Japan's Triple Tragedy: 9.0 Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster

Japan's triple tragedy of a 9.0 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that started on Friday, March 11, 2011, happened so fast that I didn't have time to process the disaster until a week later. At first it didn't sink in for me because I didn't know much about Miyagi prefecture nor did I have any friends or their families that were affected. Having lived in Japan for two years, I had been used to minor or major earthquakes and/or tsunami warnings, but this was a domino effect of tragedy that went way beyond what I experienced.

The reality of this tragedy kicked in for me a week later when news reports started announcing the numbers of those that were dead or missing. With more than 8,000 people officially dead and 12,000 people missing, it was finally the impact of the death toll that did me in. To think that 20,000 people are missing or presumed were wiped off the face of the earth in one day was mind boggling to me.

The 9/11 Terrorist Attackers killed nearly 3,000 people, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and left nearly 2,000 people dead, and the 2010 Chile earthquake took the lives of over 500. All of these tragedies, including Japan's, happened in developed countries yet the magnitude of devastation, both on the psyche of its citizens and economically, has humbled us all.

To put things into perspective, I looked back in history at two recent earthquakes in lesser developed regions of the world that both killed more than 300,000 people: the 2004 Indian Ocean (9.0 magnitude affecting Thailand and Indonesia) and the 2010 Haiti Earthquakes (7.0 magnitude). While the natural disasters in New Orleans and Chile are no less in scope, they were both in more developed countries and the loss of life never reached into the tens of thousands. Would fewer people have died if Haiti, Thailand and Indonesia were more developed countries? The possibilities are endless and I'm sure that scientists will discuss this for many years to come, but we can't ignore the fact that natural disasters and man-made ones (fires, nuclear and biological) are getting to levels we haven't seen in centuries (the Black Plague in Europe, volcanic eruptions that ruined Pompeii, etc.).

All of the natural disasters and massive loss of life that have occurred in the last five or six years were tragic, but they never directly affected me. Sure, I gave money to the causes and followed the news to see what would happen next, but I didn't know a soul that lost their life. This tragedy touched my heart, because I felt for the people in the country that I called my home for two years and that I claim as my second home.

I had just visited Japan for my first return visit last summer. While I was there, wherever I went, food was in abundance, people enjoyed festivals and school children were playing and laughing. That's quite a contrast to what my Japanese friend reports from Tokyo a week after the earthquake hit when I checked on her:

Gina, I'm scared!! But so far we believe that we are okay. I wear a cap, a mask
and gloves when I go out. We will get out of Tokyo if we see a clear danger.

Toilet paper rolls and rice are sold out at all the stores. So I took one
roll from a hospital. Now we have enough since my stepdad send them from Osaka.
There are several kinds of food we cannot find but we're much much better
than what disaster victims are going through.

This is just one friend's account, but when I checked on other Japanese friends based around the world and in Japan, they seemed confused about why the Western media seemed to sensationalize the tragedy and likened it to Chernobyl. I'm not sure if I should be more worried for my Japanese friends or not, but I'll leave you with that same friend's last email, which should tell you how she feels about the atmosphere in Japan right now:

Thanks for checking on me!

We want to help victims but we can’t even go there.

I wonder how long it will take until we recover.

I’m so worried that this will cause a huge damage on our economy and our lives.

Many stores and restaurants are still closed.

Our lives have been stopped or being very slow. I can’t wait till we’re allowed to laugh with friends, enjoy our meals with beer and wine.

While we worry about how to fix the global recession, handle multiple wars, bicker about how to deal with tyrants and revolutions in the Middle East, it's tragedies like this one that make us all realize that we are just alike when we face tragedies or challenging situations. If tragedies brought on by nature create a space for people across cultures to care for and support each other, then that is just one positive thing that could come out of this situation. Still, my heart hurts for Japan and its people.

Japan Travel Guide by a "Gaijin" (foreigner) for a "Gaijin"

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine went to Japan for work in Tokyo and then traveled to other parts of the country. I had lived and worked in Nara, Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) for two years and he wanted to travel to my old stomping grounds, the Kansai (or Kinki) region: Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe in Hyogo-ken. I was SO excited to tell him about my favorite places there. There's so much to see in Japan, but I told him that if I wanted to experience real Japan, you have to go to Kansai: Kyoto, Nara, Osaka prefectures, which are the most well-known must-see destinations.

