Hunger Banquet, Birthday Celebrations, and other events
So it was June 23rd, last week, and I officially turned 22. Sigh... life just flies by soooo quickly. It seemed like it was only yesterday when I applied for universities and delivered the Valedictorian speech for high school commencement. And I would have NEVER imagined myself spending a palindrome birthday half-way across the world in Japan. My friend Gaku from the rowing team had a birthday dinner for me. Ana, Gaku, and Gaku's friend Shintaro were there to celebrate with me. I felt overwhelmed cause I totally didn't expect this. Gaku bought a cake for me and had these streamer things. It was extremely nice of him to do all that for me. After that night, I went home and found two birthday cards in my mailbox, one from mommy and daddy, and the other from my good friend Gary back in Canada. I was so emotionally overwhelmed. A flood of emotions of memories of home swept over me. Then it just hit me that I have never been away from Canada for such a long period of time before in my life. I'm not really homesick, but theres always the phrase "Theres no place like home" and I can't deny that Canada is the best place to live in the world. With Bill C-38 passed, Canada is becoming more and more socially liberal and accepting of different minority groups. I am proud to be an ambassador of a country here in Japan that promotes the rights of these minority groups and advocates the importance of equality, open-mindedness and acceptance, not as a straight vs. gays vs. male vs. female vs. white vs. black vs. catholic vs. muslim, but peacefully together as humankind.
My Birthday cake: which says
アーサー
おたんじょうび
おめでとう
which directly translates to:
"Arthur
Birthday
Congratulations"
Gaku, myself, Shintaro, and Ana
So these past two weeks have been EXTREMELY busy. Last Saturday, June 25, I had to run back and forth between two events in the city with my friend Anastoria from Jamaica (who happens to also be in the rowing team with me): The Tottori University rowing regata (hosted by our club), and a Sweet Potato planting event (Japanese culture event for international students). The Tottori University regata was only for students who are NOT part of the rowing club, so I wasn't rowing that day. I was only there to help run the event and there wasn't much to do but help teams get in and out of the boat. So after a bit I went over the potato growing field next to the Tottori U International House where I live. It was super hot that day. The sun was literally BLARING down upon us. It was a totally fun experience planting the sweet potatoes (yams or in Chinese: "fan suu"). The event also made me realize why I'm not a farmer or why farming/agriculture is not for me. Its physically exausting with many hours of hard work and patience. The Japansee television station decided to interview me. I had trouble understand what he was trying to ask me cause he was speak really really quickly. Luckily Waka-sensei was there behind the camera translating some of the questions. Its so funny. In Tottori, there's so little going on that an International students potato picking event made top news. hahahahahahaha. So after the clip was broadcasted, everyone from my lab and my clubs told me that they saw me on television. Everyone made such a big deal out of it.
My friend Anastoria (from Jamaica) and myself
Tottori International Exchange Japanese Culture event: Sweet Potato Planting
Sweet potato mmmmmm.. yams
Sunday, June 26: So the infamous Hunger Banquet FINALLY arrived. The organizing committee had to be there by 9:00. The event took place at a community facility in downtown Tottori (near Tottori station) which is about a 10 minutes train ride from where I live (Koyama area of Tottori City). Some fellow committee members decided to bike there so I decided to tag along... and boy was it a loooooong bike ride. It took us about a half-hour to arrive in downtown and it was super warm and humid on that day as well.
So when we arrived we helped set up the two rooms: one for the education part (Part 1 of the event) and the other for the hunger banquet simulation (Part 2). Moki, Piro, and I were the MC's for the education part of the event. The keynote speaker for the event was a lady by the name of Midori Takeuchi. She's a Japanese medical worker who travelled to hunger ridden countries across Africa. Even though I didnt understand a word of her keynote speech, I got a chance to speak to her after the event alone and I told her about my aspirations in life and how youth these days are growing up in a bubble. She wholeheartedly agreed with me and gave me her business card and asked me to keep her updated on my future international development initiatives.
