and p.s. Today, I met Buzz Lightyear!!! And Buzz is actually a girl!! Who knew?! Hahaha.