For first-time travelers to Japan, I recommend an online guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1105.html. Here are my personal favorites in Kansai.

A word about temples:

They will all look like temples, but the difference is shrines represent the Shinto religion whose followers believe that the Emperor is a living descendant of god and explains why the Japanese fought to the death during WWII. If you know that history, then you’ll remember that in addition to the atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in order to truly discourage the Japanese from continuing to fight, that Gen. MacArthur forced the Emperor of Japan to do a radio address telling his people that he was not a god. There are still some old Japanese that still practice Shinto, but most younger Japanese (under 50) are not religious at all, however, you’ll most likely catch a beautiful Japanese wedding (in traditional kimonos) at a Shinto shrine than at a temple. Definitely stalk the shrines to see if you can catch a glimpse of a Japanese wedding where the bride and groom will wear beautiful kimonos.

Just remember: “shrines” have orange ‘toris” or gates and have “jinja” somewhere in the name and temples have a variety of names, but they’re usually less decorative and simple, made out of dark wood and might have “terra” or “dera” in the name (depending on the kanji that is used).

Kyoto: Attractions in Kyoto-shi: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2158.html

Kyoto is one of many ancient capitols of Japan (read a little bit of history about Japan), but just so you know: Osaka, Kyoto and Nara were all ancient/old capitols of Japan depending on the age/period and the emperors. Japanese history is simply fascinating! Temples are everywhere, so it will be quite easy to get all templed out. I’ll rank my favorites below:

1. Kiyomizudera (temple) – this temple is absolutely breathtaking. It doesn’t cost much to enter, but when you do, you’ll see that the temple is built on the side of a mountain and since it’s winter, you won’t see the canopy of trees, but you’ll be able to see most of Kyoto from there. There’s also a "love shrine" built right next to it. Perfect for couples to visit.

2. Kinkakuji (temple) – it’s a feat that they built this temple in gold. The beauty around it makes it worth seeing just for the photo opportunities.

3. Ryoanji (temple) – this is where you will see real monks. They actually do make these amazing designs in the rocks as some kind of meditation. When you look at it you wonder how they made such designs in the rocks/sand without making footsteps.

Note: You will likely not have time to see more than 3 temples in a day, simply because of all of the traffic in Kyoto and the fact that the streets are so small. Definitely, when you arrive at Kyoto station, look around for the tourist map and also find the bus terminal at the station and get an all day pass. ALL of the buses can take you to a temple/attraction.

Other attractions in Kyoto, if you have more than one day…

1. Kyoto Tower – I recommend doing this first so that you can see how far most of the attraction you’ll see are through the telescope. Perhaps even have some “udon” noodles while you’re there if the restaurant is open.

2. Arashiyama – if you have time, take a train from Kyoto station up to Arashiyama, but don’t get lost! Follow the crowd when you get off the train and say, “Arashiyama”? There are wild monkeys in the mountains there and it’s kinda cool to see. You can also take a boat ride on the river there. The shopping is quite good too. There’s a $10 store there (1000 yen pronounced “zen yen” and I think that they use omi-se to refer to “store.” I can’t remember anymore). This trip will likely take a whole day (get back to Kyoto city before night falls).

Nara prefecture: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html

Temples, Deer and Shopping! Nara City is one of the ancient capitols of Japan and happens to be the capitol of the prefecture that I lived in for two years. Take a train from Kyoto station to Nara Station on the Kintetsu Railway line. Here are a few highlights:

1. Todaiji Temple – home of one of the largest indoor Buddhas in the country and a World Heritage site, at Todaiji Temple, you can buy treats to feed the all-too-friendly deer that are roaming free across the city. Take pictures in the sitting Buddha’s pose and try to squeeze yourself through the hole in one of the massive columns in one of the oldest wooden structures in all of Japan and perhaps the world.

