Lesson Two "International USA"

Okinawa

My flight into Okinawa was breathe taking. There was a clear sky with an endless ocean horizon and islands everywhere. I was seated in business class on a 747-400 (double deck with 3-5-3 seating) in second row. What does look like? I had a panoramic view in the nose of the plane and a video screen showing a view from a camera mounted in the nose. The pilots? They were located above and eight rows behind where I was seated. The flight made up for the start of my trip so now it's all balanced.

Quick History
Okinawa was once owned by the Chinese and battles have been fought here for centuries. In World War II, Okinawa was the arena for one of the most ferocious battles of the war. Okinawa was one of the longest and hardest fought campaigns in the history of World War II. One-third of the Okinawa population, about 150,000 died in the "Typhoon of steel." In 1946, relief money started to be pumped into the local economy and Okinawa began its slow recovery. There are seven marine bases on this island and I'm staying at one of them. There's a lot of American pride here and the base is truly an American town in a Japanese world. You can barely buy sushi on base, but there's lots of subway, pizza and burger king.

Locals
The people here are the oldest and longest living people, thanks to their vegetable and fish diet, especially the seaweed. The beaches are white sand with coral cliffs and the waves break a good 300m away from shore - perfect for snorkeling and scuba diving. Naha, Okinawa is a beautiful place to visit and I love the climate, the people and especially the local cuisine.