Oceanic Photos from a Recent Dive

The Islands of Kerama

Daaaamn I'm like that dude who used to be all into blogging and stuff, then got over it for a couple months and then was like, I should do this again... I admit it's a nice outlet. But if anyone actually does even read this shiat, I apologize for being em-eye-ay (mia).

Seems I have been em-eye-ay much of the time sometimes, since I've gone and become an expatriate. But I'm always thinking about my friends back home, those who I've met on my travels, my family, and also I don't ever forget friends who have left us early on earth. We live for you, SHL.

I got through my first semester as an elementary school teacher in one piece, and it is quite energy-consuming, but a daang awesome job. Especially since there is an overwhelming strict code for Japanese teachers to follow in school policies and reports and those weird Japanese hierarchy concepts, but I'm the "foreign language teacher," which kinda automatically makes me exempt from all that. Sweet. So I do my thing and have fun with the kids. I teach third through sixth grade, so its a messload of kids. I'm like, "I'll beatbox so you sing the ABC's. Loud." Seems to work well enough.

I wish I had photos of all the kids and the two schools I share my weekdays at, but I keep forgetting to take my camera to work. I did, however, take my camera to Zamami-Jima in the Kerama archepelago southwest of the main Ryukyu island Okinawa. I went with my girlfriend and another couple, and we watched (or tried to watch) the solar eclipse from the hour and a half ferry ride, along with this other couple from Colorado who happened to be on the boat. I had an underwater camera too.. Ah, I just remembered, I got to go pick up the film developed at the camera shop! Here's Zamami:

Kenyu Soh, one of the best-hearted people on Earth.

Forest road to the on the unpopulated side.

The view was siiick. Perching it with Takashi Z.

Climbing around Chishi before some scuba.

The whole population of Zamami.

So the forest was amazing, the beaches and coral reef all around were amazing too. Ahh, it's a good thing to be a teacher: summer vacation! Yuup, and JLo is coming to town in a couple days! Yeah LCC represeeent! Miss yall coyotes.

Arright, since I have a bit more time on my hands now, I think I'll do this whereverhome thing again, for anyone who would want to know what Aki's been up to these days. And let me know how you are too.

Bwahaha, last night I went out drinking with some American friends, and we went to this craze spot where a buunch of Japanese women were out mingling with a buuunch of Marines and Army people who think they're hot shit looking to get laid. Ah jeez, it reminded me of some Miss Saigon themed shit. What is the world coming to?

Peeace

Best Burgers in Ginowan

What's the goings on with all the goodburgers in the world? I mean like, special sauce Sunday barbeque fat patty fluffy bread-type goodburgers? I wonder how good they are in Germany, has anyone been to Hamburg? If you're from Hamburg are you a Hamburger? How are the hamburgers out there, Hamburger? daahahaa

Anyway, today was a good day as any to pick up a Jumbo Burger from My House with my girlfriend. Yup, My House. That's the name of the damn burger joint. And there's a rotating staff of smiling Okinawan women average age 55 up in there, so you know that the food is like how momma makes.

Scrumptuous I would say.
How do they do that with the sauce?

E I E I uh oohh, like Nelly.

They have the original Raiden arcade console in the shop, right
under some old school Orion beer ads (hot shit).

Highway 58, my commute, where I stay.

I'd Like to Explain Myself

Sooo, ever since I moved over here to Okinawa after my stint as a pearler and bus driver in Australia, I haven't had any internet up in my place of living. Finally, today, I got my internets connected. Yes! No more internet cafes for me.

My days bumping around on the pick up trucks of Cambodia, skating the bright streets of Hong Kong, diving into a salty, soupy Indian Ocean at lunch after chipping pearl shell all day, and seeing any and all things with my naked eye have turned into my days teaching little Okinawan kids in two elementary schools in the middle of the old Koza city, one bustling urban and one chill quiet, driving in the spring rains my new car that my friend who moved back to Osaka hooked up, reading Raymond Carver and Charles Webb, eating really good yakiniku at my girlfriend's house, and still seeing all and any things with my naked eye.