Stay tuned for more details of other cities of Japan.

I'm Going Back to Japan! Nihon he kaerimasu!

So, after 5 years of hoping to return back to Japan, I am finally going back. If you kept up with my blog, you'd know that I spent 2 years in Nara, Japan (2003-2005) as an assistant language teacher (ALT) on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. Unfortunately, I will only have one week to stay there to visit my friends in Nara (Heguri-cho), Tokyo and Osaka, but it will be worth it. I hope to see my former students who must now be in junior high, high school or college. I miss them so much and I've been having that old natsukashi feeling lately when I flip through or discover photos and handwritten notes from them. I will see my former co-worker, Yoriko, to reconnect with some students and then my former co-workers. Besides Tokyo, Nara and Osaka, I hope to take some excursions to Hiroshima and various sites on Kyushu Island. Can't wait!

The Resurrection of The Adventures of Bianca Sukiyama

It's been a while since I've posted to this blog, but I think that it's about time to get back to The Crowd.

What I've Been Doing

I've been going farther and farther down the path of squaredom: working a typical 9 - 5 job since I've lived in Japan. This is great for the income, but a killer on creativity. I am looking into making my life more flexible, by reading The 4-hour Workweek. It's quite inspiring, but halfway through the book, I'm wondering how I can accomplish this to free up some time for me to pursue my more creative activities such as creative writing.

I recently took my manuscript in process, The Adventures of Bianca Sukiyama, to the doctor, the fiction doctor, Cindy Davis, that is. See read through my manuscript, which I found painful to reread and edit myself and gave me all kinds of helpful hints on how to move the story forward. I've been having trouble figuring out the POV (point of view) of the story, since I've always thought of Bianca and Michael both as main characters.

In any case, she had great advice that I intend to follow after I've put the stories to the crowd. I'm thinking about starting an online diary that Bianca would be writing about her daily or weekly adventures. I think that this will give me the opportunity to naturally develop the story and extract the pieces that I like for the book. Ultimately, I'd like to create a graphic novel and not so much a novel, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to find a graphic artist or illustrator that is willing to work with me for peanuts until I turn a profit or created an audience. If you know of someone that is willing to share my vision with them, then let me know.

We'll see what comes of my renewed interest in writing again. Meanwhile, comment away.

Japan Connection

I originally started this blog because I was tired of sending out the mass emails to my friends about my experiences in Japan. Since being back in the States, it's now turned into something that I hope reflects the international experiences ordinary people have everyday.

Well, one of my co-workers from my days as a teacher in Japan, Yoriko Kawakita, asked me to host her daughter, Yuka, when she came over from Japan for her month-long college vacation. Yuka is a 20-year-old Pharmacy student from Nara, Japan. She started in Philadelphia and then came down to visit me here in DC.

Meanwhile, my friend, Nicole Daley, who also taught English with Yoriko, was visiting Japan for a month following her graduation from grad school. What a small and interconnected world we live in!

New Bianca Sukiyama Art

I'm finally getting somewhere with Bianca Sukiyama! I'm now working with graphic designer, Ricardo Mavin, to create some art work for The Adventures of Bianca Sukiyama graphic novel that I hope to publish next year. Here's the first rough sketch of the characters. If you'd like a copy of the Bianca stories, please contact me at giabianca@gmail.com. Thanks!

Jero's Rise to Fame in Japan

Soooo, my friend, Jerome White, was featured in the Style section of the Washington Post as a new up and coming singer in Japan! He is African-American with a Japanese grandmother and sings "enka" music, a traditional style of Japanese music. Read the article for more on "Jero" (his Japanese stage name).

Communications and Journalism Delegation to Australia

(Photo: Sydney Opera House)

From May 18 - 26, 2008 (minus a day in transit crossing the international date line), I went to Australia as a faculty advisor for the International Scholar Laureate Program's Delegation on Communications and Journalism with my co-FA, Vesna Jaksic. Vesna and I accompanied 72 college students majoring in the aforementioned fields to appointments to meet representatives of major media organizations in Melbourne and Sydney. We were responsible for creating lesson plans relating to journalism and/or communications.

