Typhoon!

There is a typhoon approaching Okinawa! So far, it has been extremely windy and rainy, but nothing too unbearable. We'll see whether or not it hits us this weekend, pray that it doesn't!

This past weekend was a lot of fun, but also very sad. It was fun because the entire staff, including our boss Grant, went out and celebrated the new teacher's arrival, but it was also sad because we had to say goodbye to Sarah. I am really, really going to miss her.
Here is a picture of Sarah with one of her classes:
This is me teaching one of my favorite classes:

On Sunday, Sarah, Ben, Bob (Ben's friend who has a crush on Sarah) Josh (teacher I replaced), Nagi (his fiance), and I went to the Okinawa aquarium--which is the second largest aquarium in the world! It was a lot of fun and we saw some reeeaalllyyy cool fish!
This fish was my favorite, I forget what it is called but it's huge and so weird looking!
Ben's favorite sea creature was the giant lobster, his mouth was watering just looking at it! This picture really does not do justice to the size of the lobster.
We also saw a dolphin show which was really fun. I think this is a picture of a whale-dolphin(?) but I'm not sure....I just know it's not a regular dolphin.
I really, really loved the turtles! They were adorable!! I wish my little sister Melanie could see the turtles in person, I think they would be her favorite!
One of the coolest aspects of the aquarium is the giant fish tank....here is a video I found on youtube that will give you a taste of what it was like looking at the tank:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9BXcYXAf3s

Today is Thursday, which means I will probably go to Banter House tonight (fun place off of Kokusai Street that has open-mic night), depending on the weather. Sarah and I have gone to Banter House for the past four Thursdays, so I think it might become a tradition...even though it will never be the same without Sarah. It is a lot of fun hearing the different Japanese singers, some of them even sing American songs! I quickly found out how much Japanese people love the song 'Stand by Me.' Here is a video of a really good acapella group that I saw a few weeks ago singing it:



Here is a more traditional song, in the video, you will also see Stephen, Sarah, and then the new teacher Andy:



Well, now I need to get ready for work and hope that the typhoon does not rain on me when I have to drive to my outside-class tonight on my scooter!
Hope everything is wonderful back in the States, I love receiving e-mails from everyone, so keep them coming! nchhokar313@gmail.com

Missing everyone,

Nikki