Aloha, I'm Donna, known everywhere on the Internet as "Champuru." I'm a Christian, blissfully wedded to my perfect match (the yang to my yin) of 15 years and a stay-at-home mom to my miracle baby, born in October 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from my hometown, seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest. Read more on the About page.
It has been six long years since I donned a pair of tabiand set foot into the dojo for dance practice. Since age five, I’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship with the art of traditional Okinawan dance, but even during times of absence it has always been in my heart. Today, my love affair with the art was rekindled as I rejoined my fellow practitioners for a nearly 3-hour dance class.
As expected, my body had sadly fallen out of shape and muscles that I haven’t used in years were suddenly called into action, prompting a protest. My posture has always been poor, but has worsened since becoming a mother. (Stooping, bending, carrying, etc.) For dance, I must make a concerted effort to correct my posture and keep a straight back. This taxes the muscles in my lower back. Okinawan dance also requires leg strength for the constant bending and squatting movements, so my thighs and knees are certainly feeling the burn. I had to pop two Tylenol this evening to stave off the throbbing.
As I was complaining about my various aches and pains Hubby said something profound. “If you have a passion for something, you must be willing to make sacrifices and tolerate some pain.”
He wasn’t reprimanding me for my grumbling, although he had every right to. He was gently reminding me that I must not focus on the negative or let a little discomfort sway me from the pursuit of my passion. Instead, I must concentrate on my motivation for returning to Okinawan dance: my love of the music and dances of my ancestors, the perpetuation of my culture, and the hope that I can be a good example to my daughter as a well-rounded individual.
It’s so wonderful to be connected to the arts again. When one of the senior students walked in and saw me, she greeted me by saying, “welcome home.” How appropriate. Home is where the heart is.
Today I picked up a new pair of 24cm tabi from Marukai
in preparation for my return to Okinawan dance classes.
There was a good selection of different types of tabi, but I just needed a basic pair with hook fasteners in the back. There were the “Made in Japan” ones and the “Made in China” variety. As you would expect, the tabi made in Japan were double the price of its Chinese counterparts. I opted for the cheaper pair. I wonder if I’ll notice the difference?
Traditions are so valuable, creating closeness and strengthening the connection between family members. My mother-in-law recognized the importance of family traditions early on. The traditions she established decades ago are still practiced today and it’s the glue that keeps their family tightly knit.
One of my favorite traditions is partaking in the new year’s ozoni. Every year on January 1st, all family members would assemble for their first meal of the year: a bowl of steaming hot ozoni. Mom-in-law says that drinking the soup ensures a good upcoming year for the partaker. Good luck or not, the soup is just plain delicious!
I posted the recipe for mom-in-law’s “easy ozoni”in 2008 and made a video in 2007 which I have embedded below. I must apologize for the shaky camera work (was trying to hold the camera in one hand and cook with the other).
This year, I didn’t get a chance to buy the very expensive (~$15/can) hokkigai clams, so I made it with chicken instead. It wasn’t as tasty, but still quite good. Ryan Ozawa mentioned using steamer clams from Costco. When I inquired about the clams, here’s what he said:
The steamer clams box, from the Costco freezer section, had three trays of about a 1/3 lb. for $14. The clams were fully cooked and still in shell. Jen just pulled the meat out of the clams and threw it in the ozoni, rather than nuking the clams in the tray with the butter as designed.
I am definitely going to try this. Unfortunately, venturing out to Costco on New Year’s Eve is probably a bad idea if I wish to keep my sanity — so I’ll make a run early next week.
What traditions have you established for your family? Do you have ozoni on new year’s day? Or perhaps another traditional/ethnic dish? Care to share your recipe?
As a result of the encouragement of my mother, I have been dancing since I was a toddler, running onstage at the Sonjinkai Shinnen Enkai (new year’s party) and stealing the kachashi limelight from the ojiichans and obaachans. At age 5, I started Okinawan dance lessons and continued off-and-on throughout my life. Having been in an “off” period for a few years now, bon dances are my only connection to a love for the music and dances of my culture. Donning a hapi coat and dancing to the lilting notes of the sanshin thrills my heart and makes me proud of my rich heritage.
