On December 16, 2021, FST graduate student, Tracy-Ann Hyman launched her book entitled,  “How Do You Use Those DARN CHOPSTICKS?!: A Memoir of a Jamaican Woman who Lived and Studied in Japan.” The book documented her journey while living in Japan, including the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the resultant nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant.  The inspiration behind the name of the book came from her experience learning to use chopsticks and hence for her, “chopsticks became the very metaphor for her time in Japan (the culture shock, adjustments, and life-changing experience).” Ms. Hyman’s “journey as chronicled in her book compelled her to learn more about herself and her identity as a black woman.” “How Do You Use Those DARN CHOPSTICKS?!: A Memoir of a Jamaican Woman who Lived and Studied in Japan” is the second book at the National Library of Jamaica (NLJ) that speaks to Japan and its culture.

Ms. Hyman’s sojourn to Japan was made possible through an awarded Monbukagakusho Scholarship (MEXT scholarship) that allowed her to pursue a master’s degree at the prestigious University of Tokyo.