The Education of Miss Rita

Colin, a friend of mine told me that there is a good film done probably in the 1980s or 1990s with the subject head of this article. Though I have never had time to watch this film despite Colin's high ratings, I will honor it with by naming this piece's title after it!! This ia bwcause I think the title is appropriate for my circumstances.

After elaborating on why I chose the title, I think I can safely break the reason as to why the title. Well, after over five years away from formal education, I am back to school!!! On thank you ...now stop clapping and the undulations..:)

This year, I am definitely on a roll! First it was the 3 month stint in Japan and now this...2 years pursuing a Masters degree in Public Health in one of the local universities in Uganda.
I started yesterday and it is really a challenge...a challenge that I am going to love. I didnt know how rusty and closer to adult learners I was until yesterday. It was an eye opener!! My mind kept running all over the place...it was amazing how a over 5 years later I cannot concentrate like I did when I was doing my undergraduate.
The university is lovely and lecturers are very nice. My class is an interesting collection of people from all walks of life. There are medical professionals as well as bankers and teachers! This has made class more interesting because each of these persons brings unique contributions to discussions. Though the course is hectic...since I am at school for only 3 weeks and after every 3 months, I am sure its going to be one of the best experiences of my life. Just keep watching the space.

Sports Day or rather circus day

I really don’t know what it was. But we all stayed standing in the hot sun cheering! We looked like we had been glued to our positions. Or like we were being paid to be extras in some movie.
The higher the sun rose, the more we cheered on. When our throats got dry, we opened our big bags and drunk so more water...or quickly ran to the water seller under the big jackfruit tree and bought a cold soda!
It simply was magic and fun watching as adults in all colours and sizes screamed and clapped their hands as they cheered on their children, grand children, nephews, nieces or possibly neighbours or friend’s children on the track field.

The place was Daffodils Nursery Academy track field. The event: The annual sports day.Children all under 6 years were competing in what I think was track and field. Because from the programme I could see, relay, going to school race, ball picking race..and so many ridiculous names.
Competition it was promised was going to be tight after all, these children had been practicing for about a month.

On Saturday as we dropped them off to the field at 8am clad in tshirts of different colours to reflect their different houses. I thought to myself there was going to be WAR!! The children looked mean and tough…they were only short of painting their faces with black ink…but no.. wait a minute...these are black kids, so they don’t need black oil :) .

Ok, I take that back…been watching too many movies :)

Anyway, I should have guessed from the way they sang both the school anthem that it was far from a competition .

The games begun and like I have rightly, put it, they were games. The children run slower than tortoises and were more confused than a maze!! It was amusing the way, they crisscrossed lanes but still managed to be crowned as winners in the various categories.

My nephew and niece were placed in the same race named " Go to school". The plot was easy...run pick up a backpack from the ground, place in the container that was lined next to it and then make off to the finishing line. I saw their teacher turned "coach" give each of them lat minute instructions and my excitement grew! Now this was it...world class competition. Was about to grab the microphone from the announcer and say : " ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for. Now seat back and watch this world class act.And for those with kids in this competition, all I can say is : Watch as they swallow the dust"

Jared second from the right and Jasmine third from the left

My nephew started off well, picked his pack, run to the container...all the time, I was screaming...go, go, go , go Jared! But then what does he do. As soon as he zipped the bag, he waited on for his (slow) sister to finish the process. He could have been the first, but no, Jared waited till his sister finished then they run together. I didnt know whether to cheer on or cry:)Well atleast they came in 3 and 4 out of 8.

By this time, all the adults were in a frenzy cheering . I guess this noise is what pissed off some children who then decided demanding for “mummy” and “ daddy”. As the sun rose higher, announcements like “Will the parent of x please come for him/her” were more common than the soap bubbles being blown by the older kids standing at the sidelines.
The future Usain Bolts, Asafa Powell, or Florence Griffith-Joyners were no longer amused by the different t shirt colours and caps that their parents had put on to match theirs. They had played and were tired. Period!
I stopped watching the track and I enjoyed as other parents were called to pick their rebellious little ones. The kids clamped on to their parent’s legs and were soon starting a screaming or should I say lung exercising competition. Which I guess would have overpowered the set activities. I watched in amusement and openly showed it until my nephew joined the rebellious list.
From then, thanks to my nephew and several others’ cry babies the house colour I was cheering, we made it first from the bottom!

Chaos as I say Sayonara Japan

I wrote this piece as I was on transit to Nairobi from Japan. I had forgotten about it till today. It has brought back alot of memories of what happened between Japan and Nairobi.


On April 23, 2009, the moment that I knew was going to happen but wasnt really prepared for actually happened.I knew that time would come when I said bye to Okinawa. I cant believe I crossed that sayonara bridge and there were lots of tears involved. I am surely going to miss everyone.. Each one in their own special way was a star. They contributed something to my life. I am eternally grateful to each person I met in Okinawa.

My flight to Tokyo passed in a daze because part of me wasn’t believing that it had actually happened.
Now as I seat in a black chair in Schipol airport waiting for the final flight to connect, I believe
that I actually left. What has been most exciting…well it has to be the luggage fiasco at Narita airport in Japan! One of my travel mates had excess luggage. The Japanese ladies at the counter got firm on her and requested that she off loads it! It wasn’t a pretty sight. After what seemed like hours of intense discussion, we removed the excess luggage and shared the excess luggage amongst the three of us and off we went. That problem was solved.

So we head to Sakura lounge...a VIP lounge for Japanese in transit. We had some refreshments in a hurry and went to check in. After check in, I realise that I had left my beautiful army camouflaged bag (hand luggage) in the lounge. You should have seen me running back like a mad woman! I was glad that I remembered when I did- before I entered the plane! As I was passing the ladies at the check in counter…looking like Usain Bolt’s fiercest competitor, one of them stopped me. I explained and she sent one of her colleagues to bring the luggage. She told me to go and sit…as I entered the plane, the door was closed!
After 3 minutes of not hearing a thing from the hostesses and yet the plane was beginning to move to the runway, I begun to panic. I then called on another hostess and told her my plight. She left immediately with a promise to do whatever she could.

