I love old people!!

This has been a good idea and a bad idea of mine. There is a small beach near our place that is not even a mile long but it is pretty, it has sand and I love beaches. Like I said it's close, about 3 miles maybe a little more. So, this idea of mine. I figured since it is so close and since it is too short run on I would run to it instead. I would get there and then spend the day tanning then run or take a nice leisurely walk back. Since I planned to spend awhile there I thought it'd be a great idea to get a back pack and load it with supplies. It still is a good idea but it is so much harder than it sounds. I even have it strapped on and it still bounces around and makes things difficult. That and all the hills! It is uphill or downhill the whole way, and not little hills either. But, despite my complaining it is a good little workout and so worth it once you get there. Plus, I'm really tan now :) A few days ago while I was laying out tanning, this little old man came and started talking to me. I had seen him there a few times but I didn't realize he could speak English. He is pretty good and for the most part I can understand him. His name is Sho... something or other but he just told me to call him Sho. Anyways, we get to talking and he tells me how healthy Okinawan vegetables are and that he has his own garden. They are organic and he doesn't use pesticides or anything of that sort. I went out to his garden which is close by and he gave me a little leaf plant that tastes like radishes, some actual radishes that you also eat the leaves of, some sweet potato leafs that are really delicious, a root type vegetable used for soup, some little tomatoes, and a passion fruit which is also very good! He told us here will also be bananas soon and there are guava (not ripe yet) also. The garden had a little shack and a lot of typhoon damage but he wouldn't let us pay for the vegetables and he even gave me a ride home today after piling me with veggies.

Sho also wants to teach me to play the sanshin. It is an instrument they made after the war with three strings (san means three and shin means strings). It is a simple little instrument but very cool. Unfortunately, I won't have enough time to learn but I am looking forward to all the other things he can show and tell me before I leave! I do not have a picture of Sho yet but I am determined to get some next week when I run to the beach. I won't go back this week because we are headed to Nago, which is up on the north of the island. We will go to the aquarium and to the very tip of the island. We are staying overnight in a hotel so it should be lots of fun!