Help Wanted - Any Japaneese language useful!!!

I am off to Japan on Friday - I have a presentation to give at a conference. Its in Yokohama and I have been reliably informed that aparantly they don't speak english in the area (only in tokyo city centre). As you well know that can't be true and thus I do not believe my reliable source [I mean, come on, they should be able to speak english anywhere in the world], but just in case the former were to be true, any form of help with the lingo will be very well appreciated.

As in the majority of cases where I've been, when the locals find that you are trying to learn their language by speaking a few of their words, they tend to then reveal that they do actually understand some english.

You may ask, how have I been preparing for my trip? - well, thus far, I have taken some pictures of the taxi rank, a hotel, the toilet and the building I will be going to.

Any more ideas on other pictures I should have will be very much needed. I look forward to your coments. Many Thanks people.

Seriously though which is it - Your true identity

The title is quite ominous but I hope as I tell the tale the title will become a tad clearer. As I read xoxo blog it reminded me of this man I once met. I had met this refreshing looking guy a while back, very pleasant to the eye and it appeared that he had everything going that a young girl would want in a man she would like to date. He sounded ambitious, and was just finishing dental school. He intoduced himself to me - adeniran adegoke folusho omotayo tewogbade - or something on those lines. I smiled. Finally a nigerian, a nigerian I thought to myself; I grew up in the middle of nowhere where the population was mostly white, and it was refreshing to meet a go getter who happened to be nigerian. So I went on to ask him where he was from [you know ladies how you know the answer, but you still ask the questions] - I assumed he was going to say I grew up in Delaware but my parents are originally from nigeria or something of that nature - [you know how some nigerian youth are who grew up outside nigeria identify themselves] - so imagine my shock when the guy tells me he's from south carolina, originallyfrom Georgia. I pressed on to ask where his parents were from and he said something like New York. I was flabbergasted. I had been sure this black brother's name was nigerian and after he had introduced himself, he had left me confused. I later reconciled with myself with the idea that quite possibly he was a black american with a nigerian name. But all 5 names, that was it. The man had exhausted me with his answers and it was time I went on my merry way. So I said my goodbyes and that was that. I thought of other example like ...Taaayyyeeee Diggs... The actor who by his first name may lead people into thinking he's nigerian but may be a black american wanting to associate himself with africa. But in this actors defense he only has one name that remotely sounded nigerian. But the guy I met had five. As I walked along, I couldn't help but wonder, was he nigerian and not proud of his roots and desperately wanting to belong that he would sell his history, or is this the case of when in ROME behave like the Romans do. Interestingly this has taught me a huge lesson indeed, Just because he looks nigerian, acts nigerian speaks like a nigerian doesn't make him a nigerian.

Have a blessed wekend all.

Falling in public places - There could be worse

I am sure if you ask many what their worst fear is, they would all say falling with your entire body on the floor in a public place. But for me, falling is no longer an issue, as it appears that the majority of places I have visited I have tripped or fell face down on the floor. There is this particular occassion I would like to blog about only because it was the most recent. Like really really recent.

You know how it is ladies when you are travelling, and you try to look your best. For me there is no such thing as travelling light. Even if its for a few days, you need to have 3-5 possibilities of what to wear for each time of the day. For example evening wear, you might decide to go out on a nice evening out, a fish and chips takeout, or stay home and eat what I've cooked, either way, these are 3 events, and each has possible outfits. So basically, the long and short of it is I don't know how to travel light.

So on this particular day, I had waited a little while to get my excess loaded luggage, and it was a struggle to get it out of the baggage handler. Normally I feign lack of strength and others around tended to help, but this day no one did. There was no way I was going to try and lift it onto a luggage carrier; now that would have snapped my back in two (you see I am 5Ft. 3 inch, and the suitcase was almost as tall as I am), so I decided to roll it on its wheel. As I attempted to roll the baggage, my high heeled shoe got caught on the rollers, the case fell, overpowered me, and took me with it, exclaming "shame" as I fell, and there I was on the floor yet again. I knew people saw me, we had all just arrived on a fully packed international flight, so everyone saw me, but it was a normal occurence so I picked myself up, and brushed off the dirt, repositioned my case and was about to walk on when this black brother came to me. He didn't come to help, he came just to tell me he liked what he saw and gave me a card. Well, no award for telling you what came next. The customs people came quickly to ask me if I'd been given anything to bring, and insisted I opened my bag. Basically it was an experience and I wish I could say never to be repeated but knowing me you just never know.

Is it seriously the Jogging!!

