On the first day of school, I distribute 3x5 cards to the students and have them complete an "information card" for me. Mostly these cards provide me quick and easy access to their birthdays and some trivia that I use as a base for becoming better acquainted with each of them. On the lined side of the card we establish the basics: full name, preferred name, birthday, where the house is located (as in "on base" or town/neighborhood), siblings, and pets. On the back side of the card we do a quick graphic organizer thing by dividing it into four sections and labeling each one with these: likes, dislikes, skills, hopes and dreams. I complete my card on the board as students do theirs. Since my middle school teacher beginning, I have always written "live by the sea" as one of the items in my "hopes and dreams" section. This year when I wrote in that phrase, one of my students offered, "Ms. Cahoon, here in Okinawa you could really do that--live by the sea." And now I do. I actually live across the street from the sea...the Pacific Ocean, to be exact.
And everyday I am mesmerized all over again with the play of light and shadow of sea and sky. In counterpoint, harmony, or unison--their ever-changing renditions carry me into an elsewhere of beauty and possibility.
Considered sub-tropical, Okinawa has coral reefs and seas arrayed in tropical blues and greens--seas where colors like aqua, cerulean, celadon, turquoise, cobalt, and teal were born and raised. Sometimes these dazzle and dance with almost blinding brilliance, and sometimes they mingle and marry in a watercolor wash, muted yet memorable. At night, though,the sea is wrinkled black, but, at moments, points of light might bounce and skeeter across its rumpled surface.
Since I live on the Pacific side of the island--the east side--sunrise may actually unveil the sun in its morning color and light show although it is not a given. Sunset, too, often presents a color and light show as well but always sans the sun.
Here, then, are shades of sea and sky as viewed from my balcony:
