August 11, 2020

Shelter In Place Week 14- Snorkeling | 第14周自主隔離

August 11, 2020/ Brandy C.

Recently I haven’t been hiking as much, instead I’ve been frequenting the beach. Got sun burned and even freckles. What do I do? Swimming at the beach in Okinawa is like going to the aquarium. I am enchanted by the corals and colorful fishes. Our plan was to go do stand up paddle board on Sunday, but we had to cancel due to bad sea conditions. Besides being a beach bum, the rest of the time was spent sheltering in place at home.

最近對於爬山這事沒什麼興趣，幾乎天天往海邊跑，皮膚除了曬傷還開始長斑，該怎麼辦啊！但每次去海邊游泳像是到水族館一樣，太喜歡沖繩海底了。原本星期日想繼續到海邊玩獨木舟和SUP，但因颱風天海況不佳而取消。這整週老樣子，除了在海邊游泳，其餘時間待家裡做防疫。

Cape Maeda | 真栄田岬

Have to try on my new fins! To the left of the parking lot is a walking trail, and to the right are stairs that lead down to the water. They sometimes close access to the stairs when weather is bad. This is a perfect spot for snorkeling. It has everything you need, and parking is only ¥100 per hour. You will see coral reefs and fishes as soon as you get in the water. Satisfaction guaranteed.

拿到新蛙鞋怎能不馬上試一下呢！停好車左邊有健行步道，右邊往樓梯走下直通海邊。有時因天氣因素，樓梯入口會關閉禁止到海邊。但想潛水浮潛的人，這裡設施齊全方便，停車一小時100元日幣。下海後馬上見到珊瑚和各種魚類，保證你會喜歡。

Taiyo Steakhouse

A steak house on a golf course, a very American restaurant. The generous portions aren’t very helpful for my diet. This place is great for date night or birthday party. We ordered 20 oz to share. Thank God we decided against the 40 oz. Taiyo is open to the public, we come here when we miss American food. Highly recommend their weekend brunch.

高爾夫球場附設牛排館，標準美式餐廳，食物份量到對正在減肥的我狀況不是很有利。每次問到哪裡適合約會或生日慶生，這餐廳一定會在名單內。牛排重量20oz起跳，我倆差點點了40oz，幸好頭腦理智告訴我們別這麼做。這裡是開放給大家用餐，是我們想念美式料理時會來的地方，相當推薦週末的早午餐。

This summer is different in that there hasn’t been many typhoons. The mini typhoon that just passed by us pales in comparison to any of the ones we had last summer. Weather forecast predicts thunder and showers all week, but it’s bright and sunny outside right now, not a dark cloud in sight. Having an urge to go to the beach again!

今年夏天不太一樣，還沒遇到任何颱風。雖然最近迷你颱風過境，強度和去年比起來差太多。原本氣象預報顯示整週下雨打雷，但現在外面陽光普照，一點烏雲都沒有。開始有點想往海邊衝了🤗

August 05, 2020

Shelter In Place Week 13- Beach Everyday | 第13周自主隔離

August 05, 2020/ Brandy C.

Shelter in place restrictions have relaxed a bit, we can now shop at off base grocery stores, and even exercise, hike and swim outdoors. Still can’t dine out with friends, but at least we can take fitness classes together on base. Even if it’s just for an hour or two, standing six feet apart and wearing a mask, I’m still happy that I get to catch up with my friends.

自主隔離規定終於放鬆一點，能到當地超市買菜，還能上山下海出門玩。雖然無法和朋友一起在外用餐，但能一起上基地裡的運動課，算是朋友小小聚會吧！現在一兩小時的相遇，即使戴著口罩隔著6英尺距離聊天都覺得好開心。

Sunabe 砂辺

On this first day of August, we went scuba diving! Every time we decide to go scuba diving, I don’t sleep well the night before. But once I get into the water I’m back to normal again. Super thankful for my friend C for helping me! The choppy waves almost took away my fins, flooded my mask, and on top of that the steel tank was too heavy that I couldn’t float. I was extremely nervous, and made me miss doing boat dives. My friend C took us to see underwater UFO. As we got closer to it, the vision became blurry, the water felt a little warmer. Same as before, nervous while on land, but had a blast underwater.

八月第一天我們和朋友一起去潛水！每次潛水前一晚我一定無法睡好，UN還要精神喊話，但每次到水底下就一切正常。真的很感謝朋友C幫忙，這次剛下水，因浪太大，我的蛙鞋被沖掉、蛙鏡進水、氣瓶太重浮不起來，把我嚇到失去理智，懷念能坐船出海潛水的時候啊！這次朋友C帶我們去看海底UFO，靠近時視線變模糊，還以為是蛙鏡起霧，附近的水也變溫熱。老樣子，陸地上超緊張，海底下超興奮。

White Beach

This is a beach on a military base, has outdoor grill and camping trailers for rent. Would be a good place to watch the stars and sunrise. During low tide, you can walk to a nearby island. Yes we did that, but as we were coming back the tide started rising. The path we walked through was flooded with ocean water taller than me on the way back. We eventually swam our way back to shore, defeated and exhausted.

這是海軍基地裡的海邊，有烤爐能做BBQ、能在這露營，想必可以看到滿天星星，早上還能看日出。退潮時能從海邊走到另外一塊小島，是的我們做了這件事，但走回來時卻遇上漲潮。我們和朋友們都傻眼，原本走的路變成一片大海，水深浪大讓我們狼狽到極致，游回岸上後我們已累爆。

Chicken Thighs With Tomatoes and Feta from Bon Appetit

I swear I followed the recipe this time, but why does it look so different than the pictures in magazine? I may have lost points on presentation, but I made up for it with Harissa paste and the juicy tomatoes. Tasted great! Easy to make.

明明照著食譜做，怎麼和雜誌裡照片差這麼遠？雖然賣相不及格，但有Harrisa Paste和番茄加持，味道很棒，而且做法很簡單。

It’s typhoon season again, won’t be able to go anywhere anymore.

颱風好像快來了，這下子不就哪都去不了了！

July 16, 2020

One Year Japan-iversary | 日本一週年

July 16, 2020/ Brandy C.

Today marks our one year anniversary of living in Japan. It was always my dream to live in Japan, and I got emotional when the moment we got the orders to move here! From the journey moving to Okinawa until today, we are grateful for every day that we get to live here. We’ve found a loving church, met many friends, and started serving in youth ministry (they taught me TikTok!). I’ve also become the VP of Naval Officer Spouse Club Okinawa (NOSCO), UN became the VP of Officer Wardroom, and he received great remarks on his job performance. Despite being extra busy this past year, but we count every minute and every second as a blessing from God. Thank you God for leading us on this amazing life journey, and with this next year here, we are prayerful for more of God’s guidance.

一年前的今天，我和UN搬來日本！從小我一直夢寐以求能住日本，對日本相關的大小事我都非常感興趣，所以UN一告訴我能住日本，我感動到哭！從搬來沖繩的過程到現在大部分時間宅在家，每分每秒都是感恩和感謝。我們找到很照顧我們的教會，認識很多非常要好的朋友們，我們也在教會的青少年團契裡服侍（就是他們介紹我TikTok的！）我在軍眷團裡成為副會長，UN也擔任單位裡的副會長，工作上拿到很棒的成績。雖然這一年來很忙，但每次回家裡細數過程，滿滿都是神的恩典。感謝神讓我們這一年來經歷許多人生從未想到的事，接下來的這一年，我們期待神的帶領。