A group of grad students invited me to join them in their saturday morning jog, on the huckleberry trail (where the loose criminal tried to excape a while back), anyways I wasn't interested and after they had asked for a "little while", I succumbed. The Joke was I hadn't remontely done anything befitting anyform of exercise, and we were going to jog 3 miles . So I woke up early, thanked the Lord for being alive and got picked up. I stretched so hard preparing myself for the work ahead and to my amazement I managed to jog nearly 2miles. You would think that's where the story ends, well I walked the whole 2 miles back (I was so proud of myself there was no need for any more excersise), got back very impressed with my meagre effort, and my joints have been aching since. So I am begining to wonder did the jogging have anything to do with my aching joints. You would think the muscles should be affected. Well its been quite difficult to get around, but I can't but think, maybe the stretching was excersise enough on its own.

Being Blessed

I just thought to blog concerning this as I just got off the phone with a friend at work, who asked me to keep her in my prayers and to ask the God that answers my prayers to answer hers. You see she just got saved and is struggling with all the random day issues such as tithing among others, and she is so convinced of how blessed I am that she feels that all I need do is pray on her behalf and all her issues will be solved. Anyways this got me thinking, I'm sat here, going through my issues, even though I spend time in fellowship with God it's still not enough and I'm dying for sunday just to be in the company of His saints. I began to feel a sense of dejavour, was convinced I had had the same conversation before. It got me thinking; I now recal a situation with a great friend of mine back in the UK, who is married and has been a blessing to me in more ways than one, and I remember her complaints back then, how people kept calling her blessed, "I mean how can I be blessed" she would say, and normally in bitterness of spirit. It got to the point where whenever this was said she took this as an offense. But now, she is an example of a woman who is blessed by God. I remeber reading Miguels blog and how he reminded me that the God that we serve is a God of order. I can't begin to explain how that rang in my spirit. ck was desperately sad but she hadn't realised that her blessings had to come in a certain order. You see she wanted a child, had no problems conceiving but the child was not coming fort. I realise now that the Lord had to settle her in a certain order. The Lord had to give them a great Job to afford the great house that they had just purchased, so that they had their own huge place to raise up a child, not just renting, but theirs. She is now an expectant mother; Thinking about this, I had to remind myself that the Lord had not forgotten me. Yes people will call me blessed because of my outward adornments but do they know what I'm struggling with. I'm struggling with the fact that I am blessed beyond my wildest imagination and still is ........

To New Jersey and back

My younger brother once made a comment on how God blesses useless people who never make use of their blessings. He was refering to me, and my visiting the US for a year. Aparantly I was boring, and prefered the familiar surrounding of home than say going for a hike or visiting other places. Anyways I began to pray for an adventure, and as you are all previously aware of my charlotte trip went bad (and I'm tecnically not fully back from my charlotte journey yet) an adventure is really not what is needed right now. Anyways a colleague of mine who is scared stiff of driving on the motorways (appologies - is it called freeways or pike or interstate - what ever it is she is scared to drive on them things), and asked if I could join her on her trip. I was so excited, I said to myself I will show """" who is useless. And so I called a great friend who lives in new jersey, that I was visiting he asks if it was definate I confirmed, he gets me booked in hotel pretty sharpish. Anyhows my good friend from philedelphia, then informs me how big new jersey was, and I realised I might end up getting lost again. It happened that I got my weekends wrong, the area my colleague and I was driving to was like Delaware sides, and my friend lived in new york sides --Drat!!! We couldn't get a refund, bless him he fogave me, I can be quite airy sometimes. OK my colleague decides to drive, she manages to get us to roanoke, I drove the rest of the way non-stop (7 hrs - raining badly the entire journey, didn't quite see the scenery), was pretty impressed with myself, with all that wrong side of the road "milake" - drove through -North Virginia - West Virginia - DC - Maryland - Delaware - Philedelphia - New Jersey. But still had no tale to tell. On the way back, did all the driving all 9hrs of it (with half an hr petrol stop), was dark, didn't see much either and no picture to prove my mini adventure. Maybe next time. So apart from the slow moving traffic or the lack of the movement), my journey was pretty uneventful. Next trip, going for a walk down the road. That should be exciting.

Praise Report

Last week had taken an unexpected dive, felt as If I was on a runaway train to a destination I never thought would board for. Breathed a sign of relief glad to see the end of the week and praying that my this week would be better. Blessed as I was I learned I was - in that situation, in isolation, in prison and on a witness protection programme from God - for my own good and safety and the realisation that all I need do is press on as the Lord is the driver, and is guiding me through the rocks.

My praise report is, even though the rocks are still there, I am passing through it without any injury to myself and still with a smile on my face. He must increase, I must decrease. I have decided to stop fixing stuff for my self. It never gets fixed anyway!!

