JET Programme Series: Okinoshima Fire - Ariel Matthews

The history of this island is quite literally- hot!
 

It began 250 million years ago when the entire Japanese archipelago was still connected to the Eurasian supercontinent. (We have Oki Gneiss a type of metamorphic rock to prove it!)
 

Then, 26 million years ago, it began to slowly separate, the land stretched, water came in certain parts and, guess what?
 

The very land I now stand on was at the bottom of a great lake.
 

The separation, splitting and other movement continued, sea water entered the lake and formed what is now called the Sea of Japan.
 

These magical islands clearly wanted in on some of the action and about 6 million years ago, started to rise as a result of massive tectonic activity.
 

Now, sitting majestically between mainland Japan and South Korea is the group of islands called Okinoshima islands or Oki islands for short.
 

Due to Oki’s remote location, it was also once a place where people were exiled starting with a former emperor of Japan. Like Trinidad, all the people who came to the island, left some aspect of themselves on it. Consequently, Oki boasts of a rich and unique culture that is hard to rival.
 

Over the years, nature has carefully sculpted these islands so that they are now brimming with traceable and untouched history! It has surely earned the right which it now enjoys as a UNESCO Global Geopark.
 

(It’s sometimes hard to believe that less than 2 months ago, I was in my apartment in St. Augustine and now I am living on a Global Geopark. These are the things that happen when you apply to the JET Programme!)
 

I live on the largest of the Oki islands which has a population of about 15,000. The people are very kind and regularly give me fruits and vegetables. I am the only person who looks like me on this island and although some people do stare, it is never done with malice.
 

The children at my schools are now able to say Trinidad and Tobago, locate it on a map, say the colours of our flag and we also listened to some sweet pan music together. Nothing brings more joy than being able to be an ambassador for the nation of your birth. I am always ready to talk about my islands!
 

Oki is like walking back in time to how our parents and grandparents told us Trinidad was back in the days.
 

There is no crime. In Oki, people leave their doors open. People literally never lock their doors. They order packages and come home after work to find it in their homes because the delivery men are trusted to open your door and come in to deliver your item when you are not around.
 

Oki has shown me that kindness, love and a gentler way of living is possible, IN 2018, NOT JUST IN THE PAST!


JET Series: Okinoshima Fire (Japanese Embassy Facebook)


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