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)

Up with the sunrise in Kailua

After arriving at Honolulu airport, nearly 4 hours late, Jennie Major, one of my good friends from study abroad in Moscow, came to pick me up with her boyfriend, Trevor. I was extremely tired after being on several different airlines/planes before finally arriving at my destination. My bags were misplaced in the airline shuffle, so all I had was one pair of clothing, a bathing suit (the one you see to the right) and some toiletries in my carry on. That was good enough for me. When I got to Jennie and Trevor's place, I met one of her roommates and her other roommate's mom, Diane. Jennie was really nice and allowed me to sleep in her bed while I was there.
I was clothless the following day, since my luggage had yet to arrive. I was told that if that happens, then the airline will pay you back up to $100 (keep your receipts!), so Diane and I went shopping at the local Island Wear shop in Kailua (the sleepy beach town Jennie lived in). I got a really cute white sun dress, some nice shoes and tons of toiletries totaling $100. After that shopping bonanza, Diane and I were hung out while I waited for Jennie to get home to take me to pick up my rental car. The rental car people forced a sweet Honda Accord with a sunroof down my throat, but after some maneuvering, I got used to it.
Early the next morning, Diane (who had just arrived 1 night earlier) woke up early, as did I at 5:30AM. We both decided that since jetlag got the best of us, we might as well make the most of it and watch the sunrise. You can see me bikini clad above, but it was the most perfect temperature I'd ever experienced. The water was warm and there was a breeze. After a few moments on the beach, Milo, the chocolate lab arrived and started playing with coconuts. Read below...

Milo the Coconut-eating Chocolate Lab

Five Minute Blog Entry:
I got here just a day after the heavy rains, so it's still a bit cool and there are some sunshine showers every once in a while. I thought that I might miss out on photo ops, since my camera equipment is on my luggage. So for today, we do a Luau at the Polynesian Center.

Anyways, got up to watch the sunrise this morning with Diane, my friend's mom, and we met little Milo, the coconut eating chocolate lab. Here's a YouTube video of him: http://youtube.com/results?search_query=milo+and+the+coconut

Enjoy!

Miami 2007 (Includes Pix of My Tattoos)

Going to Miami this weekend was the first of two vacations I'm taking this Fall. One was to Miami (this past weekend) to see my mom graduate from Le Cordon Bleu, a culinary arts school in Miami and the second will be to Hawaii in November.

While in Miami, I hung out with my friend, Michelle, on South Beach. I've known Michelle since the 9th grade. We did a whole spa day: got a spa pedicure, manicures, and uh, oh yeah, I got a tattoo while on South Beach....