First, we arrived in Melbourne and went to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) to listen to academics talk about media in Australia. Some differences to note between Australia and the U.S.: Australia has "cross media laws," which prohibits people like Rupert Murdoch (an Australian that owns a large percentage of the media in the U.S. and Australia) from owning more than two types of media (i.e. TV and Radio and no print) at any given time. I also learned that the Australian government completely funds its public broadcasting outlet, ABC (ABC = Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

Some of the highlights of the trip was going to advertising agency, J Walter Thomas, where the students competed to create ads for something called the "buzz box." Also, while in Melbourne, Vesna and I staged a press conference where all of the communications and journalism students stepped into their respective roles as ad agency creative talent (graphic designers, etc.), PR specialists (spin doctors and PR students) and print and television/radio journalists. It was so amazing to see them do their thing. The scenario was that a famous Kangaroo soccer player died from an energy drink that the ad agency folks were advertising for (they didn't know this when they created it), so the PR people had to call a press conference to address the situation. The journalists showed up with their cameras and questions to drill the PR folks. It was so amazing to see how great the students performed under pressure (we only gave them 10 minutes to work).

On a side note, I went to a session on Political Spin where we met with one of the media advisors for a Labor Party politician. It was interesting to hear the same information that I learned from my former boss, who was a former Information Officer for the State Department at various embassies around the world, about managing the media.

In Sydney, we visited the ABC studios. We met with an environmental science reporter, a radio journalist and took a tour of the various areas of the studio. Here, I learned that they have a variety of news outlets similar to our PBS and NPR, but again, it was totally funded by their
government. The guy in this photo was telling us that when Bush came to visit Australia, one of their comedy show performers dressed up in an Osama bin Laden outfit and heckled him. I thought that that was sort of funny.

At the end of that day, we all went to the famous Bondi Beach for a great lunch near the water. It was pretty cold, because it's Fall right now, but we took a few photos. You can find more photos on my Facebook page.

The next day, we had a panel of DJs from various youth-oriented radio stations (Triple J, just to name one) representing Aboriginal, female and ethnic radio stations. Perhaps the most interesting speaker was, Grant Leigh Saunders, who was half Aboriginal and half white. He identified himself as black, but he looked "white." Anyways, he created a short film called, "B.L.A.C.K" which talked about Aboriginal youth and the influence of hip-hop. The students were SO interested in what he had to say. After the panel, he was bombarded with requests to have pictures taken with him. I suspect that it was because our schedule lacked any scheduled visits to learn about Aboriginals and their culture and because these were journalism students, curious by nature. I found out on my own (too late) that we were in Sydney during "Reconciliation Week." Which brings me to my next topic, Sorry Day.

Sorry Day was in February 2008 and it was the day that the new Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, publicly apologized for "The Stolen Generation," when Aboriginal children were taken from their parents and stripped of their culture (watch "Rabbit-Proof Fence"). I watched a documentary about the Stolen Generation and then watched the images of PM Rudd apologizing. He was surrounded by Parliament members in the background. There were also images of Aboriginals and Australians holding hands, hugging and apologizing for the horrors of something that happened only a few decades ago. I think that this would be an amazing thing to happen in the U.S. in order to begin reconcilation on slavery. I think that a simple apology would heal so many wounds. I hope that it happens in my lifetime, but most importantly before those that lived for The Cause die off.

I can write so much more about this amazing trip, but it would take up pages and pages on this blog. For more information, please contact me directly or click on the links above. I highly recommend Australia and I hope to go back and see more of the "Bush" sometime soon.

(Photo: Me on the steps of the Sydney Opera House)

Human Trafficking - Innocence Lost

The other night, I had a terrible nightmare that was so clear and so real to me that I woke up in a cold sweat. In the dream, my family went on a vacation to Thailand and someone kidnapped my little brother. We were terrified. We stayed there for as long as we could holding out hope that he would come back running to us and saying, "Here I am! I was just hiding." He never came back and the worst case scenario became reality: we might never see him again.

