My first day of school.

Have you ever felt like you just don't fit in or you were not welcome somewhere? I would soon come to understand that being half Okinawan and half American was not going to be easy for me growing up.

I learned the meaning of racism the first week of school. What an odd thing to learn in my first week. This would come to be a very important lesson to have learned, especially at such a young age. I am half Okinawan and Half American. (My mother tells me there is a difference between Okinawan and Japanese, but I will use the term Japanese from now on in case someone is not familiar with Okinawa.) Not an unusual combination but one that is not accepted among either cultures as normal.

I went to a school that had mostly Japanese students and a few American students. The language spoken was a mixture of Japanese and English. Mostly, Japanese was spoken and English was spoken to the American children. I know the teacher hated having to repeat everything in English. I could hear it in thier voices as if it were like they were saying "I am disgusted that I have to repeat this in English....You should know Japanese so I don't have to repeat myself." I was glad that grandma and Reiko had taken the time to teach me the language. I could understand most of what the teachers were saying and did not have to ask them to repeat their comments. This pleased the teachers sometimes but still they knew I was only half Japanese. The kids would tease me in Japanese and make fun of me. The teachers knew this but did nothing. Both the Americans and the Japanese had a good time at my expense. I did not know where I fit in. It was a very trying time in my life and very confusing.

The first couple of days of school, I did not say anything to my mother about what was going on in school. I was still trying to figure out why the American and the Japanese students would give me a hard time and push me around. This is not at all what I thought school was going to be like. My mother knew something was wrong. She confronted me that weekend to inquire why I was so quiet about school and why I did not talk much about it or if I had made any new friends. I had no idea how to respond. I did not think my mother would understand.

I felt very lost and alone but as luck would have it, I had family who cared. Reiko cornered me and asked what was wrong. I did not know if she would understand. I guess my mom was intent on finding out what was going on with me. She asked Reiko to speak to me and find out what was going on. After a long walk and a few tears, I had finallly spilled everything to Reiko what had been taking place at school. She consoled me and told me everything is going to be OK. I begged her not to tell my mom for fear of her going down to the school and embarrassing me.

She was true to her word. She just told my mom that it was an adjustment period that all kids go through. The following week, Hidoyuki got out of school early and came to my school. I was shocked to see him there. He hung out with me at lunch and wanted for me to point out the kids that were bullying me around. Hidoyuki went up to each and every one of them and said something I was not privileged to hear. It must have been very threatening, because after that, the Japanese children did not bother me. Reiko later told me that he threatened to tell their parents if they did not back off. To dishonor one's parents is VERY disrespectful and could cause them more trouble then the kids could ever imagine. I was still learning the ways of the Japanese culture, so for me this was a huge relief and the foundation for learning the meaning of the word HONOR! I am so very proud of having been born from my mother....if only she had married an Okinawan man....hhhhmmmm.

Life at school wasn't so bad after that day. It was enjoyable to a point, but the American kids were not so easy to get along with. I just stayed clear of them the rest of the year and befriended the other Japanese students. My Japanese was getting much better and I had mastered the Okinawan dialect so that you could not really tell I was half American. I had made Mamasan very proud. Unfortunately, we would be moving back to the states at the end of the school year and I would be in for another rude awakening. Ugh!

My earliest memories!

My earliest memories as a child are of me living in Okinawa with my mother at her parents' house. Even as a child I could feel some tension in the air between my grandfather and my mother. (I would find out later on in life why this was so.) My father was in the Marine Corps and was stationed there in Okinawa. I remember that my dad only came to the house on the weekends and stayed on the base during the week. I first thought this was strange but became used to it. I actually enjoyed it. My grandmother and my 2 cousins, Hidoyuki and Reiko, would play games with me and teach me Japanese. It was alot of fun.

Teaching must be a natural ability in my family because most of our family in some way are involved in the teaching of other people. I know I try to be creative and make learning a fun and memorable experience whenever I am teaching. My mother teaches Nurses Aides at a nursing home that she works in. My sister is a 1st grade teacher. My uncle is a Professor at a university in Okinawa and President of the Haiku association there. Then there is me, a Training Specialist teaching Autistic children and a certified instructor for the Red Cross training medical personnel. There are other things that I am an instructor for, but I won't bore you with the details.

Anyway, life was spent walking to the open market near the house and purchasing food that was to be prepared for meals. I always enjoyed going to the market with Reiko. Whenever she would be tasked with going to the market, she would take me along to make sure I knew how to pick the freshest food. Maybe hoping one day to be relieved of this burden and handed it down to me. She took the time and patience to make sure I understood. She would reward me by buying a box of rice candy and we would eat it on the way back home. She would always ask me, "So what did we learn today?" on the way back to make sure she had properly instructed me. For a correct answer she would hand me a piece of candy. I must have been an odd kid because I did not like candy that much. I know Reiko enjoyed sweets. Sometimes I think it was just an excuse to buy the candy and offer it to me knowing that I would refuse it after the first or second piece. I would see the smile on her face when she would put a piece in her mouth and let the wrapper dissolve and wonder in curiosity how something so small could bring such happiness. I think she just had a sweet tooth all the time. (My mother is the same way, she really enjoys sweets.) I loved to see Reiko smile. She would know that I had learned something and her reward was the candy as well. I am positive that she got way more satisfaction out of it than I did. We would then get back to the house and I would get to sit and watch Reiko and my mom prepare lunch or dinner. The two of them would talk non-stop, it was amazing. I would sometimes ask my mom what they were talking about but she would just say, "Oh nothing". I would later on find out that this is a term referred to as "Girl Talk". Soon, school would start for me and my cousins, and I was in for a rude awakening! OMG!

In the beginning...

On December 14, 1965, a baby named William was born into this world that we live and die in. Life could never prepare any of us for the things that would happen along our journey as we grow older. I was about to find out just how much life can be so unpredictable. Even now as I am creating this blog, so many events are taking place and set in motion that I can never predict the final outcome with any certainty. I guess that is what really makes life so....complex! Some of life's uncertanties can create havoc just as in "Murphy's Law". I imagine that is why this law was created, to provide some answers to the never ending predicaments we end up in. I once told my oldest son that "Life is a journey, and on this journey there are going to be paths to choose that will shape your destiny." He, of course, did not take me seriously. He would also find out that life can be very unpredictable and had to call me to help him out of these situations that he had gotten himself into. I had also learned some of these same lessons that my mother would have to help me out of. So I guess the saying is true....you reap what you sow. Little did I know that I would be sowing a lot. My oldest would also find out as well. What irony life has in store for us. With all that has happened to me so far, and as you are about to read about, I still think there has to be more to this life. More for us to experience...good and bad. So as you read these entries, try not to laugh or cry so much, but be thankful for what God has given you and expect more from him as you go through your daily lives. If you don't believe in God then just thank your lucky stars. Enjoy the reading.