When she returned after what seemed like eternity, she informed me amidst apologies, that the luggage wasn’t on board. After she said that, all I could her was “ Sunimasen, blah,blah, blah…sunimasen..blah, blah …sunimasen”. It wasn’t her fault at all but I wasn’t interested in any other explanations or options.

All I kept thinking about was beautiful bag! Then a quick thought went to its contents! That’s when I bolted.” Oh gosh, all my connecting flights’ tickets are in that bag”. This hit me like a lightning bolt as fear gripped me like I had never known before. Luckily enough when I checked my laptop bag, there lay all my tickets!

Then the other thoughts came in Oh my bag…and its contents! “will I ever see it again” on part of me was asking…while another consoled me that since the Japanese are very organised and efficient people, they would have it delivered to me in no time. But still I couldn’t help but feel “Oh why me”!

The Japanese man seated next to me on hearing the hostess’ reply got concerned. He promised to follow up with her after we had taken off so that she through her captain can contact the ground staff and make sure that the bag is sent to me!

The flight took off with me feeling so rotten! I tried to flip through the in flight magazine but I wasn’t reading nor seeing anything! The green army bag just kept popping in all the pages!!

Ok, to cut the long story short, there is a happy ending to this. 15 minutes after take off, the air hostess I had talked to, came carrying my beautiful green bag! A calm breeze rushed through me. I am glad that my trip from Japan turned out this beautifully.
Well what do you know, the Japanese are indeed a very efficient lot! People who go the extra mile just to make something happen. Everyone does their work with such passion that its overwhelming...oh let me not start! That’s a story for another day and forum.

My worst road ever

In all my road travels, I am yet to experience a road as bad as the one leading to Nakasongola district Headquarters! What is deceptive about this road is that as one branches off the smooth tarmac highway, they are met by a rough contrast.

I can’t decide whether to call it a murram or a tarmac road because I saw more potholes than tarmac. I have nothing personal against the district. I think it is a good place and judging by the numerous herds of cattle I saw, there is no doubt that the district makes a generous contribution to the tasty meat numbers sold in the city.

The drive to the district which is supposed to be 15 minutes takes almost 30 minutes. The white double cabin pickup I was in kept dancing on or was it off the road. And with this crazy dance, our backs received the full effect. I felt my back ache like my spine was going to leave the vertebrae column!!

It was a such a nightmare that whenever the driver tried to dodge one pothole, he would instead end up hitting another!
So, in order to remedy the situation, our driver was forced to drive keeping right instead of the colonially imposed Left. The right side though also pot holed looked like heaven when compared to the left. I think the tarmac had realised that there was no pretence of it being there so it had allowed itself to be eroded.

On the right side therefore, the tarmac was visible and so we not only move faster, but our backs were also relieved of the vigorous pothole hitting exercise.
We soon forgot that keeping right was wrong. But when a white vehicle suddenly appeared in the opposite direction, we got a reality check! We were forced to rush back to the left. I could swear that we hit a million potholes in the 5 seconds we used to move to back to our side!

What is amazing however, is that the agony was immediately forgotten as soon as we reached the smooth tarmac of the highway to Kampala.

Jumping June

I cant believe that June is going so fast! It seems like yesterday when I was in April and now I am approaching July? Where have months gone? I hate it when Months and years just sneak up on you like that! Speaking of years, it seemed like yesterday when I left the University...was wet behind the ears...now I am entering a new decade of life..
How time flies by so fast!

So what have I been upto since the last blog post. Alot of stuff! Okinawa feels like a pleasant dream. I am still in touch with alot of the wonderful people that I met over there. When you are on the internet chatting with someone from Samoa, the whole world just seems like my backyard! Yesterday, the last group of people that I met in Okinawa left for their respective countries. I know I am miles away but I felt depressed. I guess I know how they feel, leaving behind such a wonderful place and people. It is really ironical that on the one hand, one cant wait to get home while on the other, they are so sad.

I cant forget my turn. It is amazing how the 3 and a half months experience just crawls under your skin and you dont know how much you are affected until its time to say good bye! So I can imagine the build up of emotions and what they are going through. But thats life...you meet to part and meet some more wonderful people:)

How has my life been? Well, I am now settled in and operationalising my action plan. Though it is kinda difficult because I have all these job related tasks and competing priorities! But I know that I will work it out somehow.
I am so used to my Kampala and its dust. Today as I was coming to work and thought whimsically about how Kampala is a true definition of going from dust to dust! Is there a city more dusty than Kampala? Is there a city with more poor roads than Kampala?
Ok, let me not start on Kampala. Let me enjoy the beautiful sunshine.
Kwaheri (swahili for good bye)

Ugandans, where have our manners gone?

As I was in a taxi heading home, I witnessed something that made me question Ugandan’s sense of compassion.

For the foreigners, Ugandan’s concept of a “taxi” is an Omni bus licensed carry 14 people…but the number can go up depending on the location and time of day. For instance, after 7pm, instead of the 3 people per seat, the number can go as high as 5!

Every taxi riding Uganda familiar with the rush hours of 6- 8pm knows the hustle associated with getting a seat!
But on this particular day, the taxi I rode made some miraculous Guinness record breakers!
First of all, it was virtually empty; a rare concurrence at that hour.

It then stopped to pick a man…not just any man but a crippled man. I have witnessed incidents where the driver has left a passenger because they are “crippled, will waste time”. Only for the same driver to stop a meter ahead and wait 5 minutes for a person who is walking lazily up to the road! (SCREAM!!!)

