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.