All About Ms. World's World

Writing Divas

      
   I'm happy to introduce to you all the Writing Circle Divas! These crazy, beautiful ladies are also known as  Miami Diva, Cousin Irish Jo, Diva Emo, Chinatown Spice, Diva Amber, and North Carolina Spice. They are my comrades in the writing life, Toyama style!

This Writing Circle was spearheaded by the Miami Diva who writes interesting tales based on her experiences. Cousin Irish Jo was down with the Writing Circle from the very beginning after our writing twosome which held grand publishing plans exploded and escaped into blogland. Chinatown Spice was also down being a "real" writer with a M.F.A. degree (We still love you!). Diva Amber and North Carolina Spice were also up for baring their souls in the mask of fiction. Therefore a magic six-some was born early in our meetings. Finally, the missing piece of the circle arrived when Diva Emo made it to a few meetings bringing home-baked bread.

These Writing Divas are a very eclectic and talented bunch. Here are my very public predictions for their future.

North Carolina Spice will rise into the Ivy League academic ranks, earn her a doctorate degree, get tenure at N.Y.U. and write fabulous fiction on the side.

The Miami Diva will self-publish her project. She will sell 5,000 copies through her own business and market accrue. The Miami Diva will come to the attention of a well-regarded literary agent who will sale her book to a Random House for a 6-figure advance.

Cousin Irish Jo will publish a novel every year for the next 4 years beginning in 2007. In 2011, she will be awarded the Booker Prize fiction. She will buy a second home on the continent living with her lover Jean-Luc.

Diva Amber will return to the Midwest in summer 2006. She will write a screenplay about the adventures of a young woman working and living in East Asia. However, in this story the protagonist will get lots of sex. Diva Amber will go to Hollywood and sell her screenplay for six-figures. She will also get the right to direct her own film.

Chinatown Spice will finish two novels in the winter of 2006. She will publish an experimental novel about a crazy relationship with the best sex scenes ever written in modern American literature. The New York Times will praise her. Her first novel will be a acclaimed best-seller. She will get a teaching position at Columbia University's Writing program. And she'll leave Chinatown behind to become Upper West Side Spice.

Diva Emo will finally leave Japan in 2008 after attending Japanese-famous natural/organic architecture/design school in Toyama-ken.  She will leave Japan basking in the wealth of knowledge she has learned, fluent Japanese language skills, and a fiery love affair with Masahiro. Diva Emo will return to Colorado, USA to open her own organic architecture firm with her new lover Mr. Yoshi Stevenson.

As for me, I have no prediction for my prospects. I do plan to win a Pulitzer prize for fiction or non-fiction. I'm also going to get myself a European Union passport probably through marriage. I'm also having a child by the name of Grace, Daniel, or Sanjay.

Guess Who Came To Lunch?

 

"Time is moving on," as the Blackbyrds crone in my ears via IPOD. I have a little over two months left in Japan. My weekends are filling up with appointments, events, and meals that lead up to my last day in Toyama City. Since I have a little gift of foresight, I invited my friends Y. and K. to my apartment for a lunch party. I wanted to show them some Ms. World hospitality as a little token of my affection towards them. The Miami Diva is also friends with Y. and K. so I invited her to join our merry fray.

Y. and K. have been great friends and hosts to me during my time in Toyama. I really wanted to impress them, so I cleaned my apartment so well that the Toyama Princess (the baby) could eat off the floor or tatami mats. I cooked my yummy spaghetti and secret ingredient meat sauce (The secret is to season your pre-cooked meat with garlic paste, cloves, ginger, cardamon, and nutmeg.). The Miami Diva who is an awesome cook brought a lovely salad and amazing array of cakes for dessert.

It took awhile for the Toyama Princess to settle into her new surroundings, then a wonderful time was had by all.

15 Things You May or May Not Know About Me

This list was influenced by Mr. Lyons.

1. I`m over 30 years old and I love it!

2. I have over 15 nicknames and alias, including Princess, The Word Girl, and West End Girl.

3. I own various albums by Bananarama.

4. I like to order vanilla lattes that are ``hot as hell`` from Starbucks & Seattle`s Best in various countries.

5. I make friends easily.

6. I don`t think I really understand heterosexual males.

7. I`m a little over trying to understand heterosexual males.

8. I`m very opinionated which sometimes is viewed for being bossy.

9. I know I`ve been very blessed in my life but I`m still a little bitter about some things such as the slavery of my ancestors, the bullshit game the U.S. has runs on African-Americans, and the fact that way too many people underestimated my brilliance.