Well, back to the issue at hand. The crippled man with two clutches made of wood struggled to enter the taxi. He first placed the clutches inside and supported himself on one of the torn, dirty brown, cushioned seat as he hosted himself inside.

I was glad that the taxi driver didn’t complain nor did he start the car before the man could sit.

The man was meant occupy the seat behind me. It was located between the window seat and a “movable” one. Now there are two types of seats in these taxis. There are the movable and immovable ones. Immovable seats with the exception of the backseat; are always the first two seats located on the left hand side windows. The “Movable” on the other hand are the seats next to the windows on the right hand side of the taxi. These are the worst because every time someone behind you wants to get out, you are forced to leave this seat so as to pave way for them. It feels like you are sitting in an aisle!

Sorry I got carried away…. Anyway, just as poor “Mr. Clutches” was struggling to enter, a woman let me call her “Brown” who was occupying a movable seat, quickly moved to the immovable seat leaving “Mr. Clutches” man had to occupy “Brown’s” movable seat.

It was not long before someone behind them asked to get out. I watched in dismay as ‘’Mr. Clutches” struggled to get out of his seat and get out and then get in . All this happened in a space of 5 minutes.
And as Mr. Clutches struggled to re-enter the taxi, history repeated itself! A male passenger who was waiting by the road sneaked and quickly occupied the “immovable” seat that the previous passenger who had alighted had been occupying! Once again Mr. Clutches had to occupy the movable seat.

After what seemed like 20meters, another passenger asked to leave. The process repeated itself! I felt so selfish and was just going to ask Mr. Clutches to take my seat when I realised that he was the passenger going out!
This scene really tugged on my heart because it revealed how insensitive and inconsiderate Ugandans including me can mean to be!

I know that disability is not inability but in such a situation, it really does no harm offering the man a seat of convenience so that he is comfortable but can at the same time not be inconvenienced by people moving in and out of the taxi. I hope that when this next happens, I will be prepared to act accordingly.

Beginning a new chapter

It is now about three weeks since I touched down at Entebbe Airport. In the beginning, everything seemed so strange. Kampala seemed to be so disorganised and I cursed the dust and almost everything that came with this accidently planned city.
The people seemed very distracted and disorganised. I must admit that I looked at Kampala city in a new light. I was like a stranger… its like I had been to this place in another life.
Even dodging the cars seemed like a huge task. I had a small fear that I would get knocked.

Fast forward to today:)

My survivor instincts have returned. I can dodge and squeeze between cars like I never left. The meals seem to also be more tasty than ever before.
My niece and Nephew are still alert though. They keep asking me whether I will go back to “ayoopen” ( aeroplane). And in their tiny heads, I guess it is something to be afraid of. Because they figure that they will never see me againJ
Work…work is as I left it..I guess it is one of the most constant things. So the phrase as “it was, it is…” but after the knowledge I acquired in my course, I don’t want it to “forever remain the same”.

I still think about the people I japan and from time to time, I say one Japanese expression and I am looked at wierdly by those around me. Well, I guess thats my way of keeping my great Japanese experience alive:).
That’s it for today.
Ciao

Post Okinawa Disorders

Judging from the long time I have taken to update my blog, you must be already smelling a couple of rats!

Well, let me smoke out the rats. The first rat is that I left my beloved home for three and a half months in Okinawa! It was a very teary day! The rate at which tears flowed through me, I thought that I was going to get dehydrated:)



After the goodbyes had been said, it was time for the next chapter . Embarking on the journey. I wasnt particularly looking forward to the 23 hours journey to my little country! I arrived jet lagged but happy to be home. I will post more entries later.

The last days...

As the count down to the end of the course continues, everything is dangerously close to creating tears in my eyes. The past few days have been so hectic. We were busy with writing project proposals and action plans of activities that we are going to implement back home.

So it was a crazy 2 weeks of consultations, thinking and reading...I am happy to note that yours truly successfully went through the process and came out hardened and fine tasted!

On Friday last week, it was a chance to let our hair down and enjoy our last days in OIC. Since my group comprises of African students, it was time to have an African party. And African it was! First of all, it started 2 hours after the said time of 7pm. Then as usual, Africans showed the usual stamina. In this party, it didnt matter whether one was Zambian, Rwandese, Kenyan or Namibian...at that time, all music was welcome. The Namibian danced to bongoflava as enthusiatically as I danced to Zambian music.

It was amazing how Africans can pull out dancing strokes! And whats funny is that the non-drunks were the ones brining out the most weird and interesting of strokes.

One of the highlights of the night was when our course leader Nana-San joined the party. We were excited and it was amazing seeming Japanese and African dances merge on the dance floor. Oh what a nice night it was. It is sad that it came to an end so soon.

On Saturday in order to fully recover from the Friday fun fair, Karaoke took centre stage. I sang alal the songs I wanted and I am really going to miss my karaoke sessions. Saturday night was also a chance to say bye to some of the participants who left for Tokyo yesterday. Cos by the time they return, we will be gone. Another teary moment there.

On Monday afternoon, Iam making a final presentation of my project...this is the time when everything is being done of the last time.

Well good everything comes to an end...but at the end, it when you look back, you realise that it is better to have been part of it than not at all.

I am going to miss this place and the people in it more.

The Sushi Experience

Friday evening is always the best moment in almost everyone's life! And I am no exception.
So on a cool Friday April 3 I was excited because it was time to temporary forget the action plan business and clear the mind..even if it was for 2 hours.

So Instructors, participants all went down to a sushi restaurant in the vicinity called Uokura. This was a unique restaurant because it only serves sushi.

For those who are not in the know. Sushi refers to an indigenous Japanese dish that consists of cold cooked rice dressed with vinegar that is shaped into bite-sized pieces and topped with raw or cooked fish, or formed into a roll with fish, egg, or vegetables and wrapped in seaweed.

