Green Pedal Power

自転車が大好き！

After spending way too long taking 2 trains and a bus to university (ie. 55 minutes), I finally worked out that I didn't live as obscenely far from university as I'd originally thought. So I dusted off my bike (that lovely mountain goat that I'd saved up for for ages and finally bought in Vancouver in 2001, then brought with me to Japan), bought some lights & a helmut...and vrrooooom I'm been a local pedal pusher ever since. It's about 30 mins each way, so the bonus is I'm getting a bit of exercise without even realising it. The other good thing is that there's a bike path (ie. extra wide footpath) virtually the whole way down, so I don't notice the fumes that much.


Just found this snap of me in full bicycle mana (thanks to Megumi) so thought I'd whack it up here till I can post a few more snaps of my local Kugayama / Mitaka cycling environs to share with y'all.

International Buddies + the Filipino Mafia

Being at graduate school here in Japan has been pretty amazing for the sheer fact that I've had a chance to become good friends with people from so many countries, and in some cases -- it's the first time for me to properly get to know someone from that particular country.

This is especially the case for my Middle East Studies class --- as we represent Cambodia, Nepal, Lebanon, Georgia, Kyrgzstan, Syria, Thailand, Egypt and...boring old Australia. Ha ha -- just kidding.

Then in my Security and Conflict Resolution class we represent: Brazil, US, the Philippines, Mongolia, Japan, China, Zambia, Korea, Uzbekistan, Canada amongst others. So very multinational / multiethnic....with a diverse range of opinions to match.

I think it would be so fascinating if we could develop some kind of technology (or brain power!?) to enable to us to speak in any given language at anytime. So instead of us always speaking English in this kind of multi-ethnic setting...imagine if we all decided to speak Portuguese -- and then it was so! Hmmm....new innovations for the late 21st century perhaps!?

In each class however, the greatest make-up of students is usually from the Philippines...so here's a picture of me with my Filipina (and one Mongolian) sisters last week, celebrating Vivian's birthday. She has two little kids back in the Philippines who her mother is caring for, as well as a boyfriend in the Philippines Army. Wow!!

KIWIANA Live Music Night

KIA ORA!! Last night (Feb 12) was the KIWIANA event in Ebisu that Ben & I had been organising for me some time now -- and we're so happy to say that it went off really well, much to our relief!!

Over 100 lovely people came along (not bad on a Monday night we thought) and created a very warm and supportive atmosphere.

And we were extremely grateful to all the musicians and performers who gave their all last night: Sunset Drive, Kat McDowell, Uminari (Ben's band) and certainly the highlight for me was the Kapa Haka group "Nga Hau E Wha" -- who gave me the goosebumps with their beautiful Maori singing, dancing and overall presence. What a bunch of awesome People!!

Many thanks also to Aung Min, Ken, Rika & Akira who volunteered all night -- what champions! And muchos gracias to Maria for the funky flyer.

Oz + NZ Tour Poster for Ben

Maria has created another beautiful poster for us: this one is to promote Ben's shows in Australia & NZ starting at the end of this month.

Peace Boat Returns to Japan

The 55th Global Voyage of Peace Boat returned to Japan today after visiting some 22 ports of call including Okinawa, Seychelles, Kenya, Jordan, Malta, Brazil, Venezuala & Guatemala. It's going to be great to catch up with the crew again (Ken, Masae & others) and to hear about how it all went.

NHK World Radio - Burmese Program Interview

Today I went to Japan's national broadcaster radio station "NHK" to record an interview for the World Radio BURMA program. It was really good fun, and I made some great Burmese friends as a result!

It all came about when I received a random phonecall from freelance Burmese/ Japanese translator Ko Nge on Tuesday Feb 6th. We'd met at the Human Rights Now fundraising party last year, and he suggested that I be a guest interviewee because of my Burmese heritage and keen interest in Burmese issues and people.