10. I`m a weird mix of Christian piety and mad horniness.

11. I`ve been ``in love`` once.

12. I know if I wanted to lose my excess weight that I could do it but I'm clinging to the protection it gives me.

13. I like being a big girl because I think I can kick ass (if I need to) and it is very important to me that I can kick ass.   

14. I believe I'm a member of the first generation (born in the post-Civil Rights era) of African-Americans who actually had a somewhat fair shot at the American dream.

15. Sometimes I toy with the idea of joining the Peace Corps.   

Right Now

The second part of 15 Stages or The Story of My life, The Short Version is taking forever to write. Honestly, I was overwhelmed by the response that Part 1 received. I figured somebody may feel it but I got so much love that it was a bit of a shock. I`ve been a little nervous about writing the rest of the African-American Bollywood saga that is my life. However, I`m getting over it. I really feel a need to write about my life right now because I know I`m ending another phase of it.

In late July, I will be ending the fifteenth phase of my life. Lately, I ride my bike around Toyama City and sometimes marvel about the fact that I`m here. I can`t believe the underestimated, smart, bookish, cute, fat Black girl who grew up across the street from the projects has gotten so far. I know I could do it but sometimes I still can`t believe I actually did it.

I`m getting very excited about my new phase of life. Everything is finally becoming very real. Yesterday, I brought airline tickets which will ferry me out of Japan to Hong Kong. I`m staying in Hong Kong for a few days then it is off to Bangkok via an Air Asia flight from Macau. I finally sorted out various tourist visa matters and am in the process of working on my resume. However, I know I need to concentrate on my current reality. I need to live in the moment and savor all the texture and emotion of my Japanese life. Sometimes it is very difficult for me to stay in the present. I`m a dreamer by nature and a doer out of necessity and envy. I`m working very hard to be present right now.

I also feel like my future is so bright that I need to wear shades. And I love feeling that way.

Part 1: 15 Stages or The Story of My life, The Short Version

1.Birth - Grade 2 in Elementary School

This is the best part of my story. I was born into love. I was raised in the bosom of my maternal family. I was also a daddy's girl. I have great memories of waking up on Christmas Day to run down the stairs to a living room covered with gifts for my brother and I. My grandmother hosted barbecue parties in the summer which were legendary in our neighborhood. My mother was always taking my brother and I to the library, museums, zoo, movies, and theater productions at the local university in an effort to expose us to the world. I would gaze upon the stars from the window in my bedroom and pray to God that I would be able to see the world when I was older. I remember having a very clear sense of self at the age of seven. I remember so much of my beautiful childhood that the next phase brings tears to my eyes.

2. Grade 3- 6

I became officially fat during this period. I got called "fat," along with every other world in the dictionary by my classmates. Fat pig, Fat dog, etc. etc. My parents marriage was cracking. I left parochial school after third grade due to financial issues. As a fourth grader, I rode #27 city bus to Chase Intermediate School which was located in a predominately white area. I had my first white best friend named Wendy B. I invited her over to my house to hang out and stay overnight. Wendy's parents needed to officially meet me before they would consent to her coming to the all-Black part of town where I lived. Wendy was a little nervous about coming to my neighborhood too. When she finally came to my home to visit and stay overnight, nothing dramatic happened. The Black people in my neighborhood didn't take much notice of her. We hung out at my grandmother's house and went to the Union Terminal. I realized at Chase Intermediate School that I was being taught the same math lessons which I had learned at catholic school. I took a test for my hometown's most selective public school. I failed the math portion. I received the results and cried because I knew it would be hard for me to get a high quality education at the regular city schools. I discovered Musical Youth and England during this time. I read voraciously.