In this restaurant, I saw so many types of sushis some I never knew ever existed! I even got to taste the restaurant's special dish a hamburg sushi! This was meat steak with a ball of rice..it was nice
I had a chance to also eat some fried squid! It was so tasty..I couldnt relate it to that ugly creature that I see in the water bodies! I saw sushi made of raw fish eggs, crab, salmon, Octopus, lobster, shrimps...oh so many some I cant remember

What was unique about the restaurant?
Now I am sounding like Table Talk with Timothy Bukhumune :) And I know some of you might have me for that :)
Apart from it being a sushi only restaurant, there is sort of a bar area where you all sit- bar style. And the cool bit is that instead of having a normal bar table, there is a sort of conveyer belt system. On this converyer belt, different kinds of sushi are placed and they move around the belt.



The chefs were standing right infront of us...just like bar tender style and they were making the sushi as we ate/watched. It was great.Then on the wall above them, there were wooden boards written in Japanese. I was told they contained the names of all the sushi suppliers. I thought that was neat!
The rules of the sushi eating game were:
If you like the sushi type, you pick it off the conveyer belt. However, once you have picked it, you are not allowed to return it.
So this meant that one had to be pretty sure before they picked a plate. And for this our instructors came in very handy! The plates were small, the size of side plates and on each plate where two pieces of sushi

The sushi price ranged from 150 to 250 yen per plate about 1500-2500 Ug X. The price of one sushi was distingushed by the colour of the plate it was placed on. while the plate color and sushi price was reflected on the menu Another rule was that one could pick and eat as many plates as their stomach and wallet could take.
And as one ate, they were supposed to pile the plates they had eaten infront of them. So at the end, each person's plates were counted and a corresponding bill given.

What did I eat?
Well, since it was time to experience..I ate some sushis that I dont recall. But some of the notable ones were fried squid. It was tasty and no different from fried chicken drumsticks.
I also ate a seaweed that tasted like one of the local green vegetables..may be steamed dodo.
I cant recall the taste of the raw shrimp with a bit of soy sauce but it was also wonderful. Then the cram shells I ate tasted just like gizzard..and I would know because I am a heavy gizzard eater:)

So after nine plates of sampling different sushis, I called it a night.It was a good experience...I am glad I went .
Regards
Satisfied Sushi client :)

Beating stress by flying kites

There is something about kite flying that was so relaxing. Could it be because of the childhood memories that it evoked in me? I just dont know what it was but seeing each of us , flying our kites today in the windy afternoon was fun.

I had forgotten how funny and interesting flying a kite can be. It is an exciting and interesting experience when you see your kite gliding in the sky and beating all odds to stay afloat.

I am sure some people reading this will say: You guys went to Japan to fly kites! Well, yes..ha ha ha!! Actually, flying kites was a kind of stress buster. At first I was sceptical because being an African, I believe that when you start on something, you have to work like a donkey on it until closing time. But one of my instructors suggested that in order to get a clearer perspective on what we were working on by going out for some fresh air.

So this afternoon, we got our Kites, that were kindly made for us by one retiring professor who is loves kite flying. Went to the play ground and flew them! Oh so much laughing and screaming as some people's kites collided and were written off. Others helplessly saw theirs disappear into the skyline in the neighbourhood when they accidently let go of the strings.

What an interesting stress buster it was!

Gags at Japanese Conversation Class Finale

I have never laughed so hard than I did today! My final Japanese conversation class turned out to be one of the most interesting Japanese class I have ever attended!

Yesterday each one of us was told to write an essay about our respective countries. And here is the catch word...in Japanese!! Another bombshell was that we had to memorise (read cram) this essay in less than 24 hours and present the next day.

Well, you may think that all is easy..but it isnt especially when you have competing priorities. My course has become busier. Since its winding up, there is so much stuff to do. i am now eating, sleeping, thinking and talking Action Plans! So with such a mind state, memorising Nihongo was bottom of my brain priority.

But as the hours grew nearer to 7pm ( thats when the class starts). I was forced to put aside the Action plan and think of my Nihongo class presentation.

When I realised that things were not going so well for me, I made a power point presentation. I figured that I am better off adding flavour to my poor Japanese. After all, since a picture is worth a thousand words, it would make up for my lack of Japanese words!

Come 7pm, everyone is nervous...a random selection mention is done.. the presentations begin. No sooner had they started than the laughters begun! People were misprouncing words, forgeting their lines, so nervous that some appeared to be performing a special dance... It was a beautiful atmosphere.

My turn to speak..I wasnt nervous but the little Japanese I knew seemed to have hidden under a brick wall!! I kept forgetting the sentences. Eeh,things were tough! And to show that they were really tough, every sentence I would think of was in my mother language..now if thats not a classic deifintion of hard, what is!! :)

But I was saved by the photos! Especially the pot dance! Well, if you cant speak Nihongo, atleast you can dance and get away with it! So I danced the best pot dance I could and definitely got away with it:)

Some presentations were out of this world...my colleagues and I laughed so hard that some of us had to leave the room for some fresh air!! Inspite the laughter,we learnt about other countries' cultures and places which was great..

What a fine way to crown my Japanese conversation class. I am glad I was part of it. Now the challenge for me is to remember whatever I learnt for many, many more years to come.

The Masai do

Yesterday, I had a chance of attending a health promotion symposium in the northern part of Okinawa. Infact the African participants were the main attraction in that symposium. So we had to prepare some drama skits and Educational Learning materials inorder to share our health education experiences with people in that part of Okinawa. The venue of this symposium was Meio University.

It was a two hour drive to this unversity and on the way we stopped at one of the local beer making companies. Since it was a saturday, free tours of the factory were being carried out. So we got a chance to see how the beer is processed. I guess being a non drinker, I didnt think much of the process. However, what impressed me was how the beer company is making by-products from the bottles and bottle caps. They are making tins, new bottles, paper and many things. Here, nothing is useless...everything is recycled to make something.

