But then I'm human

I want to it all,
The status, the money, the prize,
I want to achieve every one of my goal,
But then again, I'm also human,

I want to make plans,
I want to stick to all those plans,
From the professional to the personal ones,
But then again, I'm also human,

I want to be that friend,
Who commits to all my promises,
One you can always depend on,
But then again, I'm also human,

I would like to please everyone,
Cause I can't handle rejection from anyone,
I would like to see the good in everyone,
But then again I'm human,

I always want to be right,
Because that's what makes you bright,
I never want to make mistakes,
But then again, I'm also human,

If I was a robot, I would always be commendable,
I would never procrastinate or get tired,
But I wouldn't be happy or relatable,
So I'm grateful I'm human,

If I was a robot,
I would crash, if something minute went wrong,
I would probably never rise up again,
So I'm grateful I'm human,

If I was robot, I would never disappoint,
I would always do what I'm told,
But I would have no ideas to contribute,
So I'm grateful, I'm human,

Hey overachiever,
Your attitude achieves wonders,
Although you are aspire to be superman/woman,
Sometimes its okay to be human,

Japan ... the land of Green Tea and Fish

As the title suggests this article is about my latest adventure – Japan. I was in Japan last week, attending ICFP (International Conference of Functional Programming). If you are interested in the actual conference read here, this article is about the fun part.

I arrived in Japan on Friday 16^th September with lots of jetlag considering they are 7 hours ahead.  I arrived a day early to do some sightseeing which came pretty handy considering I woke up at noon the next day #Jetlag. I made good use of the half day by visiting most of the touristy places in Nara. Japan turned me from being an early riser to a night owl. Perhaps due to jetlag I couldn’t sleep up until 4 am everyday. Its taking a while to readjust but I’m not complaining.

Nara is a small town that was the first permanent capital of Japan. The capital was moved due to the threat of Buddhist monasteries. It is a tourist destination for that and many other reasons. The conference took place at the Nara Kasugano International Forum in NaraPark.

People:

People are so friendly, unbelievably friendly. When I arrived my phone was out of charge, so I couldn’t access google maps to get to my hotel and taxi drivers couldn’t understand English. A couple I met at a store were more than happy to escort me to my hotel. Whether it is motivated by cultural values or tourism, it definitely saved my life, literally. People are so approachable that you no longer feel like an outsider even though you look different. All around the city, there are visitor’s centers where tourists can just chill, use free-wifi, get directions and maps and experience different Japanese activities such as trying the Kimono, for free. All that you could ever need, especially when you are travelling solo.

Another observation I’ve had is that Japanese are very comfortable in their own skin, and it doesn’t mean they are not progressive. It’s a lesson that hit home very hard. While in Africa speaking broken English is a matter of shame, the Japanese don’t ever bat an eye, signs at the airport. They are more than comfortable to admit that they don’t speak English and those that are learning will be happy to practice their English with you.

In many places -restaurants, hotels, some shops- you have to take off your shoes outside. A very African tradition that is saving them lots of cleaning costs and time. There is not a lot of rubbish bins around yet the cities are sparkling clean. They are so disciplined that they take their rubbish to their home. I can only imagine how much cleaning expenses they are saving. African has a lot to learn from Japan.

Food:

As the title suggests, green tea is a major component of Japanese cuisine. Its offered in all sorts of forms, cold tea, hot tea, biscuits, kitkats (yes, green tea flavored chocolates) you name it. It’s the complimentary drink offered in restaurants, you find cold bottled green tea in vending machines that are literally everywhere. I guess that explains why the Japanese are so small.

If you look carefully , you will see Green tea flavored kitkats

I tried lots of other Japanese dishes, most of which was some form of rice and fish. These include Tempura, Takoyaki, Kushikatsu, Kushikatsu, Udon plus a couple others that I can barely pronounce. What stood out for me was tempura, and already trying the recipe. Throughout my stay I ate fish pretty much every day,  now understand why the Japanese are so smart.

Sightseeing in Nara:

I visited a couple of temples in Nara including the Todaiji temple, Kokufuji temple and Gangoji temple. They are very similar, Todaiji is different as it has a big statue of Buddha. I saw a couple of shrines but the grand Kasuga shrine stands out from the rest. As the name suggests, it is grand. There is a lots of history attached to it. It’s also a great running spot.

At the grand Kasuga shrine

I also hiked up the Wakakusayama hills. These are 3 hills lined in parallel that from the front it looks like one hill and from the side it looks like 3 hills. It’s a 20 minute hike, being used to hiking up to campus daily it was no big deal. You pay 150 Yen to hike but the view from the top was worth it.

View from the hills

I got to visit Naramachi as well. Naramachi is a small town that used to be a merchant town. There are many ancient shops (machiya) that have small store fronts because tax was calculated on the property’s street access not its area. Most of the houses there have red stuffed monkeys hanging from the door post. According to the Shiryokan religion, it brings luck. I intended to visit many of the museums but most of them were closed so I only visited the Shiryokan museum, which in addition to having free admission, offers explanation of the Shiryokan religion.

