MY OKINAWAN ADVENTURE
By: Edwin de Leon, March 1, 2023
The holiday months of December- January is when I get holiday greetings from former students at Christ the King International High School (CKHS) on the southern Japanese Island of Okinawa, the biggest in a chain of islands of the Ryukyus. It’s a lot more than just the annual greetings but a reminder of life’s most transformative event when one leaves home for the first time.
Leaving the Philippines shortly after my graduation in 1967 was a path that defined my professional life. It was not a big secret that school teachers in the Philippines were the bottom wage earners among professionals. Marginalized and underpaid, the running joke was: “the wife taught school while the man made a living.” Alone in my thoughts, I was saying that if I stayed here any longer, I would be eating “Bopis” ( stewed pig lungs ) for the rest of my life.
From an innocuous ad in a university bulletin board, I sent an application to the administrators ( School Sisters of Notre Dame, SSND ) of CKHS, then received a telegram (remember those?) of acceptance and flew to Okinawa in time for the Sept. (1967 ) opening. I was 20, and like a little boy in a candy store, my senses were overwhelmed with the new sights, sounds and smells. New faces, a new language, and fresh food complemented the new school where I was to teach. Okinawa 1967 was a U.S. protectorate. It was the scene of one of the major battles of WWII. Over 12,000 US and 160 000 Japanese/Okinawan lives were lost in this bloodiest push toward Japan. After the war, a Treaty of Peace handed the U.S. territorial sovereignty in 1951, while Japan held a “residual sovereignty .” Some 80% of American bases in Japan were located on the Island. It proved very useful during the Korean war and was a central staging area for the U.S. war in Vietnam. In addition, it was a favourite R & R destination for the G.I. between deployments.
Through the years, military presence and cultural clashes between Americans and Okinawans forced the closure of many bases. Reduced to 49%, significant Marine, Air Force, Navy, and Army bases remain on the Island. Besides Americans and Okinawans, there were civilian workers, the so-called third nationals working primarily for the military. Christ the King International School (K-12 ) served the children of these civilian populations who were not eligible in American or Okinawan schools.
Our school was home to many Okinawans married to Filipinos, Chinese, Americans and other nationals who were not U.S. or Okinawan citizens. We also catered to families who chose CKS for religious reasons ( the only Catholic English school on the Island). We used U.S. textbooks and a baccalaureate curriculum for U.S. college admissions. English was the school medium, but nearly all spoke Okinawan ( a Japanese variant ) as their first or second language. SSND and Capuchin priests administered the school. Faculty were split between Filipino and American ( typically wives of U.S. service members) teachers.
In my time with this school, the Principal, a highly conservative nun, ran a tight ship, all expressed in the school motto, “Center of Order and Light .” She was a rigid disciplinarian and rigorous in matters of student decorum. There was occasional “dressing down” where all students were lined up in the corridor to remind about expectations on behaviours or school uniforms (i.e. girl’s hemline ). The students were remarkably well-behaved and disciplined, as most come from traditional devout families. The drug problems (pre-cocaine / fentanyl ) of the late sixties was not a significant concern and were more prevalent with the “hippie” culture of that era. Smoking among staff was commonplace but not tolerated among students. ( a 20- pack of American brand cigarettes at that time was selling in the commissary for U.S.15 cents )
We had free reign in the subjects we taught even as we followed U.S. syllabuses. I saw an opportunity to put much more at CKHS than the more regimented system in the Philippines. Better laboratory facilities and more prep times allowed me to offer various extracurricular activities. Judo Club, camping, photography, and biology field trips were the highlight of that initial year. The only disagreement I had with the
Principal was choosing a new Biology book and basketball matches between different ethnic groups, which she opposed.
In the summer of 1968, I expanded my Phys Ed minor and Judo at Rizal Memorial in Manila. During this time, the infamous Ruby Towers collapsed in an earthquake that killed 250 in that building. My connection ( through my father, a city cop) with the coroner’s office led me to access the city morgue. I acquired human organs and other related specimens ( even a five-month-old fetus ) for my biology lab at CKHS.( the whiff of formaldehyde got the customs officer at Naha Airport inspecting, but quickly closed the suitcase as soon as I told him what I was carrying )
In my second year, I received a fellowship from the NSF ( National Science Foundation) for a summer institute with the University of Hawaii. A second one followed in 1970. These institutes were held at Chofu (a suburb of Tokyo, Japan ) and Okayama University. Those were memorable summers; watching the Armstrong moon landing at Fuchu Air Station( Hq. of U.S. 5th Air Force, where I was billeted for the Institutes ) and climbing Mount Fuji were unforgettable highlights of those times.
But something else came to my realization during this intense period of academic growth. I was woefully unprepared for the rigours of a postgraduate-level science. When you are thrusted with a dozen others with U.S. university credentials, my inadequate articulation and a deficit in critical thinking skills hit my self-confidence. You only grasp your meagre education and knowledge once you mix with others with better academic backgrounds. I vowed not to allow myself to be in such a position again.