Then the whole guided tour around the industry impressed me . After the tour each one of us was entitled to a bottle of beer or lemon tea/ water for the non drinkers.The whole guided tour and free drink I realised were a form of publicity for the organisation because later in the evening, I saw people choosing that beer brand...consciously or sub consciously :)

Now fast forward to the masai do... while at Meio university, e the participants had been divided into 2 groups..East Africans and West/South Africans. Each group was given 2 hours to present their countries' experiences. For the Eastern Africans, we chose to dress as masai and even did a little masai dance.. All went well at the symposium.

The only down hill experience was that we never got to fly out kites. One of the Profs at the university had been so kind. He made each of us a kite. We had painted these kites and were ready to enjoy the fun. unfortunately, the weather decided that we couldnt!

Another American Doctor had come to show us some solar technology equipment. On display it really seemed interesting. Its a pity we never got to see it work. But at least I got to eat a cake baked from solar energy!

Pregnant me

" I cant wait to see you pregnant!" is one of the common comments that I receive.

I dont know why they always say that. I have tried but failed to figure it out.

Could anyone volunteer to tell me why?

Because I am starting to believe that its because of those motherly skills that they see in me :)

On one of the visits to one organisation in Japan called Japan Organisation For International Cooperation on Family Planning(JOFICFP), I got a glimpse of what I would look like when pregnant.

The organisation has this material that they made..its kind of like a costume. It was made to give people especially men a good idea of how it feels to be pregnant. A strategy meant to encourage males and ordinary people to understand the difficulties faced by a pregnant woman.

So when my class visited, the males were given first priority. After they had finished, I too begged for a chance to be pregnant.

My Verdict

After about two hours of putting on that costume, my attitude towards pregnancy changed tremendously. The costume was about 13 kilograms to symbolize the weight gained during pregnancy, there was another 3 kgs of a water bottle filled with water that is placed below the stomach area..to symbolise the pressure a pregnancy puts on the bladder!!

It was hard standing and the only comofrt I got was in sitting down. I really sympathised with the pregnant woman. Though I never got to lie down in this outfit, I imagined how difficult it would be. I had 13 kilos added to my body weight and the moment I stood up, I felt intense pressure on my pelvic area. I also not consoled by the fact that the weight gained is gradual either! I still feel that its a big change for a pregnant woman has to cope with!

Inaddition, though this costume doesnt capture the raging hormones experienced by the woman nor the swollen legs and the baby's movements, it gives a glimpse into the world of pregnancy.

So after all is said and done, I came to one conclusion. I would like to put in on record that, I will be a beautiful pregnant woman some day :)

My Impression of Tokyo

Whenever I think of Tokyo, I remember all those people I saw dozing in the trains! I mean it was so bad..I practically saw a mass of people wh0 are over worked and I felt so sorry for them.
I remember this particular student dressed in a school uniform; a black suite. He was seated right opposite me and had a Portable Music Player in one hand, earphones and his blue racksack was on the floor.

It was nine in the morning but this boy was dozing so much. Its good that there was no one seated next to him because he kept falling sideways. The sleep seemed so nice but I was amazed that he never let go his music player and when his train station was mentioned, he woke up and went out like he had never dozed at all!
This young man is not alone. There are thousands of such cases in Tokyo.Since Life is so busy, to some, a train ride is the only break they have to catch a nap.




People live large
I have never seen so many fancy cars. Every five seconds, a merc , beemer , chevey or Jaguar passed by me. I stared until my neck hurt! I dont know when Uganda will receive this latest models ..probably 10 years from now :)I was told that the majority of wealthy people in Tokyo dont buy Japanese cars. I guess that explains the cars! So if you want to see the literal version of living large, visit Tokyo

After my visit, I can see why its recommended as one of the places one should visit before they die. I was blown away by the beautiful architecture!

The crowd...
Tokyo is also a crowded city. I have never seen so many people at ago like that. I felt so overwhelmed. Imagine making a u-turn, and you find yourself being suddenly approached by over 2500 people. In one minute, a train subway can change from empty to too crowded reason being that there are so many trains picking and dropping off people.

Speaking of trains, there is alot of running involved. A train stops for approximmately 30 seconds. So if you are slow, you can be left behind. And its worse if you have luggage, you have to negotiate staircases and push through people in order to get to the train in time.
One thing that however amazed me was the orderly nature people get off the train. All people coming into the train keep left and allow those leaving to alight before they enter.

Even on the staircases, all people keep left to pave way for anyone who is in a hurry. Imagine if this was Kampala..what organised disorganised mess would we have? May be it would be like the case of the traffic jam situation where we are used to our disorganised organisation:)

I could go on and on about Tokyo but I guess I have said enough..for today.
Will end here
till the next entry

Tokyo Trip

Today has finally arrived! The much anticipated journey to Tokyo-one of the busiest cities in the world has happened! Yesterday, I was apprehensive as to what to expect from this place. I have been hearing alot of stories from other participants that visited Tokyo and I must admit, they were scary.

The common one was how busy life is and that time and tide literary wait for no one here. Now coming from Okinawa, a place with relatively slow pace ( though Uganda is slower), I was worried of this Tokyo trip.

At 9am, we (my group and two instructors) left the sunny Okinawa and headed to the airport. After an hour or so's flight, we arrived in the chilly Tokyo! It is 10 degrees outside but am already with the flu! I dont know what I will do in the next 3 days!!

We had to take 3 train rides to get to the Tokyo International Centre (TIC). There are so many people coming in or going out of the trains! Luckily for us, our instructors were so nice. They kept counting us to make sure that we are all there. So every stop, the instructors' fingers and mouths were at work! In the trains, I could see alot of people dozing! So the people who told me about this aspect didnt lie! The "Tokyoans" are so over worked that they have no time to sleep!!

A Japanese lady I met in Okinawa once told me that in Tokyo, its the norm to be busy. People thrive on being busy. Its like, if other people see you walking so fast, they admire you.. so some people are caught up in this kind of fastpaced life and dont have time to rest! I dont know if I can manage live like that.

