The things you can do at a beach

The other day I went to this language seminar and my skin ketch a fire when I heard that there was a beach nearby. Now, it is really very hot so the thought of having a beach near was sounding really good. Now some things too good to be true , and this was one of them cause we hear from the shout seh de water well polluted- fish nuh even want to live in it and if you weren’t quite convinced by that, then a glimpse at green edge of the water would convince anyone that something wasn’t too right with the water. To add insult to injury was the fact that what from a distance looked like white sand was really white rocks stones ( I took a couple of them as souvenirs.) I asking myself now what this beach really good for if you cyaan even swim in the water and you haffi a trip over stone. Anyway later that night I found out.

It so happens that this beach is a great launching pad for fireworks. The rest of the city is so built up that if you go light fire works anywhere near there, then it woulda probably set the whole city ablaze. But this beach with its polluted water and wide expanse of rock stone was the perfect area to launch the fireworks, which you could easily get at the convenience store, 3 minutes from the beach. That night we bought the fireworks and headed to the beach. We set the fireworks in the stones and then watched them blaze. Now the fireworks weren’t spectacular like those at Kingston Habour on New Years eve, ( if you haven’t seen it you must go this year), but , we had fun lighting them and then watching them light up night sky and hearing the thrilling whiz and then pop.

You see, everything has its purpose, even a polluted beach.

The Convert

Let me preface this blog by saying that I am not football’s greatest fan. Yes, I checked out a couple matches in the World Cup, but that aside, I really don’t know much.


In Japan there are pictures of Rolandinho everywhere and I’m thinking to myself “Why they have these pictures of this guy all over the place and him not even that cute?” Anyway, what I did realize was that he is extremely popular here. So when I had to do up a worksheet for the children and needed to base it on someone famous, immediately I thought of Ronaldiho because I was sure that they all knew him.

I went online and started reading up about this guy and out of curiosity I decided to look on one of the many video clips they have up on him, namely, the Nike golden touch clip. Suddenly I began to see this guy, Ronaldiho, in a whole new light. How talented can one person be?! The guy is like a magician with the ball !!! Suddenly it wasn’t Ronaldinho the guy with the weird teeth whose picture is on all the pepsi bottles but Ronaldinho the extremely gifted player who just happens to have a fine set of legs on him too- lol. This guy makes this ordinary game BEAUTIFUL. Bwoy, I promise myself that someway I going to try and find myself in front of a TV to see this guy really play.

First Day of School Drama

I really didn’t know what I was supposed to do for the first day of school. I had been to the school before but when I went none of the teachers were there- they were living it up on their vacation. Anyway I decided that I would be proactive. So though I am no power point wiz I tried to put a little power point presentation together all about beautiful Jamaica. I put in my own pictures, I put in pictures from google and at the end of it the presentation really was looking sweet. Then the icing on the cake was that I had made a worksheet. Your girl was on a roll.

When I went to school they asked me the question I was waiting for “Maria San do you have anything to present?” With a huge smile plastered on my face I tell them fluently in Japanese “Hie” (meaning yes - Ok so is just one word but I said it with the Japanese accent) After, I just back out my computer and bring up the power point.. I feel good now cause they knowing that this Jamaican girl not into no joke business. They looking impressed and I feeling real pleased. Together the teacher and I went to the class to make the presentation.

I hadn’t turned off the computer so I just flipped up the screen gave it a few seconds and then it came up. The room was kinda bright though and after I work so hard on it I want to make sure that these children seeing every single thing. Anyway I went back to the computer and saw a blank screen but I don’ panic cause you know the screen sometimes goes blank if you leave it for a while. So I proceed to touch the mouse- the screen still blank. Ok Still calm- I press the space bar – Nothing. I press every key NOTHING. Long and short- I had to present without the powerpoint presentation. Hey sometimes even the best plans don’t quite work out.

When I went back to the staff room the computer was working just fine so I was relieved that nothing was wrong with it. What happened in the classroom is a real mystery.

Dinner Adventure

Now you know that one of the joys of traveling is that you get to try all manner of food. For the most part I have enjoyed the food in Osaka and I have tried many things.But I am a girl if the food don’look good- I don want it and worse when I don’ know what it is and cyaan ask you to tell me in English.

The other day I got a dinner invitation. Now this was a dinner invitation a couldn’t pass cause is my landlord mother invite me ( big tings). I was glad though that she gestured to me eat and said “ tempura” simultaneously cause I knew that was something I could eat. Tempura is really a batter that they put on almost anything- shrimp, yam, bell peppers etc. Plus when you get tempura with the sauce it taste well good.

When I went to the house and she began to cook the tempura but after that she start to take out all manner of food from the fridge and of course I have no clue what it is. But what is worse is that, it not looking too pretty and nothing in it look familiar. Anyway she put it on the table and a mek a vow inna mi heart same time seh ‘mi naah eat it”

Things going on fine. I loving up di tempura and making sure the hostess know it tastes real good. Now I avoiding the other thing put on the table like how Egyptian did try to avoid plague but like a spite I see the lovely lady’s hand reaching for a spoon taking out the content of the unknown and worse putting it into my plate. LAAAAWD!!!

Anyway I did mek a vow. Now if I go on like I don’t see it then I’m fine. But the lovely lady give me a gesture and dis gesture is “try it nuh” . I cyaan form the fool- I know what she want me to do. I smile sheepishly. Now if you don’t try it is a big dis to the hostess and remember this hostess is my land lord mother. So I take it up and slowly put it to my mouth. The lady smiles and I …...puke? That would have been dramatic, but no, I smile back. It really didn’t taste that bad. I didn’t eat it off but at the end of the night I was glad I didn’t offend the lady.

* If you haven’t been to the East in the Market Place (Jamaica) you really should try it out. The restaurant is really quaint, the staff really nice and the food is sumptuous. This is not a paid advertisement but good food and good friends is always a winning combination and if you haven’t tasted Japanese food then it’s a great place to start a culinary adventure. To tell the truth, some of the food there tastes even better than the Japanese food in Japan - lol

The Power of MY smile

Like how I know I can’t speak Japanese I really try to make myself look as pleasant as possible so I’ve been smiling a whole lot. Thankfully I brought my good old Colgate with fluoride ( of course) to keep my teeth as close to white as I possibly can. (Dem don’ like fluoride in Japan as you may know)

Anyway, now they having a festival for some children. It’s quite beautiful in fact. They make little lanterns with the names of the children in the area painted on them and then hang them by a shrine. Japan have whole heap a shrine, as you walk 5 step you in front of another shrine. For this festival the children will come by the shrine to ring a bell, to wake up the ‘god’ inside and make him aware that someone actually remembers him. After they do that, the person in charge at the shrine gives them juice and some snacks and they leave happy. Anyway I was sitting by the shrine by my apartment miming to my Japanese friends ( the only way we can communicate ) and a little girl came up to get her juice and snacks. She so cute I flash my smile at her. Well see yah, the little girl in terror burst out into a big bawl and start cling to her mother desperate to escape the shrine with the smiling black girl. But I really couldn’t believe that my smile was causing this reaction so like a scientist I decide to test it . I stopped smiling- the little girl was fine again. So I smile again and of course likkle miss start to bawl again hard, hard.

Bwoy I always knew a smile was powerful but now I know that mine has the power to make you burs’ out and bawl- lol Poor soul, she probably never see a smiling black girl in her two years on earth and did well fraid.