Naramachi treasures

shiryokan museum

red stuffed monkeys for luck

It would be a sin if I didn’t mention Nara deers.  Deers roam about the streets of Nara like its no big deal. They even have deer crackers and if you happen to have one, deers will bow to you. It is believed that bowing to the deers brings luck.

feeding deers

Shopping:

Spoiler alert, Japan is not the shopping destination with a student budget, at least not if you convert to African currencies before buying. It is cheaper compared to Western countries but not as cheap. Food is affordable but many other things are not, especially clothing and souvenirs. Being a tea lover, I loaded up on tea, all sorts of Japanese tea.

some very-expensive souvenirs

Osaka in a day:

On the last day, I toured around Osaka for the city experience. I got the Osaka Amazing Pass which I highly recommend to anyone going to Osaka, it gives you unlimited train access and entrance to the major touristy places for a day or two depending on which one you got. After getting lost at the not-small-and-confusing train stations, I visited Umeda, Namba and the Osaka Castle Area.

At Umeda, I visited the Sky Building floating garden, Hep Five Ferris Wheel and Osaka Science Museum. The sky building is a connected pair of skyscrapers 173 m high, that lets you overlook the cityscape of Osaka. The view was spectacular. It is one of the 20 tallest buildings and its construction introduced the lifting building technique. There is a lot to be learnt from Japanese design, from toilets that retain water from washing hands for flushing to construction technology. The Hep Ferris wheel is similar to the London eye; it gives a spectacular view of Osaka. There are also a gazillion of fashion and gourmet shops around.

Ferris wheel

Floating garden

An interesting spot was the Osaka Science Museum, a scientists’ heaven. While our children watch soap opera on Sunday afternoon, Japanese kids go to play at the science museum. The museum has fun demonstrations of hard-to-grasp physics concepts like Electromagnetism, Electrodynamics, Black Holes among many others. I remember watching 8 year olds playing with a toy generator to flash an LED and thinking just how much more they will have learnt and probably invented by the time they go to college. It is no mystery now why the Japanese and Asians are generally smart.

told you I like flying

Playground at the museum

trying to get smart

Namba was also an interesting site. I walked along the Namba walk which is an underground street with a gazillions of shops and many other services. I also took a stroll along Nara Parks. Being a huge station, I went around circles many times even though I had a map. I owe my survival to the strangers who were always willing to point me in the right direction.

Namba by night

Osaka by night

At the end of the day, my feet were sore but it’s a good thing I had a 28-hour flight to recover.  I wish I saw more of Tokyo but I only passed through the airport.

Tokyo airport

I have been to Western countries but Japan just felt different. On one hand it is so developed with so much infrastructure, on the other hand, it is very traditional. It’s a balance I hope Africa will achieve some day. All in all, Japan was great, I unwinded and learnt a lot. Apart from the language barrier and weird sleeping cycles from jetlag and of course visa limitations, I would totally stay in Japan.

Stay tuned for my next adventure (you may take a guess where that will be).

In Abundance

The world is designed to make us feel small; too insufficient to perform our responsibilities, too time constrained to enjoy life, too slow to keep up, too incompetent compared with others, too small to dream. No wonder we are the generation suffering from anxiety, stress and depression. This feeling sometimes motivates to aim higher but in the long run or too much of it, doesn't benefit anyone.

How about doing the opposite? Against all odds, think in abundance  instead,  in other words, be delusional. It might seem naive but great ideas and good work don't come from stressed minds.They come from relaxed and happy minds. Good news is, it is not impossible. Even with realities constantly hitting us we can tune our minds to think abundantly with gratitude. With gratitude, past accomplishments fuel even more accomplishments, failures open up other opportunities. No matter the outcome, there is always something good to look forward to. With gratitude, we have enough, we are enough. An abundant attitude is not about believing you have it all, its about being satisfied with what you have. Try it and watch your life grow abundantly.

Have an abundant week ahead!

The London story

So I was in London last week, I was there for Google Android Camp 2016 , if you want to know more about the technical details go here. This article is all about the adventure, its longer than my usual ones grap a cuppa and enjoy the ride.

Sunday 31st July:
I arrived at Gatwick airport around 7:30 am, after flying for almost 20 hours from Cape Town. I have heard the British accent before but hearing it live made me love it even more.  I took a train to the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel where we were all checked in. After flying for 20 hours my body wanted to take a rest but my mind just wanted to do stuff, you know like send emails before exploring London alone. So I followed my mind. An acquaintance had invited me to Cambridge so Cambridge it was. Its fairly easy to navigate through Great Britain, since all the directions are printed and people are approachable to ask.I took 2 trains, to King's Cross Station then to Cambridge station.  On  the 1 hour train to Cambridge I sat next to a Kenyan lady, we connected on a lot of things. I also got to get a view of the Arsenal stadium. After my meeting with my acquaintance, I stayed a bit more to explore King's College London, it really is beautiful. I wandered aimlessly around the college, I definitely got lost but good thing is you can always ask.

king's college, Cambridge

you also agree that Cambridge is beautiful, right?

proper #tourist

wish I captured the music too!