Be anxious for nothing and the taxi driver

I had to write about this because its been on mind since my return. Even though I had been left 'stuck', I had peace and believed that something would come through, I never thought it would turn out to be the drama it unfolded to be. I waited patiently, and as the time was ticking over, it began to dawn on me, that there was a likely event that I will be stranded and only God would have to come through somehow. I remember the story of the resurection of Jesus when the Marys decided to stroll down to the tomb where Jesus was supposed to be burried. It never crossed their mind about the guards that were posted (that might have orders to strike to kill on site - you just never know), the heavy stone that required many seriously strong guys who would have been fed on some serious pando and at least 10 years body building experience before rolling away the heavy stone. Anyways, this never crossed their mind, but the good Lord already knew what they were going to face, and already knew that Jesus had resurected, the guards had ran away and the huge stone had been rolled away. The Marys didn't know this, and yet in their ignorance God was in control. I guess what I'm trying to say was that in my ignorance the Lord had raised an unbeliver - the taxi driver.

The taxi driver took pity on me, and probably didn't realise he was in for a shock. He had changed his name and was one of those pro-black extremist kinda guy. First of all I am not against black people (after all I am one), but anyways, I was able to share with him about Jesus, and there were a few things he said he never understood, and I hope I was able to sow a good seed. I only realised this when I had arrived, he was / and is a good man (which I gathered from the journey), but your deeds don't help you to get to heaven and live the purposeful abundant life that the Lord wants for you, but only Jesus does. Lets keep the taxi driver in our prayers.

The Realisation that You can not depend on others

I have been somewhere I would never want to be and back, and now know that God is faithful. Could you imagine that I was left stranded at the airport on my way back!! You no hear gist.

Na so my aunty told one guy (a family friend and her relative) to come and pick me from charlotte airport. The man even invited himself, we called said he was in Washington DC but would get back in time to come and get me from airport (story). We called before we left, yesooo I am on my way guy said.

I landed 2.30pm, called the guy..his phone was cutting off, he must have said something along baltimore..anyways..he calls back..phone cuts off. Did not hear from the fella again. Kept calling his phone, kept going to voicemail. I was at the airport for 2hrs, called aunty, asking where the man was. She said she couldn’t get hold of the guy, that she will contact someone to come and get me. Na so I changed all my dollars, kept phoning the guy, until I was tired. The day before my young cousins loved the games on my phone and the battery was practically dead by the time they finished with the phone. I started asking people if I could borrow their phone, some gave, some didn't. 6 hrs later, I called aunty. She says to me “a….., where are you, we've been looking for you everywhere', I said I am still at the airport where did they think I would be. Apparently the guys wife went to Raleigh Durham to find me (by the way Raleigh is 4 hrs away from charlotte and 6hrs from Blacksburg), I said you didn't tell me this people lived in Raleigh, I am in Charlotte not Raleigh (charlotte is like 2hrs from Blacksburg). Anyways, the woman was refusing to come and get me from charlotte (I know I wouldn't), and claimed she had left her young children. That she had been in Raleigh for 3hrs. She is such a lair. Who told her I was in Raleigh. Everyone including her husband knew I was in Charlotte.

Anyways 10.30pm, (8 hrs later), my aunty tells me to go and find a hotel, that my safety was more important, and that she would try and coordinate for someone to come and get me the net day. I tried to call the hotels available. The rooms were fully booked, and the ones available were smoking and were charging over 150 dollars including tax. So I decided to sit on my chair for 45 mins to figure my next step. I asked how long the airport was open for, thinking maybe I might do an all night meeting on my own. So I decided to go and hire a car. They said they would accept my British licenses, but because I was asking for a one way ride, I would need to pay a drop off fee. Na so they said something along the lines of 150 dollars we haven't even discussed petrol or insurance. Anyways, I decided to walk along, to ask all the car renters available what their charges were.

I had left my suitcase for more than 5 mins when the baggage people had sent for police and sniffer dogs to come and sniff out my baggage that was left unattended, as it might be a bomb. So by now, my cell phone battery was dead. I had run out of money, used it all on phone calls at the phone boot, sniffer dogs to sniff out the supposed bomb in my baggage, no rooms to rent for the night (unless I choose to inhale smoke at an unfavourable rate - which if I did, wasn't even sure if they would come and get me from the airport)..and my credit card was not working..YES..NOT WORKING. So everything that could go wrong went wrong.

As I walked along contemplating (If I Perish I Perish), because it was raining heavily outside, didn't have a map or have an idea on how to get home, but was still contemplating hiring a car in the thick darkness outside, I walked past the information booth lady, who bless her, has been helping me the entire time with the use of her phone and paging visitors at the airport, she said still no help I practically burst out crying. I am stranded for real.

