Happy Birthday to Panama!

School children in Cameroon *Photo from Wikipedia January 1 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Cameroon from France in 1960. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões (“Shrimp River”), which became Cameroon in English. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the 1950s, leading to the Cameroonian Independence War. In 1960,

Women in traditional attire. *Photo from Wikipedia December 1 is Restoration of Independence Day, celebrates the end of the Philippine Dynasty. The revolution of 1640 ended the 60-year rule of Portugal by the Spanish Habsburgs. Portugal as a country was established in the aftermath of the Christian Reconquista against the Muslim Moors who had invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 711 AD. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the world’s major economic, political and military powers. During this period, today referred to as the Age of Discovery, Portuguese explorers pioneered maritime exploration,

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi & Tomomi Tada Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   Camila Furuhata (Colombia) Colombian cuisine instructor (She’s been in Japan since ’96) My Eyes Tokyo brings you interviews with teachers from Niki’s Kitchen. It’s a cooking school in which foreigners teach their homeland dishes to Japanese people. The 7th interviewee is Camila Furuhata from Colombia, who is gentle and has a brilliant smile just like an angel. We were the ones who got healed by her smile and couldn’t help asking her kiddingly, “Can we stay here and have dinner tonight?” Then she told me with a big