On Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 2 pm to 4 pm, there's a book signing event with Reverend Ronald Nakasone - Author of Okinawan Diaspora. The word Diaspora, according to my Asian American studies class Professor, Dr. Wesley Ueunten, means the spreading of the people. In other words, the dispersion of a group migrating from their home country. In this case, the book Okinawan Diaspora is about the Okinawans' diasporic experiences in the continental US, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Cuba, Paraguay, New Caledonia, and the islands of Micronesia. The book stresses on the geopolitical issues from an East Asian point of view.
Reverend Ronald Nakasone started off by talking about a lot of his own firsthand diasporic experiences of being a Japanese American. Hostess Rosalyn Tonai helped orchestrate a Q & A session afterwards. Rev. Ronald Nakasone then took a few questions from a crowd of audience. He also introduced to the audience a music CD he sells in relation to his book. Dr. Wesley Ueunten played a couple of famous Okinawan songs for the audience using his signiture musical instrument called sanshin. The crowd was singing along with Dr. Ueunten's songs. Finally, Rev. Ronald Nakasone did a autograph signing session of copies of his book. This concluded the book release gathering for the book Okinawan Diaspora.
I had a good time attending the book signing event, especially because it was during the Cherry Blossom Festival. Though the event was solemn, the atmosphere was lively. I learned from the candid speech delivered by Rev. Ronald Nakasone from his firsthand experience. I also enjoyed the music delivered by Professor Ueunten immensely. Overall, introspectively, I felt that I shouldn't take granted for the good experiences I've had as a US citizen.