My experience makes me feel blessed everyday, though I did wish I was able to be back in my home country for the inauguration earlier this year. But I'm seeing things from a different perspective- the fourth graders at Moromi were chanting "Yes we can, yes we can" in class like it was the first English phrase that was driven into their brains...

The closest I get to the US these days is Gatorade bought at the store on the Marine Air Base or the Chili's we had on-base the other day. Damn that was some good steak! Anyway, I hope if you 're ever bored enough to read this you'd understand the meaning of my juxtaposition of red Gatorade with the city of Ginowan: I was real thuuursty and came out of my apt door to a beauty of a sunset the other day. I dunno, I wasn't really like, playing sports or nothing, but the Gatorade was pretty good, yafeel?




I also added a middle name to my full name as well: Weston. This whole thing started like two years ago when my dad was driving me to the airport. Merging from the 405 north to the 105, he said he wanted to change his name to Johnny. I was like, "Yeeah man!" I was about to make an American name in 7th grade, but was too lazy/clueless to get to the courthouse to change my name. So then we got to talking, and last month we were both like, okay let's do it. So now I'm Aki Weston Murai, and my father is Johnny Yoshiro Murai. And that's that.

I'm still Aki. Weston is secondary. Aki knows you and that will never change. Shit feels weird, writing in third person. That last sentence sounded like a facebook status message... aahhh, the wonders of coming back online...

Peace, I'll be putting up them alphabet drawings in my classroom tomorrow. laaaterr

I Think I May Have a Cracked Rib

So like a month ago, I was pooting down the main Highway 58 on my nice little moped, and was going through a green light near Chatan (yeeah, it's where all the cool kids kick it) and this dumb chick with her obese girlfriend in a tiny jalopy decide to turn left last second no signal to get to the dingy club they were going to. And the only place they went to was Right In My Right Front. It was like baaamm-booooomm. I impacted the passenger side and then kinda flopped over on my left side. I got angry, got the info, got back on my bike with a cracked light.

I thought I was coo, but now, four weeks later, the little scratch I had on my left underarm part is starting to ache and pang. Kinda sucks... whoooa

So yeah, you know, watch out for them skanks in little cars turning left, is all I'm saying.

I'm pretty sure my rib's allright, hopefully. Let's go get some ribs at Tony Romas!

Too Epic Not To Post

So these past couple months, I've been going to work everyday over here, and am so glad to have internet at work because I can finish with my classes and such, then have maybe a bit of time to check my email and my favorite sites online. I'm sorry, I may be buying in or whatever, but ever since I found the Berrics, it's definitely been on the top of my list. Sometimes I don't even bother with the email; I go straight to Steve Berra and Eric Koston's skatepark in LA. Daaamn they're doing such a good thing... especially for people like me who can't go out and skate good ol LA everyday... the rocks and old sidewalks and crazy weather in Okinawa doesn't let one skate too often. The Berrics, and also Crailtap, feeding my hunger for skate culture while I live on a not so skateable island. Thank and bless you people for putting shit like this on the web.

And here, we have the skate fiends (wantus- skateboardius)
of Phnom Penh, typically residing in and around open-air markets.
Photo from like, about a year ago.

But anyway, get out and doooo iiittt.
skate fiend.

One Liner Diners

Rather than sitting down at a Denny's here, I'd rather sit in the Jimmy's restaurant across the street and have a scone.

Jimmy's sells the Aussie 2-litre orange-mango juice we used to drink back in Beagle Bay.

What Jimmy's doesn't have is the "Morning Start Juice", which was one of the dopest juices I've ever had.

Borrowing my friend's manual-shift-light-car makes for a good time. Because it's lite, too.

軽自動車： Lite-car.

Natto and coffee don't really go together that well.

Lately I've been climbing my apt stairs further up in the morning, for a "start" and kicks.

Good thing I've recently met another Nikkei homie.

"Give me my biscuits, Malloy! "

No chips ahoy for morning starts. Perhaps natto will go better with orange juice?

Big ups to all the travellers out there.