So along I went and had a lively & lengthy conversation with Program Director Khin Aye Nge about all manner of things. It was pretty casual because it wasn't live to air. Not sure when it will be aired but I think it will be a Sunday in March...

Topics we discussed ranged from:
* my background and relationship to Japan and to Burma;
* mother's life in Burma and what she taught me about Burma;
* volunteer work teaching English to Burmese refugees/migrants in Australia & Japan;
* what is Peace Boat and what kind of activities they do;
* why has Peace Boat visited North Korea but not yet visited Burma;
* what were my experiences like when I visited Burma in 1999, and again in 2003;
* what kind of focus will my master's thesis have regarding Burma;
* what do I think of economic sanctions etc.

All in all, the interview included a good mix of the personal and the political. And at the end, I tried to send out a positive & encouraging message to the Burmese listeners (as apparently there are people both inside Burma and around the world who listen to this short wave international radio broadcast).

As a result of today's encounter, I felt an incredibly strong and desperate urge to learn Burmese. All I could manage to say was "Hello, my name is Johanna, and I cannot speak Burmese."
How pathetic!!

Hopefully I'll be able to say a whole lot more whenever the next opportunity pops up to speak to Burmese people like that. Resolution: buy Burmese textbook + audio tapes!!

Kimono Declaration

Massun (Masumi Matsumura) has made a Declaration like none other that you've heard before!!

She is planning to wear kimono every single day leading up to the Global Article 9 Conference on May 1st, 2008!!

While most women find wearing kimono extremely troublesome and exasperating, Massun adores the opportunity to bring forth the Kimono Revolution: she has fully mastered the art of dressing herself without assistance, and moreover she has no trouble at all riding a bicycle, sprinting up station stairs and looking elegant and composed at all times...in that highly restrictive traditional Japaense haute couture: 着物!!

So as Massun works with great dedication to save Japan's Peace Constitution from abolition by revisionist forces by taking on a key role in organising the upcoming international conference, she is also demonstrating her dedication to the cause of "holding on to what is precious and true" with her daily kimono exposition.

What do you think? I reckon she deserves a magazine front page!!

Quality time with good friends

What's lovelier than having a nice, slow lunch with close friends and hearing about what they've been up to. Introducing lovely Tokyo gals, Hanako Ise -- who's a freelance writer and author of three children's books such as "What is your treasure?" and "My world map", as well as my dear flatmate Ai Onodera -- fellow Peace Boat staff and event organiser extraordinaire! We caught up at Ben's Cafe in Takadanonbaba yesterday afternoon.

The three of us spent quality time together in 2003 when we were onboard Peace Boat's 43rd voyage...Ai and I shared a cabin together, and Hana & I used to chill out onboard the decks and talk about children's lives around the world.

Hana gave an inspirational talk to lots of young Japanese at the Peace Boat volunteer center yesterday afternoon about the wonderful experiences she's had while creating her books, with the help of lots of kids from around the world. In 2000, she travelled around the world and asked children from various countries to draw a picture of what is most precious to them. Then, in 2003 after the book had been published, she revisited the same children and delivered them the book that they had helped to create. What a beautiful project eh?

Black Hot T-shirts

Favourite designer, artist and painter in the whole wide world, María Antonia Pérez Mejía, has just completed a new T-shirt design for us. Beautiful silver graphics on black cotton --- and hopefully we'll have them made up (thanks to Tokyo Tees) before we fly to Sydney at the end of this month and begin Ben's Down Under tour. Check out the sneak preview here, and let me know which size you'd like!!

KIWIANA

Ben has an exciting show coming up on Feb 12th, and I'm helping to organise it. We came up with the name "KIWIANA" as the theme is New Zealand music, culture and beauty. Featuring 3 bands (Ben Kemp & Uminari; Kat McDowell; and Sunset Drive), as well as the Kapa Haka group based here in Japan, and VJ Underbelly , we're pretty sure it's going to be a fantastic night. Hope you can make it along too!