Hey babe, I think there's something going on....

I was laying Thomas down for bed after our very long day at the aquarium. We had seen a sign near our house about a cave and Josh being the adventurer that he is decided to go look for more info on it. Along the way he found a tug of war neighborhood festival sort of thing. He came back and told me about it so we grabbed Thomas out of bed and raced down the block. When we got there they had some men singing on a little stage.
Please excuse the crappy photos, my good camera was dead from the aquarium.



Josh spotted a white guy and asked him what was going on. The man (whose name we never did ask for) was Australian and had a really big camera, you'll see him in the videos taking pictures. He gave us a copy of his Japan Update which is an English paper to tell you about all the festivals and goings on in Okinawa. Score! He said that it's just a traditional party they throw and most neighborhoods have fun. Sort of an East vs West thing. Here is a picture of some little guys pretending to pull the rope.

It was quite a family affair. Everyone from little bitty babes to grandmas and grandpas were in attendance and it seemed everyone was happy to be there. They were so very welcoming to us. One of the grandmas, Ayakiko (I'm sure that isn't how it's spelled, but that's how it sounded) grabbed our arms and pulled us to the rope. She spoke pretty good English and she told us that pulling the rope will bring us good luck. So we grabbed the rope! She also warned us to be careful because last year she fell and hurt her backside. She had to mime that part out which was pretty funny.
Here is everyone waiting to pull the rope. There were a bunch of speeches and ceremony involved. It's actually two ropes connected together and I couldn't really see what was going on but it seemed to be a big to do about connecting them.


There were two bouts and we lost the first one, but the second time we won! I thought there would be a tie breaker but there wasn't. Here is Josh and I sweaty but happy that we got to join in the festivities. After the tug of war we spent some time talking to Ayakiko, you can see her in the background of the picture, she's wearing the bucket hat on the right. She brought us tea and shaved ice, so did another woman but they were both adamant that we take both. She told us that she used to do this dancing as a young girl. We talked about kids and family. We asked if she had lived in this neighborhood her whole life and she asked us how old we thought she was. Josh said 60 (I was thinking 70). She laughed so hard and said "up, up, up, much older!" I have to wonder what she went through as a child when Americans first arrived on this island. She was such a sweet spirited woman. She said she walks everyday so maybe I'll spot her again.


After the tug of war the drumming and dancing started. Look at that little man in front! He was so cute.

More drummers, it was so so loud and I could feel my ears vibrating...I was a little worried about Thomas but he didn't care. He kept saying wow over and over again.

In the back were the younger kids, little girls were dancing so gracefully.


Towards the end all the drummers started dancing, and Josh asked the ladies who had been so kind to us to teach him...but I was holding Thomas and this is the only proof I have.
It was so much fun. I'm so overwhelmed at the beauty I'm surrounded by. It feels like Josh is more alive here. I can't see him asking grandmas to teach him how to dance back home. Hopefully we'll both come out of this duty station with a little more zest for life.



Here' s my attempt at getting video in the blog, but I don't know if it's going to work.
And also I changed my settings so you can comment here anonymously, no need to make an account!

The first video is while they were making their way to the center, so it isn't too exciting. I wish I had taken video when they were chanting and jumping and turning.
The second video is them entering the street to announce the start of the tug of war.
The third is really short of the singing when we first arrived.