Viewer Question: "It Takes A Village".

Today a post was made both here on the blog and over at the OkiNinjaKitty Channel. Here's the video if you wanted to take a look:

Not long after the video posted a comment was made which asked me the following:

"Have you read Hillary Clinton's book, "It Takes A Village"?? If so, do you think her theory that everyone is responsible for the village children would work in Okinawa? If not, would you agree that Okinawans "parent" their own children starting at home and do not expect the village to do the "parenting" out on the street or at the mall?"

This is a great question! I wanted to respond right away but because of the character limit on YouTube comments I took some time in order to organize my thoughts so I could summarize what I wanted to say all while fitting in the space provided. Then I realized. . . . I've got a blog I can use as much space as I need to answer and so here we are. Because there are a few different parts to this question I am going to take it piece by piece and hopefully it makes it easier to write about and communicate what I am trying to say.

"Have you read Hillary Clinton's book, "It Takes A Village"??"

I unfortunately have not read the book "It Takes A Village" but I am very familiar with the concept that the book is said to discuss.

"If so, do you think her theory that everyone is responsible for the village children would work in Okinawa?"

The more that I examine this part of the question the more complicated my response becomes so hang in there with me for a moment here while I try to take what is in my head and communicate it with words that people other than myself will understand. In many ways I believe that this "it takes a village" theory is very much in place here in Okinawa but not necessarily in the way that we might envision it as Americans. What I mean by this is that here in Okinawa it seems as though the "village" is the family. Children are taken care of my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great great grand parents (it is Okinawa after all), aunts, uncles and other family members who may be part of the large family structure which seems to be common among Okinawa's families. It is common for families to also do things together so in short there is always someone to keep their eye on the child. For example if you go to a local shopping center mom may be doing the groceries but the child is upstairs in the children's area with grandpa. I have also known people who feel that their children are not quite well enough behaved to bring into public situations and therefore they choose to have a grandparent babysit while they are out and about.

Now I realize that depending on your views you may feel that this is not necessarily an illustration of the "it takes a village" theory but let me explain for a moment what brings me to feel as though it is. Based on the experiences that I have had with some of Okinawa's families there is a lot for the children to learn within the family structure.   Discipline, recreation activities (playing, gardening, cooking) and how to conduct yourself in social situations all seem to be learned through interaction with different members of the family structure. This is enforced when the family comes together and eventually when families spend time in more social situations with outside groups (being in public). Each and every family member has something to offer and therefore this brings me to my observation that this theory is very much practiced here in Okinawa.

"If not, would you agree that Okinawans "parent" their own children starting at home and do not expect the village to do the "parenting" out on the street or at the mall?"

Even in the case of the family being the "village" yes I would agree that most Okinawans "parent" their own children starting at home. There is a certain level of discipline that the child must have before going to a grandparent's house so that the grandparents are not burdened. There will eventually be another level of discipline that a child must have before going into public/social situations so that others are not burdened. Remember people in Okinawa are relatively non-confrontational and have a certain respect for the people around them. If there is something that they as a parent do not feel is acceptable the prevent it from happening, even if it means removing a child from a situation completely, before a stranger has to mention it to them.

As always I do need to stress that there are people out there, as there are anywhere else, who do not have the same feelings towards respecting others and avoiding confrontation. for the most part, however, they seem to be far and few in-between. There is always an exception to every rule. With that being said I hope that I was able to offer an answer to this question. If there are any other ares that you feel I need to clarify on please let me know.

Celebrating Non-Japanese Holidays In Okinawa

Today is the Fourth Of July and for many Americans it is a day to celebrate America's Independence. But what if you are here in Okinawa? I mean it is Japan right? So how do people celebrate Non-Japanese holidays here in Okinawa? This is actually a great topic for discussion and I think that it is one that many of you will be interested in so let's discuss.

The first and most obvious thing to discuss and understand is that here in Japan there are a set of holidays which are simply not celebrated like they are in the states because they do not hold significant meaning here. Independence Day, MLK Day, Columbus Day, Memorial Day and so on. These are the days celebrated in America because of American achievements. Naturally the Japanese don't have any interest in these holidays and therefore these days are just like any other day of the week. However, there are some Japanese companies which actor to American customs here in Okinawa that may have these days off. You may also find that if you are working on or for the Military bases you will usually observe these holidays as you would in the US but be advised that this is not always the case and you should always take special care to ask your employer or command whether or not you are granted these days off. It is also important to note that if you are American and part of the military bases you may find yourself having the ability to attend special celebrations on some of these holidays. MLK day usually has some sort of African American in America Pride/Accomplishments type seminar or event. Memorial Day usually has some type of memorial service and Independence Day has a celebration also. It used to be that the Air Base known as Kadena did a thing called "America Fest" where they would have a ton of different activities for all including the local people who were not normally allowed on base but this year they did a small cookout style event with a live performance from some local bands with fireworks.

So what about these other holidays that are celebrated by Americans?

Halloween

Kids all over America can't wait for Halloween and for the American kids being here in Okinawa is no exception. So how does Halloween happen here in Okinawa. If you are in a standard neighborhood out in Okinawa you are not going to see anyone observe Halloween. It's not something that people do here even though you might see little basic costumes out in town or halloween decorations BUT this is not the case if you are on a base. The bases do have an observance of halloween which usually consists of the camp commanders determining when children can go out from house to house and what children can go from house to house. That's right. The date, time and age of the children who can trick or treat is determined by each camp. Unfortunately this leave some kids out in the cold, for example one year if you were over the age of 12 you were not allowed to trick or treat which I found a bit silly but again that's my opinion. There are other celebrations you can attend as an adult and sometimes you may have halloween events to attend as a teen but there is usually a large gap between the little kids and the adults where there is not much to do unless you organize it yourself.

