Typhoonin' in Okinawa

Two nights ago, I experienced my very first Typhoon! Her name was Songda. She snuck in at night and was obnoxiously loud and made a mess of things--sort of like when your roommate brings home an extremely intoxicated woman from a bar. You hear her in the night slamming doors, knocking things around and you try to muffle the sounds of her high pitched annoying wail that penetrates the walls. The next morning when all is quiet and back to normal again, you walk outside your front door and you find yourself asking things like, "why is part of the roof on the lawn?". The answer to this question is simple: Songda is a crazy bee-otch*.

A typhoon, for those of you who do not know, is the same thing as a hurricane only it occurs of the West Pacific Ocean**. You may also call it a tropical cyclone, if you want people to think you are a know-it-all.

The arrival of Songda kicked off Typhoon season in Okinawa. This means for the next two to three months of my life, I will get continuously listen to people arguing over what TCCOR* level we are in, what that means we should be doing, and I will be trapped like a prisoner for possibly days on end in my house with nothing but the cockroaches to keep me company.

The first thing they tell you to do when you get here at newcomer's briefing is to put together a "typhoon kit". A typhoon kit should consist of the following:

*4 day supply of food and water
*bottled water, canned foods, and other non-perishables
*hammer, nails, and wood for quick repairs
*blankets, tarps, plastic, heavy cardboard, and water proof tape to cover broken windows
*mops and towels to absorb leaks
*flashlights with extra batteries, candles, matches, and a water proof lighter
*battery-operated portable radio with extra batteries
*ample supply of food for pets
*charcoal
*first aid kit

As I am still living in the West Pac Lodge, I figured the hotel could take care of all of the life threatening stuff, so this was my original Typhoon Kit Shopping List:

*bottled water
*chocolate
*gourmet cheeses
*crackers
*wine
*wine opener
*hairspray
*diet pepsi
*oatmeal
*ravioli
*puccas****

You will notice that not only is there not one vegetable on my list, but, more importantly, that other than water I do not have any of the recommended items for a typhoon on my list. Once I was at the store and I could see all of the people filling their carts with enough food for three years, I modified my list a bit. I ended up not getting the wine or the wine opener because drinking alone in a hotel room does not sound like any fun at all even if I was going to get sucked up by a typhoon. I did end up getting two cans of soup--just in case.

I have to admit, I was a bit thrilled about my first Typhoon. On Friday, after work, I drove to my hotel and waited. The typhoon was supposed to be a super typhoon, what that means I have no idea, but it sounded really exciting. The chart showed it as a category four and I waited and waited. I woke up on Saturday and it was nice outside and there was no sign of a typhoon and I was bored out of my mind! I called a friend here to see if we were allowed to go outside. She too was bored, and since it was not TCCOR1c (hide in your houses and wait for imminent doom), we went to Exchange***** and I bought a movie (the Rite), a book (Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me), and some stuff to spray in my shoes so they don't smell. We then had a lovely lunch at Subway and headed back to wait some more............................ 6 hours later, something finally started happening!

Around 9PM, the wind picked up, the lightning illuminated the sky like a war zone, and power started going out in various spots on the island. My power never went out which was fortunate because all of my typhoon food and entertainment needed electricity to cook, cool, light, or run it. I fell asleep around 11pm and that is when Songda got nasty. Throughout the night, I just wanted her to shut-up. When I woke up in the morning all was calm. Yes, you could tell that that wild girl had swept through this island in a rage in the night leaving trees broken all over the place, bending the traffic lights so they were all turned diagonally, covering cars in dirt, tree particles, and trash and violently carrying dogs, cats, and bats in directions against their will but other than that everything had resumed to normal--people went back to work, the stores opened back up, and island life goes on.

Before I move into my Sunabe townhouse in a week and a half, I will need to actually buy a real typhoon kit. So keep your eyes out for Hello Kitty flashlights and tools. If I am going to have to protect myself from the wrath of nature, I am going to do it in style.


NOTES

* If it is phonetically spelled, it is not actually cursing.

**I do understand that there is a more academic definition of a Typhoon, but for the purpose of a blog, I do not need to include a dull multi-paragraph description of what constitutes a typhoon. I too can wikipedia, pretentious reader.

***TCCOR: Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness. This is basically just a countdown of when you need to be prepared, in a safe area, to stop driving and going outside, and it lets you know when things like schools and the shops are closed. TCCOR1c means all fun as you know it stops and you have to go inside and wait FOREVER.

**** Puccas are these delicious cracker like things shaped like different fish and octopi and they are filled with chocolate. I keep trying to buy them to send them home to you all, but I eat them instead.

*****An Exchange is like the military version of target or walmart-only they carry brands like coach.