After that, I guess a few years later (in my dream) I went back to Thailand and saw my little brother. I was so happy to see him, but he didn't recognize me. A feeling of hopelessness came over me. I couldn't rescue him. It was too dangerous and the life that he once had in his eyes was gone. Just a shell.

It was just a dream, but it was so real to me that there are children that go through this every day in their lives. Some are sold into sexual slavery at very early ages. Some families "pimp" out their children because it's the only source of income. Whatever the reason, the fact still remains that these children will never have their innocence back again. The cold hard reality of life has hit them as early as age 5 instead of age 22 (when most of us graduate from college, when the biggest decision we have to make is what city to live in).

Human trafficking means a number of different things: organ trafficking (people being kidnapped and having their organs extracted and sold), prostitution, etc. For more examples, please go to: http://www.humantrafficking.org/issues/24. The cause that was closest to my heart though is that of children, because they can't help themselves. The very people that they've trusted, adults, have sold their youth for a price. I urge you to take a few minutes to learn about this horrible crime and see what it is that you can do to help this cause. I have personally boycotted travel to any country that has not taken action to crack down on these crimes or create legislation to correct and enforce human trafficking/child sex trade laws.

With Spring, Comes New Beginnings

Last weekend, I went to see the Cherry Blossoms of Washington, DC. If you are not familiar with this festival, here's a brief history:

The National Cherry Blossom Festival annually commemorates the 1912 gift to the city of Washington of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrate the continued close relationship between our two peoples.
In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two of these trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. By 1915, the United States government had responded with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. In 1927, a group of American school children reenacted the initial planting; the first festival was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the nation's capital. Visit http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/ for more info.

In other news, I've started my job as a consultant with my first client, America Abroad Media (http://www.americaabroadmedia.org/) . I'm working as the Online Coordinator and I'm responsible for helping to complete the overhaul of their new site. Hopefully the new site will be debuted before my contract is up. I'm really excited! The organization does radio programming for NPR (and other broadcast media) as well as some television work. They're having a Town Hall on American Foreign Policy at AU this Monday, April 7th. The hosts are WAMU's Kojo Nandi and famed journalist, Martin Kalb. The guests will be representatives from the McCain, Clinton and Obama campaigns. VERY cool stuff.

Also, it's official, I'm going to Australia with the International Scholar Laureate program as a Communications and Journalism Faculty Advisor. I'll be gone for 11 days in May. I really don't know what to expect right now, but i'm really excited! This will be my first time to the continent. I met and made friends with quite a few Aussies during my time on the JET program, but unfortunately I won't have enough time to visit them. I'm interested to see what the media is like there and I am excited that we'll get to meet with the media from various ethnics groups and the Aboriginal community. This will be a trip to remember and I HOPE that I can get a new camera so that I can show you all this amazing place!

So, this is the beginning of my freelance lifestyle. I'm giving myself until the summer to at least see if I can survive. Luckily, since starting the freelance lifestyle, it leaves my schedule open for opportunities like Australia. After this trip though, I'm curious to see what kind of next gig I'll get.... Shameless advertising moment coming...

Check out my Web site, also named Cultural Connections, and pass the word on that I'm looking for writing and consulting gigs: http://www.intlculturalconnections.com/ .

Cultural Connections is Official!

Call me incorporated! ... well, soon I will officially own my SELF. You can find my Web site at http://www.intlculturalconnections.com/ . I am moving into the realm of freelance consulting. I'm going to build up my writing/pr/marketing/web skills. I already retained my first client, a small media organization in Washington, DC for a 3-month contract. I'm really excited and I know that this will give me the opportunity to grow and branch out into new areas. None of this would've happened if I hadn't thought of converting a full-time job opportunity into a consulting gig. The problem with "gigs" is that it is long-term and this means that I'll have to continuously put myself out there. In any case, I'll soon be incorporated and be able to deduct my losses and try my best to create a livelihood in this crazy, mad world.

Shameless sell point: If you know anyone that is looking for a writer or Web site consultant, please let me know!

Martin Luther King Jr. - Are you living up to the Dream?