So after the education was finished participants filed into the main room (each randomly taking a colour-coded card: each colour representing an income-level group [low- green, middle - blue, high - red] ) where the simulation took place. They were seated, treated, and fed exactly like they would in the real world. 60% of the participants were placed in the poor group, 30% in the middle income group and 10% in the rich group. The low income group (60 people) sat on the ground and were given a limited amount of plain rice and leaves to eat the rice with. The middle income group (30 ppl) were given curry on rice and sat on chairs, but had no table. The high income team had a full course, first class meal, with waiters, live entertainment, and even a security guard. Throughout the simulation, "happenings" or scenerios were enacted. For example, a person from the high income group goes bankrupt and is placed in the low income group, or a high income participant dies from over-eating (diabetes, cardiac arrest, high cholesterol etc...). There were protests, begging and stealing from the low income group. The event ended with discussion/reflection groups and a video from the 1980's "USA for Africa" recording of "We are the World". Overall the event went really really smoothly and was a huge success.
A lot of people ask me, "Since I won't have the chance to travel to underdeveloped countries and directly help out, why bother particpating in such events, discussion groups, forums, etc...?". I tell them that your role locally in your community is where it begins. Educating fellow members and educating yourself about the pertinent issues that affect the world community , educating yourself and others to ask the right questions is just as important as going abroad and volunteer for a sustainable development project. Thus I am more than glad to devote my time and effort to plan such meaningful event where our main purpose is to raise awareness amongst the community of all ages, and to raise money for credible NGO's. Like the "Make Poverty History" campaign at UW, I feel it is vital for EVERYBODY to be aware and care about problems that are going on in other parts of the world. As the lyrics from Michael Jackson's "We are the World"
Links
Piro and I, 2 of the 3 MC's for the Education part of the Hunger Banquet
Moki, Piro, and I, the MC's for the Education part of the Hunger Banquet, listening to Murata-sensei speak (wife of Cates-sensei)
The middle-income group
The high-income group being served lavish meals with a Do Not Enter border around them preventing other income levels from entering
The border between the high income group and the low income group equipped with a security guard
The low-income group eating rice out of leaves and fruit they stole from high income group. Midori Takeuchi (in the red outfit), the keynote speaker of the Education part, also took part in the simulation
My Birthday cake: which says
アーサー
おたんじょうび
おめでとう
which directly translates to:
"Arthur
Birthday
Congratulations"
Gaku, myself, Shintaro, and Ana
So these past two weeks have been EXTREMELY busy. Last Saturday, June 25, I had to run back and forth between two events in the city with my friend Anastoria from Jamaica (who happens to also be in the rowing team with me): The Tottori University rowing regata (hosted by our club), and a Sweet Potato planting event (Japanese culture event for international students). The Tottori University regata was only for students who are NOT part of the rowing club, so I wasn't rowing that day. I was only there to help run the event and there wasn't much to do but help teams get in and out of the boat. So after a bit I went over the potato growing field next to the Tottori U International House where I live. It was super hot that day. The sun was literally BLARING down upon us. It was a totally fun experience planting the sweet potatoes (yams or in Chinese: "fan suu"). The event also made me realize why I'm not a farmer or why farming/agriculture is not for me. Its physically exausting with many hours of hard work and patience. The Japansee television station decided to interview me. I had trouble understand what he was trying to ask me cause he was speak really really quickly. Luckily Waka-sensei was there behind the camera translating some of the questions. Its so funny. In Tottori, there's so little going on that an International students potato picking event made top news. hahahahahahaha. So after the clip was broadcasted, everyone from my lab and my clubs told me that they saw me on television. Everyone made such a big deal out of it.