3. Junior High School

I attended a junior high school in my all-Black working class community. The white students who attended my junior high school were from an all-white working class area. It was a school filled with poor kids who were receiving a shitty quality education. I knew this when I was in the seventh grade! I was in the highest level classes. I made all A's except in physical education (I made a B). I won every academic award in the school. I worked as a library helper. I read all the time even during lunch time at school. My classmates made fun of my voracious reading appetite and my London pin which I wore on my semi-fashionable clothes. My best friend was Angelique M. She was a great best friend. I would visit her and talk about wanting to live in New York City or California. I was in love with a classmate named Itko (pronounced I-tee-ko). I was obsessed with losing weight. Every summer I would pledge to lose at least 50 lbs by the beginning of the new school year. I would try to exercise for 3-5 hours a day. I never lost any weight during the summers. Every August, I would cry in the bathroom because I was still fat. I was also had unfashionable clothes. I felt like the ugliest person alive. I was ashamed of myself because I was fat. Sometimes I just wanted to die. After two years in my neighborhood junior high school, I knew I needed to get out. I was in pre-Algebra classes for two years. I was only assigned two books to read, Treasure Island and The Witch of Blackbird Pond, in my eighth grade English course. I never had lots of challenging homework to do like the kids on The Brady Bunch. My low quality education wasn't going to prepare me for Columbia University or any other top colleges in the U.S. which I read about in Lisa Birnbach's College Book guide. I longed for a fair chance to fulfill my potential. I started calling various Catholic schools in my area. One day when I was looking through a newspaper, I saw an ad about testing for this private school. I called the school inquiring about information. I was 14 years old. My mother used her last $20 in her wallet to pay for my test at the private school. I knew I had to do well because my mother didn't have $20 to give away. I did well on every area except math. The private school cost about $12,000 USD a year plus books and supplies in 1986. I received a partial scholarship from a local private organization modeled on A Better Chance organization. 

4. High School

All I wanted to do on a September day in 1986 was to survive my first day at the private school. The school was located in the richest neighborhood in my city. I was dressed in my finest and newest outfit and shoes. This Is It by Kenny Loggins played on the oldies radio station. I thought it was the appropriate song for this pivotal moment in my life. High school wasn't just high school for me. I knew as a ninth grader that entering the gilded halls of Country Day School would change my life. I knew I was in the position to attain the education which I desperately needed to leave the Midwest behind for a top college. This rich kid's privilege was going to be my salvation. I was 1 out of 3 African-American students in my class. Many of my classmates turned 16 years old and received a BMW, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda, Audi, and even a Porsche as a birthday present. I lived in a neighborhood that most of my classmates had never visited. The yellow bus wouldn't come to my neighborhood to pick me up for school. I woke up around 6:30am to get ready for school and take a city bus to another neighborhood where I would catch the yellow bus and ride for 30 minutes to Country Day School. Most of the kids on the yellow bus were African-American. I received B's and a few C's at school. I was in hell, socially. I just didn't fit in. I wasn't rich. I wasn't white. I wasn't thin. I wasn't an East Asian or South Asian child of doctors who could pretend that being non-white wasn't an issue. I was an African-American feminist, liberal, internationalist, pro-abortion rights, Equal Rights Amendment supporter, Baptist raised, book lover. I listened to Scritti Politti, Culture Club, and B52s. I still felt ugly. I still felt ashamed of my body-size. My moods verged from hopeful to suicidal all within a day. I felt like the character Allison in The Breakfast Club. I got a job at a book store during my sophomore year. I worked on Monday and Thursday nights and the weekends. I learned so much working there. It was great to have my own money and help my mother out. I used to give my little brother money to take his girlfriends to the movies. I spent my earnings on books, music, movies, and magazines. I was still dreaming of London, New York City, Los Angeles, and many European lands. I spent one summer working at the bookstore and reading travel guides. I was so desperate to see the world that reading about it in Let's Go , Frommers, and, Rough Guide temporarily satiated my wanderlust. My sophomore year a girl from England named C. came to Country Day. I loved talking to C. because she was English. She once commented that I talked about London like I had been there. C. stopped talking with me once she was in with the popular group. I was in love with brothers. The oldest brother was C. who was a senior during my first year at Country Day. The youngest brother was D. who was one or two years ahead of me. They were from an African-American upper-middle class family. I didn't have a chance in the world with C. Nothing ever happened with D. who was the screw-up son of the Talented Tenth family. I was planning to apply to the following colleges: Sarah Lawrence,Bard,Emerson, Wesleyan University,and Pitzer. I wanted to attend a college with a filmmaking program, a liberal atmosphere, and study abroad programs. The safety school which I really never ever wanted to attend was Miami University. Some people in my community wanted me to attend Spelman College. However, I felt I was a little too eccentric for an all-Black school. My Godmother didn't believe I could get into my top college choices. She also didn't believe I'd ever leave the Midwest. My college advisor/homeroom teacher telephoned my mother to voice her concern over my selective list of out of state liberal arts colleges. My mother told my college advisor that she trusted my decisions. My father and stepmother didn't want to fill out financial aid forms. The tussle over this issue led me to have a mini-breakdown on the telephone at school. I applied early decision to Sarah Lawrence College in the fall of 1989. I received my acceptance letter and financial aid package a few days before Christmas break. It was one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever received.