Bit-o-Movie

For some reason I really wanted to watch this about 17 minutes ago.

So, this here is a scene from a movie that I'm all abooouuuut. Not necessarily the movie, but the scene, I'm so down for. Why? Because it features one of my favorite people who I don't know but would love to meet. And also because I hate inanimate objects when they look at me that way, you know, with the slanted screws and kind of sideways stare... anyway, The Gonz!! Hellyeah.





The movie is Gummo, if you're into that kind of thing, you're into that kind of thing. If you're at all into skating, then you already know who Mark Gonzales is. Leg-end.

Peace from the far east.

Skate And Create (an old event)

We roll.

So these are some pictures I found from my digital camera of this event that was happening on Okinawa called Skate and Create, where there were all these Japanese artists' graphic skate decks at this shop in a town called Urasoe. Dude who works there was dope; he hooked me up with some books for cheap and he made the last piece phototted here. My girlfriend and I also went to the closing party at this nice little club, with a guitarist who knew every style you can possibly know and a little mc battle, and the whole time they were showing early nineties skate videos on a screen behind the stage- alien workshop, jeremy wray, element biizzz

Art n cultcha, brah, das what im sayn.

Graff in Okinawa

If anyone not from Okinawa comes to visit and they're even minimally into street art, I'll take you to the seawall in Chatan, and there's also one in Okinawa Shi that has numbers and numbers of graffiti murals. You can see the ocean and beyond over the wall that's like waist height, and some of the pieces are good, and some are, like stick figure-Stussy S (ahahah remember that? try to draw one now) status. There are other stretches of the wall that is reserved for Okinawan elementary school homerooms and other kids' mural projects. Pretty dope.

Anyway, I came back to Okinawa after winter break and it seems like there are more graff pieces along the roads that I frequent; for sure graffiti survives longer than in the big cities here on this little island, but I was quite pleased to see art under the bridge, on the street electric box, and in a closed down gasoline stand, like this one. I'm just down for art, and if this was the Whereverhome Art Gallery, we would sit and judge these pieces while eating camembert and drinking Cabsav, but it's not, and so just take a look at a bit of expression on the island of Okinawa. The unsung heroes:

Gas station- it was sooo cold this day riding the good ol moped.
Imagine your hands like ice sculpture blocks of cheese.

Smiley dude.

Same writer, saying like, aahh well, sucks not

to get into the ladies room with em, but whatcanyado?

Can you go wrong with Popeye-ish imagery?

So ill.

This is right next to the gas station. "Tomato House"

You know you shake that ciggy box.

An attempt at one-liner diners.

Hunger makes my face all shriveled up and shizz.

The lady and the girl on the plane; one in English, one in Japanese.

When it's cold, wear your hightops.

Some people laugh maniacally riding home in the piercing hurting cold on their mopeds. (me)

My planner is planning my demise.

Japanese humor sometimes requires losing out on intelligence or acting like it.

Sporks are fine.

Do people shake the last bit of drink left in the bottle before they terminate it?

They call 2-liter bottles of drink pet bottles here.

This bottle is for my pet iguana.

My thoughts line up sometimes orderly for the next order, sometimes they act like unruly three year olds in a field of PixiStix.

Happy-New-Year-Bike-Ride On The Wesst Cooast

What it is, happy new year! Hope all is well wherever you stay, and I'm back in the living in Japan mode, chilling in a sort of chilly Okinawa. LA was pretty cold though, and though the cold was biting on this day New Years Eve, we rocked our bicycle mob all the way up the beach path to the end of the road. It was an epic journey, and super fun. Ahh, to be home with good folks and a couple wheels. Here are some pics courtesy of Chuck's new artistic photographer camera. Happy 2009!!

About to go down Iowaaa

Woooo, B with the skills...
He got that seat-surfing down as well.

Nice location, nice idea, niiiice photo.
Yeah, good one Seth.



Artsybrakelights.

Destination found... Man what a perfect
place to kick it and turn back around... and the
marine was starting to layer on us.

I really like this one.

Back after the ride, where people are like drapes.

And then capturing lights into night.