Christmas 

Christmas is one of the holidays that although you might not have the day off in a Japanese company, is still celebrated here in Japan. Unlike in the US it is not religious in nature and is more of a romantic holiday comparable in my opinion to valentine's day where you and your loved one can go on a date, do romantic things and enjoy each other's company. There are still decorations and it is a beautiful sight to see. Again if you are on the military bases you may or may not have this holiday off.


To be completely honest I can't think of any other holidays that are celebrated in America to mention. That's not to say that there re not others out there but I just don't have them to comment on right now (feel free to ask away and I will add more information). Now the question most of you are probably wanting to ask about, how do I celebrate the holidays here in Japan. Well to be completely honest it depends on what the holiday is and how much money and effort I am willing to put into it. The best celebration we have had recently was Thanksgiving last year when we went around from place to place trying to make a "thanksgiving dinner" out of random things. The word "Thanksgiving" has the link to that video so please check it out. As for other holidays we take them as they come. We celebrate Christmas be doing some fun little things but we really don't to too much as far as decorating goes because of the cost of electricity and the lack of space that we have. We do still exchange gifts though and we do maybe go out for dinner or something nice like that. Other holidays really aren't a thing though. Today for example we are just going to have another day like any other. Maybe we will do something like eat hamburgers or hotdogs which is not something we would normally eat and that will be a bit of our celebration to remind us of home but other than that it's just another day for us here in Okinawa.

How do you celebrate the holidays?

Leave me a comment below, on Facebook or email me at okininjakitty@yahoo.com

How not to stick out in Okinawa. . . . at least not as much

There has been a lot of discussion in the JVLOG community recently about racism and discrimination but some of you are most likely reading this and wondering how to simply make a good impressions when you get here to Okinawa. This was something that I was wondering when I first got here to Okinawa as well and there were various things that I had read but I found myself feeling as if I was reading information which was not necessarily up to date or simply not practiced.

In the interest of writing this post I have been doing a great deal of information searching among different JVLOGGERS who are out there from different parts of Japan. This allowed me to see what was and was not acceptable in different parts of Japan. Some of these things were big and others were small but nonetheless we will discuss some of them in this post.

The first thing and most difficult thing to transition to when coming to Okinawa is that indoor voices are used everywhere. I am sure that you are familiar with the "indoor voice" as we learn about it in grade school. Here people are all around just more quiet then you would expect. Even when I think I am being quite I a little too loud and need to adjust my voice. Of course this is not always the case, there are people who are louder than others, however, in general being quiet is the accepted practice. There is then the issue of actions that are taken in public. As an adult you are expected to conduct yourself as an adult. I realize that this is not always the case in the US and other countries I am sure when on a friday night people over the age of 18 or 19 are running a muck and painting the town with no consideration for people around them but this is extremely unacceptable here. Jumping about and running in public places like malls is not acceptable.

If you have children it is important to ensure that they are good listeners and by your side. Children who scream and run about is not acceptable here. Of course there are always exceptions to every rule and newborn babies tend to cry without warning at times however if your child is old enough to walk without assistance through a store they should be conducting themselves in a disciplined manner. This also carries out through restaurants and other entertainment venues (movies, live shows. . . ) as well. Children who are crying should be removed as to not disturb other patrons. Of course strollers are acceptable but I would not use a double stroller (where the children sit side by side rather than front to back) when inside shopping centers due to their size and the limited space in aisles. It will not only be inconvenient for you trying to maneuver it around the tight corners but you will find yourself blocking out others trying to get through the aisles as well. The best recommendation in this case would be an umbrella stroller which will most likely be easier to take around and move around the stores with.

Overall tattoos are accepted here within reason. If a tattoo is offensive in any way (such as nudity, gruesome or overly religious) you might want to have it covered when in certain situations. You should also always use discretion when showing your tattoos in certain public places which might be fancy or dressy especially when they are not around the central Okinawa area. There are times when having tattoos will mean that you have to cover them or you will not be allowed service such as some bath houses or pools. This is policy in various parts of Japan and this policy sticks here also. This also does not only apply to foreigners but also applies to Japanese people as well. The most important thing is to ensure that you keep in mind that tattoos have a different meaning here in Japan than then do in the US and therefore they are looked at differently.

One more thing about tattoos in Okinawa is ensure that they are covered by either an outer garnet or sunscreen at all times! The sun is hotter here and even people who never used to burn like myself find that it is only a few hours out in the sun on an overcast day and I am burnt to a crisp. Of course you should take time to sunscreen your whole body but ensure that you protect your tattoos with something. More often than not I like to put on a long sleeve shirt because it can be taken off without leaving an oily mess but of course sunscreen is also a good choice.

Finally I would like to close out with something brought up by another JVLOGGER called silent observation and this is the most important thing to do when you are here in Japan let alone Okinawa. Keep your eyes open and watch the people around you. Never act first. You could also say move with the flow of traffic if you are going too slow you stand out if you are going to fast this is the case too. Go with the flow and do as the Japanese or Okinawan people do and you will have a smoother transition.

To close this out I would like to ask for you to let me know your experiences. Has anything you have experienced been different from what I experienced? Put it in the comments below.