The “Island Rithm Beauties,” from left, Jonita Marques, Christine Concepcion-Garcia, and Francine Mesa-Gaines perform at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa. (Fred Zimmerman / Stars and Stripes)
CAMP LESTER, Okinawa — U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa celebrated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on Friday with a series of events in the galley.
To start, various Asian Pacific foods were offered on the serving line — everything from Philippine lumpia to Korean barbecue beef to Hawaiian garlic chicken.
An hourlong show, which began just after the lunch rush, included a language lesson from the guest speaker, Lt. Cmdr. Ken Uyesugi, a hospital optometrist.
Uyesugi said ethnic celebrations typically celebrate traditions and ancestry, but he wanted to focus on the English language. He told his audience they would learn about 50 English words either taken or borrowed from Asian or Pacific Islander languages.
Uyesugi said ketchup, for instance, is derived from languages spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia and Canton, China. Numerous common “sailor culture” terms have come from the region, he explained, such as “chow” (Chinese/Cantonese), “dungarees” (Hindi) and “gung ho” (Chinese/Mandarin).
After Uyesugi’s English lesson, various performers took the stage. The “Island Rithm Beauties” performed several hula dances and Hospital Master Labor Contract employees performed a traditional Okinawan dance.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Mustapha Ballaho, the event’s organizer, said he was overwhelmed by the response from those who participated. While not all groups could be represented during the show, Ballaho said, displays throughout the hospital helped highlight all cultures.
“This event is important because being on Okinawa, we are already in a different culture,” he said, “but at the same time, this event promotes more diversity than just Okinawa and Japan.”