I'll start with a story that left me with a lasting memory...
It was almost three years ago now when I was in my last year teaching English conversation in Japan. I decided to do a session on Black History Month. I thought that for the most basic of lessons I should begin with the Civil Rights Movement and have it revolve around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. So, I thought about it: If I were a Japanese kid in junior high school and didn't know anything about American History, let alone Black History Month, what would I want to know about? Long story short, I bought a video documentary on Dr. King and chose a few clips that might fill in those quick points of interest on the Civil Rights Movement. My Japanese Teacher of English was quite helpful and took the time to translate my synopsis of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King's work and then gave out his I Have A Dream speech in translation. The 50-minute package of information was complete: Talk a bit about Black History Month, the climate of the U.S. during a very tense era in race relations in the 60s, throw out a few English language vocab words and then show a few snippets of the video of some of his work, the I Have A Dream speech and then his assassination....

Since I taught a max of 20 students in each class (I taught a total of 520), it took me a two week rotation to see all of the students. By the end of the first week, I saw nearly half of my students and still had a week to go. In any case, I had one class where I had some very good girls who always paid attention in my class and picked up the lessons I taught them. I did the discussion, gave points for the vocab and when I got around to the assassination portion of the video, one of my students (whom I noticed too late was silently crying) burst out in tears and ran to the bathroom. For most Americans, we have been used to seeing the images of Dr. King laying on the balcony in a pool of his own blood and several men pointing in one direction toward the building across from them. For this one Japanese student, the images were simply too overwhelming for her. I was moved that SHE was moved and I told the students that if they wanted to leave earlier (since the class was over) to avoid seeing that scene they could. None of them moved. They were ALL entranced by the video. They wanted to know if anyone had been punished for it. They were inquisitive and wanted to know more.

All this to say, I come full circle since that time in my life where I am seeing the images of Dr. King all over the television today and his name being said by presidential candidates that hope to stir up the spirit of Dr. King himself, and I ask myself: Am I living the dream?

I am now 28 years old and I am still finding my way through my career. I'm still striving to make a difference in my own life and then my family's and then I tell myself I'll go out and help people. Yes, that's the best way for me to make a difference: to help myself. To see my reflection and know that I am living the best life that I can live and taking advantage of EVERY opportunity that Dr. King and the Freedom Fighters fought and died for. By the time Dr. King was 34, he had gone as far as he could in his education and had marched on Washington and spoke to several thousand people. Those people were there with him and they were emboldened to take action. Can we blame them? Can we now blame most of us for having a slight sparkle in our eyes and get that strange chill down our spine when we hear Barack Obama speak? I don't think so. It's an amazing thing to see an African American reach for the White House. It's good to see a woman do that too, but we'll always look back on these days and see Obama and think to ourselves: There is Dr. King's Dream speaking to millions of blacks and whites and begging them to do the very same thing: to Dream, to demand change and to live the dream.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King

2008: A New Year

(Kwanzaa Ceremony led by Israel's father)

This year, I went to me and Amy's friend, Israel's, house for New Year's Eve. There were a lot of his family and friends there. His father decided to have a Kwanzaa ceremony before the start of the New Year. This is the first of, I'm sure, memorable moments of 2008.

Cultural Connections Moment:

Kwanzaa is a week-long festival celebrated primarily in the United States, honoring African-American heritage. It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year. Even though I'm African American, I had never celebrated Kwanzaa, nor was I educated on the meaning of each candle, songs, etc. It was very refreshing to hold hands with "folk" and sings songs and pass love and talk about the meaning of each candle/symbol. For more information: www.wikipedia.org .

I thought a serial killer hitched a ride with me moment in 5,4,3, 2.....

Partying Moment:

I started the holidays off with my birthday party with about 10 of my friends on Dec. 28th. I went to this house party and it was amazing. I'm thinking that I'm going to host more house parties instead of always going out and spending money to line someone else's pockets. (I also can't sit down in a restaurant for longer than 2 hours or I'm looking for an exit).

Good Samaritain Moment:

Ok, so I'm going home from the party at 4AM and I see this little guy waving me down. I looked back to see if he was trying to hail a cab, but he wasn't, he was waving at me! Ok, I was at the stop light for an extra minute or two, but I felt SO bad ignoring him. I had a split second decision: so I rolled my window down a crack to see what he wanted.

