Color

Running Out of Water

Early last week there was a report in the Okinawan newspaper that Zamami has enough water left behind its dam to support the village for 40 more days. Aka has 30 days. We are ten days into those estimates with little rain to replenish the losses. We've been on rationing for at least 4-5 months, which means the water is shut off every day from 8pm to 8am. But most people have tanks installed on their roofs that fill up with water when it's on, then allow usage when it's off. As far as I can tell, rationing only affects a few households, some public facilities, and leaks in the system.


Aka has two dams and one was rumored to be empty so I kayaked over yesterday to take a look. I was surprised to find construction workers with lots of heavy equipment (that they must have brought in off a barge onto the beach, then built a road from the beach to the dam). It was really smart what they were doing, dredging out the floor of the dam while it's empty.

[the rear end of the dam - mostly dry]

I don't know what the plan is when we get closer to death. I've heard trucks full of water will come out on our ferry to be emptied behind the dam. We'd need a lot of trucks every day to support 600 people and tourists. On Aka they experimented with a 36-hour water turnoff last Thursday/Friday. This is the typhoon season (with no typhoons yet), so I think the main strategy is just to hope for rain.

[Zamami's dam - not much left]

[the floodplain below Zamami's dam, the village is around the corner to the left]

A Visit Up North

I was finally able to string together a few days away from my busy life of fishing and running on Zamami to go visit Cliff and Vaughn in northern Okinawa. The goal of the trip was to see their houses and lives in their semi-remote villages. But the alternative - and ultimately successful - goal of the long weekend was to hang out with some Japanese girls who are friends of Cliff.

[Cliff's getting hungry again]

We never made it to their villages, but I did get plenty of fodder to re-ignite thinking about women in my life. In an attempt to avoid falling into a life of comfortable monotony I often consider how well my life is set up now: most of my hobbies are satisfied and I've got a beautiful location, a fun job, and a good network of people around me. But the nature of an island with 600 people leaves a small population of women to choose from. I've never been dependent on a girlfriend, but I will usually admit that having a gal around would be nice.

[me, Cliff, Vaughn]

So it was after spending a couple days with three great girls that I found myself pondering whether a move to a city would increase my chances. And then I progressed to the next natural thought: would I give up the life I have now (of which 90% of its greatness is because on the remote location) to move to a place with greater population density to increase my girl chances? Of course the answer is "no". But that doesn't solve my singleness, it only affirms that my priorities lie with the rest of my life. I don't know what will make me happier in the long run?

(I realize I am drawing a line in the sand between 'living in a remote, beautiful place' and 'girls', as though they can't be in the same place. But for the ten years of my adult life that's the only way it's been.)

Consumption

Mella's Ngasech, Part Five

[the women]

[the men]

Mella's Ngasech, Part Four

Mella's Ngasech, Part Three

[this belt is made of Hawksbill turtle shell]