Ms. World and the Toyama JET Rockstars & Superstars ROCK the Marathon Relay Race

 

 

 

 

 

 

I DID IT! Ms. World participated in her first marathon relay race on Sunday. I'm still feeling a little high from all the excitement and fun of the day. I'll give you a short run down.

I couldn't sleep on Saturday night due to the butterflies in my stomach. I was a little scared. I've never been one to participate in athletic events, so this was a big deal for me. I was really worried about pulling my weight in the race. My goal was to run about 1/6th of the laps needed to finish the race. Therefore I wanted to run at least 3 laps out of the 22 laps in order to make a significant contribution to my team.

I'm very proud to announce that I ran 3 laps at three different intervals for the Toyama JET Rockstar team. My average running time was 14 minutes. The race course was a bitch. We had to run up a hill! My running experience has been limited to running around a flat course. This was also my first experience running outside with the elements. The sun was shining, then the wind came roaring in.

It felt a little surreal as I ran through the Kanazawa Castle Park with a number on my chest and people cheering me on. My team was fantastic! We were lead by Diva Amber of Namerikawa. The other Rockstars were Sexxy Jimmy (who was the speed demon of the group), Chinatown Spice, Diva Mariette, and Diva Juri. We ran over 25 miles in 3 hours 52 minutes and 2 seconds!

Our compatriots and rivals were the Toyama JET Superstars lead by Coordinator of International Relations (C.I.R.) King Yoshi. Mr. Yoshi did an amazing job organizing our participation in the marathon. I'm very grateful to him for all his hard work and kindness. The other Superstars were Diva Amy, Diva Zazza, Diva Kirsten, and thee birthday girl aka Diva Jackie. The Superstars finished the race in 3 hours 40 minutes and 30 seconds! Yes, they kicked our butts and us honorable Rockstars have no problem admitting it.

The marathon was amazing. The air was filled with a spirit of fun and light-hearted competition. The Japanese know how to party, so as we sprinted around the park or rested, the crowd was entertained by Japanese cheerleaders, taiko drummers, and various community dance groups.

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people cheering me on as I ran throughout the race course. In all honesty, I think I run like an old person. However, I don't care. I feel it is mind blowing that I'm on the verge of becoming a jogger/runner. If someone told me two years ago that I would be living in Japan and participating in running events - I would have loudly declared them mentally insane. I see this new accomplishment as a sign of all the changes that are possible in my life.

After completing the race and receiving our certificates, we went in search of food. We actually walked to Kanazawa's central area from the castle. My feet were dying. We finally sat down to feast at an Italian restaurant. It was one of my best meals in Japan. I felt like I had worked hard for my Sunday's supper.

There are so many emotions running threw me as I write this. I can't believe I'm not a marathon virgin anymore. I can't believe that my "big girl" self can run over a mile in 14 minutes. I AM A TOTAL ROCKSTAR! In fact, I'm so hot that I've already registered to run the 5 kilometer race all by myself at the Kurobe Marathon on May 22nd. I start training in early May!

The 1st Toyama-ken Indophile Conference

   

I braved the chilly air and sporadic rain to meet Diva Kirsten in Kurobe to convene the first (as far as I know) Toyama-ken Indophile conference. This very important meeting was held at the Pizza Jamboree restaurant in Kurobe. Diva K is a lover, veteran traveler, and previous resident of Tamil Nadu in southern India. She agreed months ago to share her knowledge and travel tips about India with me.

The conference got off to a good start when I meet Diva K at the appointed time. We drove straight to the restaurant for the best pizza in Toyama-ken. Then we started talking about Toyama life and India. We only stopped talking about India because the restaurant had closed.

Diva Kirsten gave me a wide range of advice on topics such as the proper clothing to wear in hopes of avoiding sexual harassment, anti-malarial pills, strategies for coping with the heat and sickness, the greatness of second class sleeper trains in South India, drink water, a suggestion that the Taj Mahal is the ultimate day-trip, how female consumption of alcohol is viewed, eat lots of yogurt, the growing availability of ATMs, Bylakkuppe is a must for any wise traveler's itinerary, the wisdom of giving your body a week to adjust upon your arrival, eating fruits you can only peel, a suggestion that Varanasi is a two-day trip, and drink more water.

