神聖な地面 (Sacred Ground)
Greetings from Kudaka.
You're probably all aware by now that Okinawa is not just one island zillions of kilometers away from the rest of the Japanese mainland, but in fact consists of many islands zillions of kilometers away from the rest of the Japanese mainland. One of these islands is Kudaka, a tiny piece of land about 5 kilometers from the Chinen area on Okinawa honshu (the main Okinawan island, where I live). MaryAnn teaches at the elementary/junior high school over there once a week. There's a ferry that leaves from Chinen, and the ride only takes about 15 minutes.
This is where all the magic happens...the magic of learning that is. Kudaka Elementary/Junior High School is mainly home to a bunch of wayward kids from mainland who were shipped down here for...some reason. Reformation, perhaps? Punishment? I could think of worse punishments than being sent to an island paradise for school, but that's just me. This place also happens to be fairly close to the ferry terminal and the only restaurant on the island.
There's something like 500 people spread out across Kudaka. Naha this ain't. From what I could see the island mostly consists of satokibi fields, grass, and old houses guarded by shisa statues and low, stone typhoon walls. If this were a place in America it'd probably be plagued with drunken tomfoolery and or heavy cocaine use, but I hear the kids here are particularly well behaved. Guess you have to be when everyone in town knows who you are.
Of course, the real reason to come out to Kudaka is for the beautiful, public beach. Over on the left hand side there are the uh...jumping jack thingies that tend to occupy a spot at a lot of Okinawan beaches. Kids hop on top of them like nothing and get to fishing. It's too damn cold to be swimming in the sea this time of year, but you can bet your collective sweet asses I'll be back to dip my toes into the water once Spring rolls around.