26th annual Tottori U Rowing regata (in the background is Koyama pond: the largest pond in Japan.. hahahaha)
My friend Anastoria (from Jamaica) and myself
Tottori International Exchange Japanese Culture event: Sweet Potato Planting
Sweet potato mmmmmm.. yams
Sunday, June 26: So the infamous Hunger Banquet FINALLY arrived. The organizing committee had to be there by 9:00. The event took place at a community facility in downtown Tottori (near Tottori station) which is about a 10 minutes train ride from where I live (Koyama area of Tottori City). Some fellow committee members decided to bike there so I decided to tag along... and boy was it a loooooong bike ride. It took us about a half-hour to arrive in downtown and it was super warm and humid on that day as well.
So when we arrived we helped set up the two rooms: one for the education part (Part 1 of the event) and the other for the hunger banquet simulation (Part 2). Moki, Piro, and I were the MC's for the education part of the event. The keynote speaker for the event was a lady by the name of Midori Takeuchi. She's a Japanese medical worker who travelled to hunger ridden countries across Africa. Even though I didnt understand a word of her keynote speech, I got a chance to speak to her after the event alone and I told her about my aspirations in life and how youth these days are growing up in a bubble. She wholeheartedly agreed with me and gave me her business card and asked me to keep her updated on my future international development initiatives.
So after the education was finished participants filed into the main room (each randomly taking a colour-coded card: each colour representing an income-level group [low- green, middle - blue, high - red] ) where the simulation took place. They were seated, treated, and fed exactly like they would in the real world. 60% of the participants were placed in the poor group, 30% in the middle income group and 10% in the rich group. The low income group (60 people) sat on the ground and were given a limited amount of plain rice and leaves to eat the rice with. The middle income group (30 ppl) were given curry on rice and sat on chairs, but had no table. The high income team had a full course, first class meal, with waiters, live entertainment, and even a security guard. Throughout the simulation, "happenings" or scenerios were enacted. For example, a person from the high income group goes bankrupt and is placed in the low income group, or a high income participant dies from over-eating (diabetes, cardiac arrest, high cholesterol etc...). There were protests, begging and stealing from the low income group. The event ended with discussion/reflection groups and a video from the 1980's "USA for Africa" recording of "We are the World". Overall the event went really really smoothly and was a huge success.
A lot of people ask me, "Since I won't have the chance to travel to underdeveloped countries and directly help out, why bother particpating in such events, discussion groups, forums, etc...?". I tell them that your role locally in your community is where it begins. Educating fellow members and educating yourself about the pertinent issues that affect the world community , educating yourself and others to ask the right questions is just as important as going abroad and volunteer for a sustainable development project. Thus I am more than glad to devote my time and effort to plan such meaningful event where our main purpose is to raise awareness amongst the community of all ages, and to raise money for credible NGO's. Like the "Make Poverty History" campaign at UW, I feel it is vital for EVERYBODY to be aware and care about problems that are going on in other parts of the world. As the lyrics from Michael Jackson's "We are the World"
We are the world, we are the childrenThis is true... this a choice we're making. The choice of whether to turn our backs and ignore the problems facing fellow humankind. Are the starving children across the world in any way shape or form less human than we are. Do they deserve to have equal and feasible access to education, clean water, food, and infrastructure as we do in the developed world? Of course they do.
We are the ones who make a brighter day
so let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me
Links
- Tottori University Hunger Banquet
- Make Poverty History Campaign
- Sarah McLachlan: "World On Fire" music video (Development-related video made specially for Engineers Without Borders)
Piro and I, 2 of the 3 MC's for the Education part of the Hunger Banquet
Moki, Piro, and I, the MC's for the Education part of the Hunger Banquet, listening to Murata-sensei speak (wife of Cates-sensei)
The middle-income group
The high-income group being served lavish meals with a Do Not Enter border around them preventing other income levels from entering
The border between the high income group and the low income group equipped with a security guard
The low-income group eating rice out of leaves and fruit they stole from high income group. Midori Takeuchi (in the red outfit), the keynote speaker of the Education part, also took part in the simulation
posted by Arthur Kong at 11:51 AM
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