At 4pm, we arrived at TIC. It is a very big place compared to my OIC!! And it looks so busy!! There are also so many people in this centre! I think every country is represented here:-) ..I have even found 4 Ugandans here! I am so excited that there are atleast people I can give "lwaali" with! Though they are leaving for Ug on Saturday. Their course has ended.

One difference that I have noted is when I compare food and drinks prices here to those back "home" in OIC, I thank God for not being in TIC! But again, what do I expect? This is Tokyo!!
Well, I hope that my stay in Tokyo will be pleasant...I intend to make sure that I have an experience worth sharing.
I will keep you posted.

When the rain is pouring down...

Its day three of pouring rain. I must congratulate Mr. Rain - Given its sturborness, it has to be male:)). I surely do congratulate you mister for totally ruining my saturday! I couldnt even go out to shop or look around. I have been cooked up in my room for the past over 12 hours!! I am sad is that? I guess not really sad..but I am determined to tug on your heart strings and make it look sad:)

I guess if such rain happened in Uganda, then people would have a field day having excuses. Uganda is the among the few countries in the World that I know of where late coming "because it is raining" is accepted as a valid excuse! And if you live in Bwaise, it is another A plus for you. For those who dont know "Bwaise". It is an area that was originally a swamp. And because it was poorly reclaimed, whenever rain falls, there is a flood and roads become impassable.

Well I guess, thats it from me. I hope tomorrow will be a better day.

Wet, Wet, Wet

You know that song..."Love Is All Around" by Wet, Wet, Wet... well, this posting has nothing to do with Love but has everything to do with "wet,wet,wet being all around". If I had the talent, I would try to remake the song to fit my new heading!

For the past two days, OIC has been a victim of light sprays of water tickles called rain! When you look at it through the window, you dont realise how heavy it is until you step out! I dont know where the rain came from, but it has robbed us of the sun!!
I think that if I were asked to describe the weather in Okinawa during this time of the year, I would say UNPREDICTABLE! I can't explain how a place can experience all four seasons on one day! I am not kidding.

In the morning, it shines like there is no tomorrow,but before you know it, grey is all around and the temperatures are down.You blink your eyes for 2 seconds, and the flowers that had bloomed are gone! While you are still getting used to it and breathing air to warm up your palms, the sun is smiling back at you again! It is abit crazy for me, a girl who comes from a country where it is either a wet or dry season . No in betweens:)

Still on the weather. I guess its unpredictability is an advantage. The metereologists here are always spot on! They have actually redeemed my confidence in Metereologists. I always thought that it was a profession for weather pattern guessers. I guess for those of us who are in Uganda or have lived in Uganda , you know what I am talking about.

You turn on your TV and there is a man/ woman standing with a bad suit, bored facial expression and annoying voice. He/ she reads the weather "forecast" of THAT day( why call it a forecast and not a backcast?).
As if that is not bad enough, he/she then gives you the next day's forecast. I always wonder what "next day" means to them. At the rate they have errored, it must mean " a few months from now" !

But for the Okinawa forecasters, when its 4 seasons the next day, they are all mentioned and actually come true! So there is no danger of carrying a heavy coat or wearing a very warm top only for you to sweat all deodrant off!
Nice weekend.

My Okinawa Traditional Music Experience

After 5pm, its time to explore what this beautiful Island has to offer. So today, I attended a performance by a group of local musicians. They were performing the famous Okinawan and Japanese cultural music. The musicians that consisted of 5 males and 5 females were all playing the traditional Japanese guitar called Sashin. It is more like a small violin but it is played like a guitar. it contains four strings and its body is made from the skin of a dangerous Island snake called Habu.

Okinawa music and dance was largely influenced by Chinese. Infact, in the beginning, the Japanese usd Chinese musical instruments. But with time, they abandoned the rest and focused on the Sashin.

The music is largely slow and the women sing in high pitched voices. Somehow like Church hymns are sang.
The dances are also mostly slow. The Geishas, had white painted faces with red lipstick..I wonder what that symbolises?

There were various dances that were perfomed but the most interesting for me was the Hatomabushi dance that was originally in the ancient times chereographed to teach people Karate.
To be continued later :)

First Japanese Conversation Class

Today I attended my first Japanese conversation class. Six out of the ten people from my previous class are with me. I think the rest dropped out. There are therefore six new faces in my conversation class. They are participants doing a course in IT Web Designing.

So what happens when you get people from Uganda, Kenya, Botswana , Niger, Tanzania and put them together with those from El Salvador, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, and Rwanda in the same Japanese Conversation class?

The answer is Lots of Laughing! The class had alot of gags. The group was fortunate to remain with our teacher from the first level. She has however now stepped up the game alittle bit. She is speaking more Nihongo (Japanese) than English.

You should see us. Looking like kindergarten kids..all confused and excited at the same time. We hung on her every word and always asking for meaning of words. Its really great.

I will keep you posted on how it goes.

I love this song

Click here to see the Youtube

Here is the direct link
I love this song. Dont understand it but love it:)

I nailed it!

I am so happy today..(arent I always:))..well today is special. After a month and a half of attending Japanese classes every Tuesday and Thursday, I managed to pass the "exam"! The "exam" was that each one of us would able to speak Japanese for about 5 minutes. I together with May (from Tanzania) acted a waitress-customer scenerio. It was so beautiful and I was so proud of us and myself!!

So Thanks to that beautiful Japanese conversation, I am going to get a certifcate in Japanese speaking at the end of my training.
Well, since I need to polish my Nihongo (Japanese) I have enrolled into another Japanese class. This time its a Japanese conversation class. I hope it will be as fun as the previous one has been.

After the 'test" Our sensei ( teacher) taught us how to make sumo wrestlers out of paper.

