Another year goes by. My 9th in Japan. I never thought I would still be here 9 years later and will I complete a decade? We shall see next year.
2023 was the year we decided to ignore COVID-19. Treat it just like a cold, never mind the flu. No masking. Barely any vaccinations. Flights are as full as before COVID-19, yet 3x as expensive. Airlines have to recoup their losses. No one cares about the sick or vulnerable anymore; even if we are all vulnerable.
As for me, I set out to live out the year 2023 a day at a time. I found peace in the mundane tasks of daily life. As I wrote earlier this year when setting my goals for the year, “2023 may or may not be a defining year for me and my little family, but I look forward to squeezing joy out of every big or small moment this year has to offer.” And I think that is what I did.
Here are some of the things I was able to achieve this year:
Translating Kusadikika into English
One of my proudest achievements was translating Kusadikika, a Swahili classic literature book, into English. I didn’t have a writer or copy editor so I am sure there are a few typos here and there. Bear with me. I self-published on Amazon Kindle in April but to this day, I am yet to receive even a single cent of the 40 dollars or so from the 10 copies sold so far (so many issues receiving money from abroad in Japan, I’ve been trying to sort it out). But I didn’t do it for the money, did I? Anyway, I have set up a kofi account so you can send me tips, and in turn, I can email you an e-pub copy of the book.
Jogging at least 25Km a month
With the exception of August, when I was in Kenya for a holiday, I have jogged 25 Kilometers, more or less, every month. I will do a separate post about this, that’s how proud I am. Where do I even find the time to jog, you ask? It’s all because I work from home. I jog at lunch time or in the evening after work, the time I would have spent on the evening commute. I typically do 5K runs and up to 8-10km when I have time, which is rare.
And I know I get a tone of advice on how to run faster or better or longer, but I don’t want to hear it. What I am doing is enough for me right now.
Going to Kenya in August for a one-month holiday
It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t cheap flying with a toddler and a 10-year-old across multiple continents. So I’m proud I was able to take this holiday to spend time with my family.
I also reconnected with a few friends from campus (college) and we had a short holiday in Diani.
The Ones Left Behind Documentary: I was on the Red Carpet at Yokohama Film Festival
I never thought in my life that I would walk the red carpet. It was such an exciting evening mingling with actual celebrities at the Yokohama Film Festival, where the documentary highlighting the plight of single mothers in Japan had been selected for screening. I was one of the single mothers interviewed.
My Career in 2023
I have been in the same company and role since 2019. It has been a great learning experience but I have reached the point where I ask myself, what next? I am still searching for the answer to this question.
I managed to publish one paper this year. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to travel to the conference in Paris and had to present online. That sucked.
Reading in 2023
I had an initial goal of reading a book a month. I revised that goal down to 6 books a year. Between a full-time job as a research scientist and a never-ending-job as a single mother, and the jogging and Netflix, I could hardly squeeze in time for a book! I have read 9 books so far and I’m on my 10th.
My favorite read was Wonder by RJ Palacio. It’s a YA book but it is deep and involving enough for adults too. My other favorite was Pop Flies, Robo Pets and Other Disasters by Suzzane Kamata, also a YA book but a bit lighter than Wonder. I would also totally recommend H.G.Wells’ Time Machine and communion by bell hooks.
Writing in 2023
Aside from the Kusadikika translation and a few blog posts here and there, I did not find time to write any fiction (short stories) or essays or to start on my memoir about my life in Japan. I really hope to do that in 2024. I have so many ideas but I am limited by time.
Traveling in 2023
Going to Kenya in August was the major travelling that we did for the year. But we also traveled quite a bit locally, going to Ishikawa twice to visit my Japanese parents and going to Hakone and to Tateyama in Chiba for a weekend each time. On our most recent trip to Ishikawa, Jeremy was able to meet some of his nursery classmates from 5 years ago! They’ve grown so much, from gap-toothed little boys to 10-year-old 5th graders.
J & K
The boys grew a lot this year (They turned 2 &10). Jeremy in particular is so tall now and his shoe size is larger than mine. The boys are happy and healthy and smart too. If there is one thing I would change in 2024, it would be to reduce the amount of screen time for all of us!
Studying Japanese & Running a half-marathon
To be honest, I have enough on my plate as is, so I shall continue to ignore these so-called goals!
I hope you have enjoyed this recap. I also hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy Wishes for the New Year 2024!
Savvy Kenya in Japan 
Wow, look at all those accomplishments for 2023! Round of applause, you are amazing and I am wishing you many more successes and lots of family time in 2024.
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thank you! Reading this now and I can see I did a lot in 2023.
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