While all of these were going on, I met my former wife on a blind date set up by a mutual friend in my final year with CKHS. She was a Seargent in the US Marines (W.M.) stationed in Okinawa. It was well known that the Island was to be reverted to Japan at the end of the Vietnam war. With this knowledge, I made preparations for this eventuality. While in Tokyo, I applied for Canadian immigration. Before the end of my second institute, I received an immigrant visa. I took a leave of absence and left for Toronto in July 1970. My girlfriend left the Marines, continued her education, and eventually, we got married in Newfoundland in 1972. CKHS finally closed its doors in 1989. ( the CKS buildings have all been torn down, and the site is now home to a Japanese-language Catholic School )
OKINAWA; HOME TO THE LONGEST-LIVING HUMANS IN THE WORLD
Okinawa today is leading as the top “Blue Zone” country in the world ( the other four are Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Icaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California, United States ). These are regions in the world where people are speculated to live longer than average, consistently reaching 100 years. However, this observation is not uniform throughout Okinawa. The Americanization of the Island brought all kinds of practices that are the antithesis of long life. The military changed traditional living patterns on the main Island, beginning with fast food, high stress and occupation of the best farmlands. Urbanization around military bases brought water, air and noise pollution. As is typical of R&R destinations, young draftees got alcohol, smoking and varied nightlife activities on a new level.
But I witnessed the remaining unspoiled smaller islands off the central island. On scattered weekends, we would take a ferry to remote islands to go duck hunting. I saw some older people working the fields, sitting on open porches in front of basic wooden houses in the company of others. The earth around the dwellings has the look of being swept constantly. There were chickens and pigs in nearby pens. The rustic look belies the more cosmopolitan lifestyle on the mainland.
The traditional practice of “Ikigai” and “Moai” is not lost in this rural, back-country Okinawa. You can feel the harmonious and serene living practiced by the inhabitants of these islands. Contrast it with the loud, rambunctious, hectic weekends in the “strip” ( Koza district, just outside the giant Kadena Air Base ).
Whether it’s in our present-day or the way Okinawans practiced them, “Ikigai’ and “Moai” are central to anybody’s longevity. Their meaning is identical to whoever and wherever it’s practiced. My last two articles ( Jan. and Feb. ) spoke about “Ikigai” and ‘Moai” in our contemporary realm. “Ikigai” translates as “reason to live”; having a sense of purpose promotes a healthier lifestyle, more motivation and resiliency. But, on the other hand, aimlessly carrying on is a waste of human life and a recipe for cutting short the boundless possibilities before us.
“Moai” is the very essence of the “Lessons from the World’s Longest Study of Happiness” ( Read: “As Time Goes By” Feb. Balita issue ). It refers to our social support group, our lifelong connection to friends for companionship. Meeting friends for a common purpose to share interests and counsel can go a long way toward lessening the stresses of old age.
“HARA HACHI BU”, SAY WHAT?
I was at Mandarin some weeks back, the go-to Chinese buffet in town, by invitation.” By invitation” because I no longer go to these places on my own; there is absolutely nothing wrong with them, but it’s too good to practice the Okinawan mantra of “Hara
Hachi Bu .” It is a dietary practice of eating at most 80% of being full. This is how they lessen calorie intake while fulfilling what the body needs. Does it work? Data on the rate of obesity is very telling. There are only 3.6% of Japanese ( lesser among elderly Okinawans ) with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 (Over 30 BMI is obese ) the U.S.’s is 32%. The typical calorie intake for men is 1800 vs 2,500 in the U.S. ( among OECD countries, the U.S. is the most obese at 36.2 %, and Canada is at 29%). The Philippine obesity rate is at 6.4%. Have I come out 80% full from a buffet? Are you kidding me? More like 120% full!
Besides the above, there is a lower protein consumption ( 9%) and higher carbohydrate as an energy source (80%) ( US, 16% and 46%, respectively ) The protein source in the outer islands tends to be from marine sources complementing root vegetables (sweet potatoes in particular ), yellow and green vegetables, soybean-based food and medicinal herbs. As a result, the death rate from coronary heart disease is 80% less among Okinawans and 40% less for all cancers compared with the U.S.
It is now known that dietary factors are the primary determiner of Okinawan longevity. However, post WWII, these data are directly observed only among the elderly. With all the attendant western diet and higher fat and sugar consumption, the younger population is showing signs of the same ailments as their cohorts elsewhere.
Some 56 years later, I reflect on many things about Okinawa; it seems trivial now, but not so in the context of a young man experiencing life unconstricted by a newfound freedom. My first car was a used two-cylinder, air-cooled Toyota Publica, so cheap on gas; it has no gas gauge, only a red light when you are down to 5 km. of fuel remaining. Rows of pawn shops where Purple Hearts found a home when G.I.’s ran out of money on a bar-hopping spree on Saturday nights. You can sit in a VFW ( Veterans of Foreign Wars ) club and watch the then-unknown Ray-Card duet, Diomedes Maturan, or The Paulettes with an Orion beer and a 14-ounce steak, all for $5!
So, what stands out after all these years? Apart from meeting my former wife, I remember activities that involved water. Camping with Biology students at the Ishikawa Reservoir; snorkelling for hours at Maeda Point or just below the retreat house at Mission Beach. Friday nights of crabbing at low tides at Ojana beach using the bright lights of a carbide lamp. Funny how my childhood ( read: https://www.balita.ca/the-games-that-we-played/ ) along the shores of Manila Bay creeps up the minute I see salt water. As if the ghost of a hunter-gathering ancestor comes alive, drawing me to the water. Deep in my hippocampus, he says let’s see what’s out there.
“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came.”
John F. Kennedy
edwingdeleon@gmail.com