The most important statement that Diva K made was regarding the issue of sexual harassment of females in India. She told me there was no way that I could avoid being harassed by men as I travel throughout India. Kirsten also pointed out to me that I needed to think about how I would deal with the situation. My first responsive to someone trying to touch or grab a part of my body is to lash out and hit the perpetrator. But I have a very strong feeling that punching someone in India may not be a smart decision. I'm a natural screamer but I'm not sure if I should use that device all the time. I have no idea how I'm going to deal with this issue. I'm really praying that I can fly under the male radar as an African-American woman. However, I always seem to draw a lot of attention wherever I go. Kirsten thinks I'll have a small fan club following me around. I hope it is a fan club of elementary kids.

Reality Breaks My Bubble

Reality can be a complete bitch! I left work early on Thursday afternoon to attend a business meeting. I was so excited about skipping out of work early that I actually got up on time in the morning and got ready for the day with a little energy. I walked into K. Junior High School with a bounce in my step and a smile on my face. I was feeling good because I knew I wouldn`t have to spend all day at my job. Therefore it is official, I`m so over my English teaching gig.

The significant portion of the business meeting was dedicated to preparing to leave Japan. The hot topics were filing for pension reimbursement, last wages, return airfare issues, packing issues, and preparing for your successor. Aren`t you getting excited?

Thursday evening in the midst of conversation with Boston Spice it hit me - it is almost over. I have three months to teach English to my students, clean my apartment, send boxes of my accumulated Japanese effects to the Midwest, say goodbye to friends, finish revising my resume, make a traveling budget, get vaccinations for hepatitis A and B, typhoid, yellow fever, buy an anti-malarial prescription, make tons of farewell and thank you speeches in horrific Japanese, eat tempera, spend time with my Cousins and other friends who made this experience amazing for me, and try to take a self-defense course, etc.

Basically, I`m starting a slow yet subtle freak out which shall flow into a bigger freak out in the following weeks. I can`t believe I procrastinated again by socializing,  blogging, and jogging March away. Now I have tons to do when all I really want to do is play in the spring sun. URGH! Please know that I haven`t forgotten how blessed I am to be in this situation. 

It has also finally sunk into my head that I`m going to travel around Southeast Asia, India, Africa, and the Middle East by myself. Oh, my GOD! I`m really starting to think that I`m completely insane or the baddest and most adventurest foxy babe in Toyama-ken. What woman in their right mind would travel to India, South Africa, or Lebanon alone? But I know deep in my heart that this is my window of opportunity to make the traveling dreams which I`ve habored since childhood a reality. I can`t runaway from my dream simply because I can`t find a compatible travel companion. The truth is that I don`t really need a traveling partner. I don`t want to compromise. I want to travel Vietnam for a month. I want to take cooking classes in Northern Thailand. I want to explore Mumbai for 2 months while doing volunteer work and taking a Hindi or dance class. Then I want to spend another 2 months exploring `God`s own country `as  Diva Scorps1027 refers to her motherland.

Ms. World, Boston Spice & Cousin Irish Jo Get Their Purikura Groove On

 

I was walking around the Panarama House when I saw the purikura machine. I got so excited that I called my cousins. We just had to do some purikura on our trip. Here are photos! Don`t we look like happy cousins?

She who comes with her own things

Right now I've got Ms. Ntozake Shange on my mind. She is a wild colored woman who wrote books that helped me explore the rough and sweet terrain of Black American women's lives in the 1970s.

Ms. Shange is famous for her theater drama, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. The play broke ground in the seventies for being one of the first "choreopoem" dramas to be produced on Broadway.

My aunt took me to see a local production of the drama when I was around 8 years old. I remember sitting in awe as women in magnificent colored clothing danced and talked with passion and verve on stage. It was one of my first introductions to live theater.

However, my favorite work by Ms. Shange is Sassafras, Cypress, & Indigo. This is a story of three sisters growing up in the late 1960's and early 1970's.The book is the tale of three intelligent, artistic, soulful, and adventurous Black young women. They are struggling to define themselves within the context of their relationships with their mother, each other, men, and their place in the world.

I love this book because it is one of my first encounters with adventurous, liberated Black women in literature. I would read excerpts from this book to give me strength during the dark period in my early twenties.      

"I found god in myself/& I loved her/I loved her fiercely." Ntozake Shange

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