Eco 35

While we were running the gauntlet of shops at Okinawa World, we stumbled upon a store that was called Eco 35. By all intents and purposes it looked like a place that sold coffee (not brewed, but coffee beans and ground coffee). We gathered , to the best of our ability (everything was in Japanese, despite this being a tourist attraction), that you could sample the coffee for free, so we took a seat at a table and ordered either "hard roast" or "medium roast" . The server was super nice, but spoke barely any English. She really wanted to communicate with us but there was a definite language barrier! She seemed to address most of her statements to me, which I tried desperately to instinctively know what she meant, but most times fell short.

Anyways, our coffee came, we sampled, it was ok, but by this time we felt obliged to buy a bag of coffee, which we did. While at the register, the lady whips out this binder notebook. It looks like a sign up for a mailing list? Stevie boldly put down our address and email address and then she asked him how to say his name. She then wrote this next to the info in Japanese. Then, and this is where the story starts getting strange, she asks us another question and motions to her cell phone. Does she want our phone number??? I'm thinking a phone conversation is not going to go much better than this live conversation. But then she shows us a photo that she's taken with her cell phone, so we say ahhh, she wants to take our picture (not that unusual of a request in this country). So we pose, or are posed, since she positioned us in front of the Eco 35 sign, and smile for our picture.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, she hands London, Cannon and Stevie bags of coffee and motions for them to hold them up. Then she asks us to make the "peace sign" (all, and I mean ALL Japanese take their photos making the peace sign). So, laughing hysterically, we comply. I think Dr. Tom was laughing the hardest as he skipped the photo to take a photo of the lady taking our photo!

So we left the store and Okinawa World wondering what the heck had just happened. We imagined our picture being used for advertisement, like we'd see it on a billboard or on the side of a bus. Drink Eco 35 because these crazy Americans do !

This morning, while brewing my Eco 35 coffee and still intrigued by the scenario from yesterday, I look at the business card in the bag and decide to look at their website. Hmmm, they have a blog. Ha, wouldn't that be funny if our photo made it to the blog. Ahhh, look who made it to cyberspace !!!!!

http://sooeido.ti-da.net/