The end is in sight...

I've had about an entire month off from school and it has been heavenly!!! Of course, Kevin has been gone for two weeks of it; but still what girl doesn't like a little "alone" time?

Well, anyway, starting next week, I'll be back in school. Right now, I'm just five classes short of getting this Business degree...what?! Huh!?? Yep, that's right. Soon enough, I will have a Bachelors in Business Administration.

In other news, Kevin and I have reluctantly decided to return to the States the end of January 2010. Despite the fact we love Okinawa, we have decided not to extend.

Soooo between school and seeing as much as we can before we leave Oki, this means we're going to be real busy....

I'm sure we'll have some interesting posts in the very near future.

Until then....enjoy the island life!

~Chrissy

Engrish....Ahem...I mean English...no really, I give you ENGRISH!

For those of you who live here in Japan; I know you can all appreciate this post. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I present to you: ENGRISH! Yep, that's right. Engrish.

The Japanese absolutely go ga-ga over English words-- so they put it on EVERYTHING....t-shirts, packaging for food, etc. The problem is, it just doesn't make sense. Bad grammar, poor sentence structure, you name it.... I saw a sign recently that made me chuckle. STOP OF THE USE. Do you know what this means? The sign was meant to read NO ENTRY, but it said STOP OF THE USE instead. Sorta makes sense if you think about it. It's not entirely wrong.....

Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to take too many photos of these funny signs (don't worry, I'll do it soon, I promise); but in the meantime, I thought I would hold you over with the following website dedicated to Engrish....

And before you reprimand me, let me just say; we're not laughing AT them, we're laughing WITH them....

~Chrissy

Yogurtland in Okinawa?!

I have just found paradise on earth!!! Okay, not really, but I have to tell you about this new FAB place to get the best frozen yogurt right here on Okinawa! The U.S. based chain Yogurtland built a store in American Village in Chatan-Mihama. The store opened just last month in July.

I went there today and had the most scrumptious frozen yogurt. The nice thing about this store is that it's self-serve; so you choose your own flavor of yogurt (there's about 16 different kinds), you pick your own toppings, etc. I'm afraid I didn't get too many photos as I didn't want to make too much of a scene with my camera....

Speaking of scene.....I have a whopper of a story to share with you. Let me preface this story by saying that sometimes I am really embarrassed to be an American living here in Okinawa...you'll see what I mean in just a second...

Case in point. Today at Yogurtland. Yogurtland is a U.S. based store, the flavors of the yogurt may be a bit different to cater to local tastes; but everything else is the same. Including the pricing concept. Price is based on weight (per ounce in the States), pure and simple. And of course, here on Okinawa, the price is in yen. The price is 200 yen per 100 grams.

You would think people would read directions that are clearly visible in both ENGLISH and JAPANESE....that's what I thought until I was waiting in line behind this American family who made a BIG scene....(sigh).......

Instead of reading the directions at the front of the store, they each (there were four of them) filled their cups FULL of frozen yogurt. Then, they piled on the toppings. When they got their cups weighed at the cashier, they were utterly shocked when the cashier told them the total price. They were appalled and made quite a fuss about it. In the end, they paid the price and left.

Okay, I know, I know; they should get some credit for at least paying the bill and leaving...but really...it was ridiculous. I know we have all made mistakes as Americans living abroad in a foreign country at some point and that's fine. What's not fine is when you make a big scene and you are clearly the one to blame.

It just irritates me to no end when silly Americans super-size their yogurt and are shocked when they see the price....GRRRRRR....

Soooooo what's the point of my story? Well, it's this. Don't be ignorant. Read directions and follow what others are doing. If you notice that folks are not filling their cups to the brim with yogurt, why should you? SERIOUSLY.....

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now. I leave you with a photo of my yummy yogurt. I think my favorite flavor might be toasted coconut. Of course, you can sample as many flavors as you like, just remember, it's 200 yen per 100 grams!



Yum... :)

~Chrissy

PS: According to the Yogurtland Japanese website, there will be another location opening up on Kokusai Street on 8/19!