TUJ shares a lot of activities with its neighborhood. The other day, I was asked to go to Akabane elementary school to give some cultural lesson about my country, Senegal. When I got into the class, there were sixty children of 6~7 years old that welcomed me with the Senegalese flag that they hand made. It was impressive of how they were interested to learn about a new culture. Being agitated, they asked questions after questions.

First of all, I introduced the country and its location on the map and showed them many pictures about the city, the people, the traditional sport which is similar to the Japanese Sumo, the food and the music. Usually, when Japanese people hear the word Africa, they imagine indigenous people who live naked and still hunt with arrows. However, it is n

ot the case and Dakar is a developed city. I refer it to Shinjuku city that does not have neon.
Anyway, I decided to get the children’ attention by asking them questions about the image they have of Senegal, making them listen to music and let them try to play the Jambe(drum) by using their desks. It was funny and cute to watch them enjoying it and being so serious about it. Then, by wearing the traditional Senegalese clothe which is very big, I asked the kids to come inside to see how many can fit in it. I guess, 13 of them were in the dress, experiencing what it is like to

wear the clothe.
Senegal is very similar to Japan and that is how I approached children to explain them and give them a cultural background. Finally, I taught them how to say Hello in Senegalese “Assalamalekun” and gave them an advice to continue to be that interested in other cultures.

By the way, the Japanese word Naruhodo which means “I see!” has the same meaning as the Senegalese word Naruhodo. Located on the other side of the world and having different languages, I feel that there is a certain historical connection between the two countries.

At the end of the month, I will be going to another school to teach more about Senegal so that Japanese have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and open the door to foreigners and foreign traditions.

Minato-ku Festival!

September and October are two months in Japan that has a lot of festivals (Matsuri). Most of them are usually sponsored by a local shrine or temple.

The Minato-ku festival took place in the Zo-jo-ji temple in Shiba. There were people all over the place, eating, drinking, watching performances and enjoying their sunny day.
What is interesting about Matsuri, is that they have many little shops where a bunch of stuffs are sold but the most attractive stand is food. Yakisoba(fried noodles), yakitori(grilled chicken), donuts and Japanese sweets are extremely cheap and the drinks are less than 200yen. Made by local people, the atmosphere is great, relaxing and it is possible to feel the “sympathy” in the air. That is what I really like about Japanese festivals.

Belonging to the jazz dance club at TUJ, we had the opportunity to participate to the festival by showing our performance on stage. To deepen the friendship between TUJ and the ward, the jazz dance club offered a stage of 15 minutes, accompanied by some drum performance played by Osamu and Nao. While dancing, I saw some people shaking their body with the rhythm of the drum and the music. I felt the strength of music that emphasized the fact that music does not need any words to communicate and understand each other.

It was a nice experience because even though we were not professionals, the spectators were very welcoming and warm which created an excellent atmosphere. I hope that we have contributed for a closer relationship with our neighbors. Thank you MINATO-KU!!!

1 peanut, 4 bites of cucumber and 1 bite of chicken…

Thin, the documentary about anorexia made by Lauren Greenfield was quite hard for me to watch because the pictures were that real and shocking that I could not compassionate with the subject. However, I think that Diet, becoming Thin is an issue that every girl has confronted at least once in life. The desire to have a nice proportion and the envy to not get fat has always been a problem. Before watching the movie, I knew about anorexia but did not know too much. Though, I realized that it is a real psychological disease that leads people to serious crisis and sometimes to death.

The documentary was shot in an interesting way, focusing on several cases at the same time. It was like watching “24” but in a slower tempo. I was impressed of how the director was able to shoot the girls in the hospital, their activities and behaviors, emotions, conversations and thoughts. I can imagine that it took a long time to build the intimacy between the interviewees and the interviewer. Then, to get all the incidents that occurred on tape should have taken months.

Lauren does not appear on the documentary and even there is no possibility to hear her voice. She steps out and just follows her subjects. The patients, doctors and staffs seem to be used being filmed or even do not care anymore about the camera. Trust is elaborated so between the subject and the director so the story is very natural and the viewers are closer to the situation. The technique used, the close-ups involve the viewers and make them feel like they were present in the scene to have a better idea of the disease and what these people feel like.

After watching the movie, I came up with a lot of questions toward anorexia. Personally, I care about my weight and always try a new diet but I love eating. When I eat too much I try to do some exercises so I do not understand why people are so obsessed by calories and loosing weight… I do not want to be fat but do not want to spend a day eating 1 peanut, 4 bites of cucumber and 1 bite of chicken. I would die…

However, what make these people deal with anorexia? Is it a problem of itself? Or is it coming from the society? Who is responsible for this? Who decided that women have to be thin?

I am still questioning myself but I know one thing: I was hungry after the movie!!!