Happy Birthday to Nigeria!

The island of Mustique in the Grenadines. *Photo from Wikipedia October 27 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from United Kingdom in 1979. The island now known as Saint Vincent was originally named Youloumain by the native Island Caribs who called themselves Kalina/Carina. The Caribs aggressively prevented European settlement on Saint Vincent until 1719. Prior to this, formerly enslaved Africans, who had either been shipwrecked or who had escaped from Barbados, Saint Lucia and Grenada and sought refuge in mainland Saint Vincent, intermarried with the Caribs and became known as Black Caribs or Garifuna.

Aerial view of Nauru. *Photo from Wikipedia January 31 is Nauru’s Independence Day, celebrates independence from Australia in 1968. Settled by native peoples from Micronesia and Polynesia, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, who were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, the country entered into UN trusteeship. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi & Tomomi Tada Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   Hassan El Masry (Egypt) Arabic cuisine chef/instructor (He’s been in Japan since 2009) The 9th interviewee of ”MET × Niki’s Kitchen” is Hassan El Masry, a man from Egypt. He has been successful as an Arabic cuisine chef for 33 years all over the world. Arabic cuisine might be a little unfamiliar to Japan because of its location. Probably you are interested in his class and cuisine in Niki’s kitchen. Surprisingly he used to be a belly dancer in Egypt! What we found through his cooking class