As the pieces of my life start to fall in place, I know that I will return to my odori training. Until then, you’ll see me dancing my little heart out around the yagura in the bon dance circle.
I have been on hiatus from Okinawan dance since 2004, when Hubby was deployed to Iraq and I was in the homestretch of my degree program (Bachelor of Science, Information Technology). I put myself on hiatus, but never imagined that it would last this long.
The past five years have been busy — monumental, even! I obtained my BS/IT (thank you, Jesus!), Hubby returned from his deployment safe and sound (praise God!), and we had a baby (miracles upon miracles!). Now that things are settling down, I have begun to think about ending my hiatus and returning to dance.
As a new mom, my focus was entirely on the baby. I had purposed to completely dedicate an entire year to her. Not just putting work on hold, but choosing to forgo any diversions or hobbies in her first year of life. So much happens in that first year, if you blink you’ll miss something. I wanted to witness every milestone and enjoy every precious moment with her because I knew that she will be our only child. It is a decision that I am glad that I made — and one that Hubby has supported even before Baby Champuru was conceived.
Now that Baby Champuru is 14 months old, the idea of pursuing personal interests seems feasible again. One of my goals for 2010 was returning to dance, so I contacted my sensei and my first day back to dance practice in over five years will be on January 3, 2010.
Wish me luck and send me a bottle or two of Tokuhon while you’re at it. I’m going to need it.
Thank you, Consuela, for capturing this photo of us!
As Baby Champuru grows older, her stranger anxiety appears to be lessening. It seemed to have peaked around 6 months and now at 10 months, it’s on the decline. I believe her exposure to more people in an environment that she enjoys has been a key factor.
Stranger anxiety is difficult to deal with, especially when the people my baby is anxious about are definitely not strangers. At least not to me. People like my in-laws, for example. Or one of my closest friends Joni, whom I have known for over a decade.
The only solution we could see to this dilemma is to make our loved ones NOT strangers to Baby Champuru by frequent visits. Of course, with everyone’s busy schedules, that doesn’t always work. The one thing that I have found to work was bon dancing. That’s right: bon dancing.
It has always been our desire to expose Baby Champuru to the cultures of her heritage: Japanese and Okinawan. Bon dances are perfect for that, as both cultures are represented there. Full of stimuli, bon dances entrall young ones with glowing chochin lanterns, upbeat music, lively dancing and crowds of people.
Baby Champuru loves music and movement. I have been exposing her to Okinawan music since she was in utero and I continued bon dancing during the last trimester of my pregnancy. Little else will console her when it’s past her bedtime, but when she’s at a bon dance, snug inside my Beco Baby Carrier, she’s a happy camper. She’ll even fall asleep in the carrier while I’m dancing the night away.
At the beginning of the summer, Baby Champuru wouldn’t let others carry her. Not long after, Joni was able to carry her around the bon dance circle in her arms – and even in the baby carrier. This was major progress.
As the bon dance season progressed, she was exposed to more people. Perhaps this also helped to settle her stranger anxiety. She seems a bit more relaxed now, allowing others to interact and carry her more readily. I don’t know if I can attribute it all to bon dance season, but I think having her in an environment that she enjoys (music, dancing, pretty lights!) helped put her at ease and allowed her to be more accepting of new people and experiences.
I have been on hiatus from Okinawan dance since 2004, when Hubby was deployed to Iraq and I was in the homestretch of my degree program (Bachelor of Science, Information Technology). I put myself on hiatus, but never imagined that it would last this long.
As a new mom, my focus was entirely on the baby. I had purposed to completely dedicate an entire year to her. Not just putting work on hold, but choosing to forgo any diversions or hobbies in her first year of life. So much happens in that first year, if you blink you’ll miss something. I wanted to witness every milestone and enjoy every precious moment with her because I knew that she will be our only child. It is a decision that I am glad that I made — and one that Hubby has supported even before Baby Champuru was conceived.
, she’s a happy camper. She’ll even fall asleep in the carrier while I’m dancing the night away.
