Ekika's Mess: Good Morning or Ohaiyo Gozaimasu

Many of you are wondering what some of the differences between American culture and Okinawan culture are.

Okinawan's love and respect their children.
Now I am not saying Americans don't love their children, but there is a staggering difference in the ways we raise our children. I often see 4-5 year old children walking to or from school or a friends house... alone. No older sibling tagging along, no parents leading the child along on a leash like a pet. Everyone watches out for everyone else's children. Children aren't seen as a burden to the general public. Crying babies get hugs and smiles, not glares and grimaces. Recently I had to mail out a legal document, so I went to the mail center on Kadena Air Base. My son was sleeping in my arms and the nice elderly woman (a local) working the counter insisted on holding my 30lb son while I sign the paperwork.
They even have a holiday dedicated to their children. Around the beginning of May, windsocks that look like koi are strung up all around the island.

Driving is different. Way different. Many of the vehicles are small, the roads are narrow and the speed limits are low. We drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car. The signal lever and the windshield lever switch sides. A few times I went to signal that I was going to turn left, but I turned my wipers on full power.

-No left on red. (except on Kadena Air Base)

-Park where you will... Narrow road? rush hour? Doesn't matter, switch on your hazards and go about your business.

-No one is really in a terrible rush. It is a very laid back society with little to no road rage

-The highest speed limit is on the express way, and it reaches a grand total of 80kph (Just under 50mph). But the most common speed limit sign I have seen is 40 kph (About 25 mph). Can you imaging driving 25 mph EVERYwhere you go? It is aggravating sometimes.

-Traffic gets pretty ridiculous too. Millions of people on a tiny island all getting off work at the same time.