Anyways to cut the story short, there was a taxi driver that came to pick someone up. He saw me at 2.30pm and seeing me again at this late time asked the lady what is the story with that girl. So she relayed my story to him and he offered to drive me home for 150 dollars. They gave me their phone to call my cusin Jackie in Augusta Georgia, who picked up the tab on her credit card, and that was how I got home. It took over 3 hrs with the rain and bad weather, and when I got to Blacksburg, could not have been more happy to see home.

I came to work the next day, my entire experiment wiped out, because of a power cut, and there had been a man hunt in the university campus, an armed and dangerous criminal had escaped from the hospital where he was receiving attention, and shot a police man and a staff at the hospital shooting them dead.

All this chaos and I was not affected. I am home and alive. Praise be to God.

Good People are really not that difficult to find

I am writing about this, because I remember a statment my cuz said to me ''Bouy you would need to give up more than money to get a lift''.

Let me start from the begining. I had been invited to atlanta by my mums sisters concerning a DO they were throwing [ where highly connected people would be present, they called it high society or somethig or the other...aparantly..], anyways, I wanted to go, but I wasn't prepared to pay the 680-780 dollars fare that came with it. You see I live out in the sticks and it costs a fortune to fly out from my local airport. It really isn't technically an airport more like a landing ground (... And would have prefered to spend my money on better things, certainly not flight tickets). My aunties were not going to pay for the tickets as they are of the view that I am seriously loaded. I claim that In Jesus Name. Amen. (can't get any free bees anymore..it sucks to be grown up in ones families eyes)

Anyways,
I had made my decision earlier on (after my observations of the flight costings) not to go, but secretly had hoped that something would turn up. It happened that on a certain tuesday, the airlines were doing some deal, but I would have to catch my flight from North Carolina.

For those of you that live in the UK, its more like Leaving the North west of England, like Manchester.. Liverpool..Leeds.. or even Sheffield, to go down to London to catch a flight to Sandwich or Dover in kent. I mean where is the sense in that, and surely it would have been better to get a flight out to London, and find local transport to kent, but it would have just have cost me exactly the same to get to London in this case.

Back to my story. Like I said it would have cost me just the same as travelling out to North carolina, as going out to georgia. But anyways I saw a cheap deal like 100 dollars, and so I booked it. Trying to figure out how to get to North carolina was something, and after I had converted my dollars to pounds I had decided that if I couldn't make that trip, I could afford to loose the money. I mean I wasn't going to stress myself out.

I called around a few aquiantances, friends people from church and work collegues, all of them seemed to think it was a hopless case, and I was just about to throw in the towel, when tiffany, offered to give me a lift. Saying she had nothing to do, and had wondered what she could do that week seing as she was still on her summer hols and sort of bored, and my trip to North carolina would be something she would not mind doing. I had met her through my summer bible study group by the way. I leaped for Joy at my office desk where I was supposed to be doing some serious work in pushing the boundaries of science that bit forward, ran to all my collegues to relay the news to them which they found difficult to believe.

''You actually managed to get someone to give you a lift all the way to North carolina'' said one of my collegues, ''YES'' I answered, Praise God. And in the end, I had only spent 100 dollars [53.19 pounds].

Guess what I am trying to say is the Lord is good, and will send good people towards you in times of need. Be it if you happened to be a cheap scate like me who happened to have other money spending priorities.

Why is it so difficult to chat to a bloke..

What is this about chatting to a bloke being all very friendly, and then after investing some serious time in the chatting friendship you start to wonder, I hope I haven't been giving the wrong signal. I have always been one of those girls who seem to keep guy friends as bestfriends, and now I find myself in a totally new country, with new set of friends, and hoping I hope he is fully aware of my intentions. He is a great laugh and we really have fun at each other's expense but I can't help think, are there boundaries that are being crossed that I am unaware of?

The gist is, I have this good friend, but today he says I have upset him..aah watin....see me see trouble..how did I do that one..I thought we were having a laugh..[obvioulsy not funny anymore]

Now I am wondering should I say something, or should I just leave it, cause he is a great guy, but surely he understands what this is? Right!!

Reached the top and thought can I have another option please??

Have you ever worked so hard in life to achieve an ultimate goal, an idea, an ambition, that you thought all you needed to do is get there and life would be so great. I ask this because I find myself in such dilema. I am begining to wonder if there is more. I never really had a life ambition to get this far this early in life, because now that I am here, I have started to take God for granted. I find myself spending more time each day wondering if I could do somthing else, or should have done something else - or maybe be somewhere else -

I am in my mid twenties with already a Ph.D in science - have tons of contact with pharm industry - cause my Ph.D was paid for by one - an international fellow - and to die for job - travelling all over the continent - Great family - and friends - yet something is lacking -

I'm I alone in thinking like this - or I'm I just plain ungrateful??