We had just moved to Okinawa, Japan and were living in the Hamagawa Lodge. I was only six years old and one night we decided to take a walk down to the seawall because we’d learned it was nearby and had never seen one before. The seawall was merely a cement wall separating the streets and houses from the ocean itself. When we got there we could stand up on the top of it and see out into the ocean but by then it had gotten so dark that we could hardly see anything at all. 

We were all sitting there, me, my dad, two brothers, and my little sister, when suddenly a huge wave came up and crashed over the top of the seawall drenching us in water. We all stood there shocked when just as quickly another wave came and crashed against the wall a little ways down. We sat and watched as my dad ran over to the spot trying to get as much of the wave splashed over him. 

Suddenly it became a huge game of running back and forth along the seawall trying to guess where the next wave would hit, listening to the water rushing in, and seeing who could get the most drenched. We were all racing back and forth, laughing and screaming with glee, bumping into each other trying to catch the next big wave.

We had literally just landed in this strange and exotic place only a few nights before. Packed up our lives and moved to completely foreign streets, undiscovered cities, and unfamiliar people. We had no idea what we were doing or what this new place would be like but standing there on that seawall with my siblings and father soaking wet, laughing in the light of the street lamps, I knew this was going to be a place where a million new adventures were about to unfold and I couldn’t wait.

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