Turns out the poor thing went to a party that got a little crazier than he thought and then he figured he'd walk back to his hotel. Until he realized it was several miles in the other direction that he was walking.

Ok, I call this my good Samaritan moment, because I totally could've followed my common sensical mind and kept it moving or I could've ignored it and trusted my gut instinct that he was not a serial killer. He was a country boy from North Carolina and he didn't have ANY cash to get him anywhere. Didn't know where the nearest subway was or that it was closed and he didn't even know the address to his hotel. All this to say, I took him to his hotel (a well-known one) and he was SO grateful.

Warning: Kids NEVER do this! I was totally lucky!

Overall, I have a good feeling about the New Year and I hope that you do too! I hear that it's the year of change, which is much needed right now.

Peace and Love,

Gina

Ringing in the New Year

Amy, Israel and his sister

Me, Ashe and another friend of the family

Amy and Ashe

My 28th Birthday! With Age Comes Great Wisdom

On December 27, 2007, I turned the big 28! The day of, I went to work as usual and then Fiona (my roommate) took me out to dinner at Hops. We hadn't talked in so long and it was nice for us to catch up. That day, I also decided to have an impromptu birthday dinner gathering at our place.

On Friday, December 28th, I invited some friends over for dinner. I made some Jambalaya, baked a carrot cake, and we had some drinks. It was so nice to be in the company of friends. I spent half the year working hard, but I didn't spend enough time with friends. The new year should bring more reconnecting with friends.

2007 was definitely a growth year for me. I've come to realize that getting older brings new dreams and goals in life and new wisdom. I came across an old verse in the Bible that I think applies to anyone, whether they're spiritual people or not, at a time in their lives that they have realized that the rose-colored glasses are off and the HD vision is switched on. So different when you know what the heck is going on and have some direction in life!

Ending in 2007...

"For in much wisdom is much grief. And in he
that increases knowledge, increases sorrow." - Ecclesiastes 1:18

With greater knowledge, comes hard decisions in life. That can mean letting go of people that weren't positive in your life or finding that you were going down the wrong path in your career. I try to look at every mistake as a new opportunity.

I have also realized that every second, minute, hour, day and month of my time is precious. It's an opportunity to do something good, to make someone laugh, to love myself, and to learn something new. With that said, my message to everyone that reads this is to let everything you do mean something. And with that I close...

Looking forward in 2008...

"It's the possibility of having a dream come
true that makes life interesting." - Paulo Coehlo

Last Day in Hawaii

(You should probably start reading about Milo the Chocolate Lab for the beginning of my stories about Hawaii.)
(Statue ofDuke, the original Hawaiian surfer, on Waikiki)

My last day in Hawaii I spent running errands while everyone was away. I had damaged the mirror on my rental car, so had tons of stuff to take care of with that and I bought more souvenirs and mailed them off. I saw my cousin, Junior, who lives in Diamond Head for a couple hours and then met up with Jennie, her man, Trevor, Amanda and her friends visiting from Japan at Duke's restaurant. Mahalo guys!

Waimea Falls Park

Peacock at the Waimea Falls Park in Hali'ewa during our road trip.

While on our road trip, we simply gased up and pointed to some places on the map. We were going to go to the Surfing competition, but time was running out since we left only at 2pm and sunset was at 6pm. One of the main things I wanted to see was a waterfall. Waimea Falls did it. The botancial gardens there were beautiful. It was greenery everywhere. Too bad we only got there one hour before closing. We hiked to the waterfall and got a quick glimpse, but it was too late to swim in it. Oh well :)

Doesn't it look like we were superimposed in this shot? Well, that IS a real waterfall.

Wai'a'nae: Fun Times on the West SIDE!!!

