Frog Immigration

M is my favorite niece in Japan, and one of the kids' favorite cousins abroad when they were small (and probably still.) In March she quit her job, packed up with her husband, and moved to a small island among the hundreds or so which make up the Okinawan Prefecture. The Prefecture, in turn, is part of a larger chain called the Ryukyu islands stretching from the southwest of Japan to the northeast of Taiwan.

Since then, we've been a little concerned about them. They went there with no jobs and no real exit strategy. The island they picked was beautiful, but you can drive *around* the *whole* thing in 2 hours. I certainly admired the approach. Picking a destination, then letting the details work themselves out, instead of building up toward a destination to reach someday. They had some savings, so first they were going to decompress from the rat race before becoming seriously concerned about survival. They were both fed up with the work and the pace in Japan and needed some time to think about life and where they were going. They've been stretching their budget with bountiful crops overflowing from neighbors' lots, surplus from local fishermen and a low-key lifestyle. Wandering the beaches, laying on their rooftop and watching the stars at night. Since it's a beautiful spot, it's also been an excuse for friends to visit. (It's on our list for the future :-)

And just today we discover M. got a job. She'll be employed until December in Frog Immigrations for the Government. Which makes you wonder how these things work sometimes. She's always been crazy about frogs and has all sorts of frog paraphernalia. Her job is to study the frog population of Ishigaki, identify the communities and locate the frogs not native to the island that don't have their proper papers. Now we're curious to see what Mr. K, M's husband, will turn up. He almost went to an interview today in a suit and crocs. Lucky M. caught him before he got too far. If he finds a job as unique as hers, I don't think they'll have any problems with their new home. I told M she should make a bet on who ends up with the strangest job. But she may have to give him odds. I have weird relatives on both sides of the globe.