JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

When someone tells me how much they enjoyed a foreign place where they have lived in their lives, I am always glad to hear they had the chance to experience a different culture. But at the same time I’m always left with the thought “exactly what was it about the place that they liked so much?” What was their favorite pastime? What traditional art did they enjoy the most, a style of dance or perhaps a traditional style of music? How much of the native language did they know? How many locals that weren’t associated with the bases did they have as friends? What was their favorite hangout? Answers to these questions usually help me determine whether they actually knew the culture or if they were just infatuated with the outer face of a location.