It was Sunday after a trip to Pearl Harbor, when I decided to head to a less touristy side of the island (and to give Jennie and her roommates a break to study and write papers). I had found a cheap overnight stay on Craig's List with some guy named Thunder, a Native American guy, and his partner, Tina, over in Wai'a'nae. My plans to go to the island of Kauai never came to fruition as the task of planning it seemed daunting to me, especially since the cost of a helicopter ride, a second rental car and overnight stay, might send my budget for this trip through the roof. When I first got to Thunder and Tina's I was a bit taken aback since the place was in transition and was being renovated. I quickly met Stacey, who was now a New Orleans/Californian transplant and was staying with Thunder and Tina in the hopes of finding a place to stay in Hawaii. The same night that I arrived, our hosts made us delicious burgers.

Sea Turtle Siting!
The same day that I arrived, Thunder drove Stacey and I to a spot where we could see a sea turtle beaching himself on the shore. This was such a rare sighting on the island, but the West is mostly underdeveloped and it's where most Hawaiians live, so a beaching on this side of the island must've been much nicer than some touristy place like Waikiki for this sea turtle.
That same night, Stacey and I went to the beach at night. Yes, we did go at night and ended up meeting a local Hawaiian nicknamed "G." He rode his little moped into the beach right behind us and immediately was curious as to where we came from. He also told us about his desires to leave the island for Las Vegas (a place many Hawaiians seem to want to go to because of the gambling). He was a young buck, I'd say about 21 or so, hustling on the streets and probably needed to hear some stories from the mainland. I had read that this side of the island is where the native Hawaiians are and that many of them face all kinds of economic hardships. Sad for an island that brings in so much money from tourism, yet doesn't share the wealth with the people that are native to the place. Gentrification at work as usual.

Bright and early the next morning, Stacey and I headed for the Mahaka beach (still on the Wai'a'nae coast). It was sooo peaceful and so nice to be the only soul on the beach until a few straglers came around. We saw a lone surfer paddling along the shore and dangerously close to some rocks, but he never stood up to surf.

Hello Stacey, Morning Glory. Stacey and I later went on a road trip along the middle of the island where we visited the Dole plantation and got stuck in traffic after a surfing competition. Thunder and his friends suggested we try eating at Hali'ewa Joe's, a famous restaurant in the Surfing Capital.

Road Trip! Road Rules Hawaii

Jennie Major (left) and Amanda Gomes (right) are both studying at the University of Hawaii. Jennie, I met while studying abroad in Moscow and Amanda I met while on the JET program in Japan.

Soon after this picture was taken, Amanda and I decided to take a road trip down the east coast of the island of O'ahu on the Kamehameha Hwy where we stopped at a Macadamia Nut farm for fresh coffee and tons of Macadamia Nut products. We also happened upon a shrimp shack for some food and rolled through Hali'ewa, the "Surfing Capital of the World."

Polynesian Cultural Center

That pig was dead before I got there, I swear!

After the show, it's the after party! (read below)

Hot! Hot! Hot! Many of you have already heard about my regrets for growing up on the wrong side of the world. I would like to document proof of why Polynesian men are the hottest on the planet, but first, I guess I should tell you about my experience at the Polynesian Cultural Center sans the pictures.

Friday morning, Diane and I Thelma and Louised it down the Kamehameha Hwy and made a few stops along the way to take some photo ops, particularly of the Chinaman's hat. When we finally arrived at the Polynesian Cultural Center, it was around noon and the place was crowded with tourists, mostly Japanese of course. We bought an $80 ticket for the full luau and Polynesian dancing experience.

There were "villages" set up around the center (which we learned was attached to Brigham Young University - a Morman institution). Each village described the life of a different Polynesian island: Fiji, the Maori of New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, Somoa and a few other smaller islands. It was all very educational, but we didn't REALLY see what Polynesia was made of until we saw the Parade of dancers floating on the boats down a canal that showcased each island's dancing.

(Dancers from Somoa) (Tahitian Dancers, the stars of the show)

The Luau

Usually, the best thing about any culture is their food. After a long day of oggling beautiful island men and watching dance shows and seeing performances, it was time to eat. Diance and I finally got our ceremonial "leis" and took pictures with, you guessed it, more beautiful people representing the Polynesian islands. We settled down to a less-than-entertaining host and ate buffet style after they presented the pig. (see picture above)