And we actually had our sumos verse each other in a sumo ring. It was really fun. We were like little children again. I guess its true when they say that in every adult, there is a child. There were all these adults, cheering and clapping as their 'sumos" won or lost!!

At the end of the day Suzie ( from Namibia)'s sumo emerged the grand champion aka Yokozuna! It was a delightful way to end the class.

Oh, such fond memories!

Happy Girls Day

Day by Day, I learn something about Japanese culture. Something impressive. Take today for instance, its Happy girls day aka "hina-matsuri" . It is a nationally recognised day that celebrates the girl child. This day is rooted in ancient customs that date as far back as the 17th century.
In OIC, the centre where I am, there was a set of traditional Japanese dolls displayed by the dinning room.
From the Japanese I spoke to, the set of dolls are meant to wish girls' healthy growth and happiness.
Parents or grand parents of a newborn girl have to buy this set dolls. Alternatively, the girl child can inherit them from her mother. So it is a generation to generation thing.

The dolls are dressed in Japanese ancient costumes and are displayed on the shelves of a stand covered with a red carpet from the end of February to March 3rd. It is believed that any hina doll display should be taken down soon after the festival day; otherwise girls might have to wait to get married ( and thats scary over here).

So today, my facilitator Nana, also gave each of us some of the snacks that are provided on that day. The dining room also had some special meals prepared in honor of this day.

It is really nice that girls are remembered like this though its surprising that women's day is not recognised here!

You may be wondering about the boys...well, they too have a boys' day on May 5th. Traditionally it was on May 5th but it was recently merged by government to also double as a "children's day". According to Nana, some families still celebrate it as a "boys day".

Since its a chidren's day, it also gets to be a public holiday! Hmm, is that fair!!!! Ok, too much beef for the small boys..its not their fault:)
I better take this bitterness with me..ha ha!!
Bye for now.

Am I becoming Japanese?

Today as I was reflecting , I realised that I have acclamatised myself to Okinawa. Here are 10 areas of progress:

1. The cars that I originally thought were small are now "normal size" in my eyes

2. The Cherry Blossom that was lighting up the place with its pink flowers, shade those flowers and I didnt notice until today!( May be I could be typically Ugandan on this:)

3. The Family Mart store seemed like miles away but now feels like a walk next door.

4. Sleep now comes naturally..no more begging.

1. I can now walk around without my famous green jacket, neckscarf and gloves!

6. I can confidently say "Ohayo Gozaimasu" ( Good morning) without fearing that I will accidently replace it with " Okinawa gozaimasu"

7. I can comfortably use chopsticks when I eat.

8. I no longer badly need a glass of water after I have climbed the over 87 staircase to my dormitory.

9. I slip some Japanese words such as abunai ( dangerous), yasai ( vegetables), takai ( expensive) into my vocabulary

10. And lastly, I can with EASE write my first name in Japanese!! Hooray

Kids will be Kids

A little boy dressed in blue jeans and a cream tshirt kept staring at me. I guess he had been doing so for a long time but I hadnt seen him.

When I noticed him, he started pretending that he wasnt peeking! Whenever I would look his way, he would fix his eyes to another spot and pretend to be concentrating. However, his little black pupils kept betraying him as they darted back to me every two seconds! He looked so cute.. I kept smiling. And this was a cue enough for him to abandon his pretence and hide his little head in his father's lap:)

All this little drama happened when my group together with two of our instructors were on an observation tour to one of the neighbouring cities called Nanjo. After we had visited the Health Promotion Section in the Department of Welfare. And learnt of the health promotion activities that the city has. The city administration is battling with controlling "lifestyle diseases" such as diabetes. And is using a kind of a Village Health Team scenerio to mobilize their communities.

So my shy little fella was among the kids whose parents were mobilised to bring him for the regular dental check up session. It was a big room that was divided into various sections. Closr to the entrance, were children were being weighed and their heights taken, next to them was a dentist checking teeth, then there was a corner where nurses were instructing parents on how to clean the children's teeth. In another corner, parents were receiving nutritional education. In the centre of the room, parents and children were playing with toys and reading books..so there was alot of activity going on. It was such a very conducive environment for kids.

There were kids drawings on the walls. I got to learn that in Japan children are oriented from a tender age to prevent " germ boy" and "germ girl". The drawings of the two "germ siblings" are standard and have been passed on from generation to generation.

Another thing that interested me was the size of stomachs of each age group! There was this glass shelf that contained the stomach sizes of children aged 0 to 15 years. The stomach sizes were at the top of the glasss shelf. Inside the self, where the corresponding foods that are suitable for that age group and what amounts and calories. It was really a cool thing. The foods were made of plastic imitations so that the Nutrition section doesnt have to buy fresh foods each time. I also thought that was a good idea.

On the whole, it was an interesting tour. And at the end of the day, I realised that kids will be kids! because there are those who almost brought the house down with their screams because they thought that they were going to be injected.

Video shooting experience

Its been an interesting few days. From Poster creations now to video shooting and editing! I am happy to relive my university days especially the broadcasting class sessions! Things have changed since then. Nowadays, technology is making everything so simple. Video editing is not as hard as it used to be. I am really happy about this and sure hope that I will master my editing steps and be able to do justice to all the unedited videos lying around...Yes you read right, I am getting a skill and I am going to use it! So if you have any videos you wanna edit, please bring them to me with cash:)

There was some excitement as each of us was handed a grey metalic case that contained a video camera. But I guess the excitement was limited in comparision to the one we had when we received the still cameras for the first time. This time, all participants had the Dr. Dre air of " Been there, done that" And in away, video shooting borrows so much from photography. Its like an evolved version of photography!