Arsenal Stadium

 So, eventually I found my way back to the train station. On the way back I slept unconsciously, someone woke me up when we arrived... Thank you kind people of London. I then went straight to dinner prepared by the Google team, it was delish!!



Monday, 1st August:
Started the new month by hitting the hotel gym, for the first time. Didn't enjoy it because I enjoy running outdoors than watching the clock almost not moving. The day was filled with lots of learning and fun activities at Google. Can I talk about Food at Google? Despite having great meals , they have snacks all over the place (both healthy and the not so healthy). You can already guess which ones I had, don't judge. In the evening we had a scavenger hunt followed by a ride along London eye.

1)Scavenger hunt
We were given instructions to take pictures at some touristy places namely BuckingHam Palace, Westminster Abbey and the BigBen. The result?

with my very multinational and cool team

Mandela is honored everywhere

Westminster Abbey

2) London eye.
London eye is a huge wheel where you get a view of the whole of London and its beautiful. Pictures speak louder than words, so.

Big ben from London eye

The London view is especially spectacular at night. Finally we had dinner at Pizza Express, yum!

The journey back to the hotel was filled with magical views.

Big Ben by night

Tuesday, 2nd August:
Also hit the gym, this time I stayed longer, score!
The day was filled with work, talks, work until at Dinner at Kazan- a Turkish restaurant
Dinner.

starter

main course

dessert

the room with the view

turkish tea

The rest of the week:
Unfortunately I fell sick, I woke up with severe headache and fever. There was nothing else I could do than read, walk and sleep.I used the off-time to read You only have to be right once,by Randall Lane. I almost dosed off during the sessions, I eventually got pain killers which sorta helped. We had a hackathon on Thursday to Friday but I didn't have the stamina to stay up all night. I still feel guilty but am ever grateful to my team mates for taking charge. The hackathon ended on Friday.

hackathon treats!

post hackathon dinner - starter

post hackathon dinner

Saturday, 6th August.
My plane was leaving at 8:40 pm from Heathrow. This was the day to wait for it.. wander. I woke up quite early (5 am if you are curious), but struggled to get out of bed due to the fever and joint pains. I had planned to run hoping I would be feeling better. I walked instead and ran a little, it was a good plan as I got to take these breath taking pictures along the Royal parks (St James park). London really is beautiful.

I then went to park, checked-out and decided to explore like a real tourist - Hop on/Hop Off sightseeing buses. I love travelling for the fun of figuring out new places spontaneously, alone, getting lost and eventually finding my way. I didn't get lost this time, probably because I used the good old paper map.

I really liked the way the guided narrated, mostly because I love British accent.

I saw lots of interesting places, here are just a few that impressed me. You can read all their historic significance online, I will present pictures (and a bit of text that I actually remember.)
1) Westminster
All roads lead to Westminster. Big Ben, the house of Parliament, River Thames, Westminster Abbey  and London eye are all located here. No surprise that it is constantly buzzing with tourists

2) Buckingham Palace
The Queen's palace.

3) London Bridge and the Waterloo bridge and other bridges

My ticket included a boat cruise so a cruise I took. Got to see many bridges but was most impressed by the famous London bridge and women's bridge. The Waterloo bridge was built by women during the Second World War, trust me when I say women are natural engineers.

London bridge

view from the cruise

4) Trafalgar square

5) The National Museum

Admission is FREE!!!. Now you know why I stopped there.

6)King's Cross
There is a Harry Potter shop by the station. Harry Potter fans will understand..:)

Dolby has no master...

8)Oxford Street and Regent Street
Oxford Street was so full I couldn't see the ground, am told it is the busiest street in London.

9) Marble Arch.

10) Tower of London

I wanted to see a lot more but time wasn't permitting. I even planned to take the free Harry Potter walk, but didn't make it on time. Time was so short, that I got to the check-in counter just before it closed (smart move , Ima), and yes I was the last passenger to check in, no regrets though. Thanks to the kindness of Emirates, I boarded safely, where as soon as I settled the headache sneaked back in forcing me to sleep. Missing my flight was so close that I had a dream that I was still in the streets of London since I missed my flight .. (Be punctual kids, its good for you dreams ...;))


Sunday , 7th August. 
I started the journey to CapeTown from 10:00 am from Dubai.

Dubai is so hot that the ocean is boiling

 It was my first time to see such an empty Emirates plane. Everyone has 3 seats to themselves, can't complain , it made sleeping a whole lot comfortable.

my photography skills are improving

Beautiful CapeTown from above

Thanks to power points and on-air wifi, I did some schoolwork (or at least tried to until I realized I was under utilizing free movies infront of me). Landed in the mother city at 8pm and had to face the realities of life like winter, assignments, thesis, headache and fever. Let's not talk about that, shall we?

 I hope to get better soon. Sickness aside, London was so much fun. I hope to visit it again in the future. Stay tuned for more travel adventures.