When I was given my case, I has to borrow May my coursemate's famous expression "Yamani!". The metalic thing was heavythere must have been 10 kgs in it!! I guess it would have been heavier if I werent working out ( yeah, there I go again about the gym..:)

Today, the weather is behaving like a good gal! It is all sunny and warm. A total opposite from last week when it was rainy and cold. I think if anyone askekd me to describe Okinawa weather, I would say "unpredictable"! One has to carry a sweater just in case! Tuli kubukenke when it comes to weather!

Ok, I guess that sums up the few days.

A Black History Experience

Its just another Maniac Monday...wish it was Friday...thats my fun day!! Ok, I have xeroxed another song..so what? Sue me:-)

My weekend was interesting. I had a chance to visit one of the American bases in Okinawa called Kadena to attend a fashion show in honour of the Black History Month.

Prior to the trip, I was excited and expected to a enter inside the base and even get a glimpse of several US Army guys dressed in their uniforms. Unfortunately, the only people in saw clad in uniform were a guy and lady who inspected our taxi as we entered the base.

After that, it was ride to the Banyan club where the event was being held. At 6.30pm on the dot, the fashion show begun. Attire from Ethopia,Ghania, Tanzania, Nigeria. Kitengi and Lesu were the main items displayed. May be it because I had expected alot out of this show, I was kinda disappointed. The items showcast in my opinion were not a fair representation of what Africa has to offer fashionwise. But judging from thr wooos and aahhs that I heard from the crowd, I guess the Black American community was totally impressed.

Three things however impressed me at the show. There was a Japanese group called Amina that performed two African dances. I guess they were dances from West African tribes. It was impressive seeing Japanese drumming and dancing to African rhythms.

The second was some of the paintings hunged on the wall belonged to an Ugandan artist called Kiwanuka. I was proud of that.

And Lastly, I met a gal who is half Japanese, half African..."Afro-Japanese". She is about seven/eight years. She didnt understand any other language apart from Japanese. She looked so good with her big black hair and small eyes!!

After the day out on Saturday. I stayed in on Sunday, doing laundry and cheered myself up with a bit of Karaoke:)

Exciting school visits

I have had such a wonderful experience today. I visited two schools as part of the cultural exchange programme. The first school was for the mentally challenged students. It was a wonderful experience. When we got to the school, the first thing that struck me was our being asked to remove our shoes. They were replaced with green rubber like sandals. One thing that never ceases to amuse me is how Japanese sandals are made. They are manfactured in a way that the left side looks like the right side. But when you wear them, each foot fits perfectly in whatever sandal! I have never understood this.

I later learnt when I visited the second school that it is the norm to remove one's shoes and take on rubber same side looking sandals. In the second school, they were blue.
In both schools, the pupils were expecting us and had our faces on placcards and on their walls. It was really cute and touching. They knew our names and were SO excited! I cant describe the look on their small faces as we came into the rooms! It was priceless!
We were treated to the Okinawa dance in both schools and I had a chance to tell them more about Ouganda karakimashita( where I come from). And dont worry my Ugandans, I didnt disappoint you.:)

Oh theres lots to write but will let the photos do the talking. I better head out to bed. Its past 11pm! Catch ya later!

Busiest Week in OIC

Wow, its been quite a while since I last updated my blog. Now where can I start! The last couple of days have been hectic! After the photography class, we went straight to photo editing! It was like jumping from the pan into the fire! The amount of work just seemed to pile by a micro of a second! It was under such circumstances that last weekend took the crown for the busiest end of week ever! You should have seen us in class on a Friday night trying to work on our assignments at 7pm!! Since the rooms are inaccessible over the weekend, each one of us was working hard to ensure that they made headway before the class was closed. So that there would be less work to do come Monday!

Unfortunately, we all didnt get that far. So we had to accept that we would finish the assignments in the coming week. The weekend was good though, we had time to unwind and I again took time off to visit the next city of Naha and do some more window shopping:) My new found hobby:)

FEb. 14, Valentines day..there was certainly nothing to write home about. Unlike the crazy Kampalans who dress up in Red and Black, here it at the centre, it was a "normal" day. However, a walk through the malls showed a different story. There were ballons and decorations proclaiming the day! I hope the shops did go business.
In japan, I was reliably informed, it is the ladies who buy things for the men on valentines. That was a pleasant surprise. At least for once, men should also be pampered:). Though I know some women who would shoot me if they read that statement. I will just list down their names, just in case you never read from me again:)

Today, there is no usual chatter in the class. Everyone is acting Japanese- time conscious and swift. We have all managed to finish the first assignment- and must I add before the deadline on Thursday. So one down, one more to go. However, cant tackle the second one just yet because we were informed that we were going to visit two (2) school tomorrow. So I have had to work on collecting some images from the internet for my presentation to the school kids tomorrow. I really dont know what to expect. I am told that each one of us is going to be in put in a group with a sizeable number of students. So I am trying as much as possible to put alot of stuff about my Country. I am sure M7 would be so proud of me and how Iam planning to keep the " Uganda: Gifted By Nature" dream alive.

I am however having a problem. Since I am representing a relatively "new country", I cant access resource materials and traditional costumes from JICA's archives. I have had to create my own postcard versions ( as seen in the photos above) Countries like Kenya, Tz that have been sending participants for training courses here in OIC are having all the luck. The Kenyans are the most lucky. They have been able to access costumes, brochures, masai stuff that were left behind by past participants are souvenoirs. I also hope that I will pave the way for more Ugandan crafts and information to be displayed. So that in future, Uganda also has cultural souvenoirs in JICA's archive chest! Speaking like a true nationalist:)
I guess thats it for today.
Ja mata ( see you )

Ikebana

Today, I attended a Japanese flower arrangement class. Wow, there is alot of stuff to learn. Personally didnt know that there were strict rules to follow and that one could know just from the arrangement of the flowers the century the style came from.

I am not really a flower arrangement fan but I got a thing or two that I will use the next time an incompetent florist crosses my path at a wedding..and no, I dont have beef with any florist:).
Here are some exhibits from the kurasu ( class).
Enjoy.