The Grass is always greener...

Fridays, for me, are typically one of my "long" days; I have classes all morning, and in the afternoon I have a couple classes, the last of which does not usually end until almost 6:30pm. Today I was pleasantly surprised when, as I began to walk out to start my morning classes with the 3yr olds I was told that it was "fieldtrip day", and that we (the 5yr old class) were going to the Flower Garden for half the day. Translation: no morning classes to teach. Sugoi!!

It's strange; I would never have considered myself a "flower person", but particuarly from an amatuer photographer's point-of-view, I've found myself appreciating them more & more. Even though I was without either of my cameras today (which I mentally kick myself for), I was still able to appreciate, and at times was in genuine awe, at the beauty of the flora I saw in the garden. It didn't hurt that the day was absolutely PERFECT for viewing flowers; it was sunny & warm, but with enough of a breeze that it didn't feel hot. Even after running around and chasing/being chased by the kids after lunch, I found that I hadn't really sweat all that much.

But in between holding little hands & walking in single file, eating lunch on little plastic place mats, and being chased by little legs I did have a few moments to reflect, and there was one thought in particular that I felt was worth recalling, thus this blog entry. Although there are a few things about my job (or life in Japan, in general) that can be frustrating, one such thing that I've found myself being repeatedly frustrated about is the fact that my Japanese is still VERY limited, and thus my capacity to have any sort of meaningful dialogue with my kids is likewise limited. Considering that most of them are only 3-5yrs old, even if I could speak/understand more Japanese I don't imagine my conversations with them would be terribly deep. However, in the lunchroom or on the playground it would be nice to be able to do more than catch one or two words that I know, and then proceed to nod politely (occasionally throwing in random Japanese words I actually DO know) while the kids chatter away at me as if I understood perfectly what they were saying. I actually DO want to know what they're saying. I know Japanese, like learning any 2nd language, is not easy, and there are many subtle nuances of the language that textbooks cannot teach you, subtlties that take years to understand and master well. However, I often find myself wishing I were "already there", that my Japanese was already at a level of proficiency whereby I could more-easily communicate with my kids. I had one such thought today while we were walking back to the buses to leave the flower garden, but then I immediately had another thought...


So often in life, I think people are always looking ahead to the next thing. If we're not proficient in Japanese, we look forward to the day we can be fluent. If we're not married, we can't wait to find a spouse & get married. If we want kids and don't have them, all we can think about is having kids someday. When we do have kids, we can't wait for them to speak so that they can TELL us what they want. If we don't have a certain job, or a certain car, or a certain game system, or phone, etc, etc...all we can think about is "how much better would life be if I had _________." But once we get those things, we often begin to realize that what we had (or didn't have) before wasn't so bad: if we're in a relationship, sometimes we miss the freedom of being single; once our kids are finally able to walk and talk (and thus talk back & get into EVERYTHING), we sometimes regret that they're so mobile and expressive; if we get that expensive new phone (with a 2yr contract, which was the only way we could afford it in the first place), it's fun to play with it at first, but after a few months when the gloss & glitter has dulled, we realize we're now left w/ an expensive toy AND burdened with a contract that we wish we could get out of. I could go on & on, but I think you get the point. We're never quiet satisfied with where we're at. Somehow, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

So back to my earlier example: communicating with the kids. I think in that moment, God spoke to me. As great as it would be to be able to understand and communicate with the Japanese children, there are certain advantages to not being able to understand them. For starters, if they're mouthing off to me or trying to tell me my class is boring, I'll never know (and thus can't take it personally). Secondly, not being able to understand them gets me out of doing certain tasks that the other native-speaking Japanese teachers are expected to do, thus freeing me up to focus more on my lessons. I know that probably sounds horrible for me to say, but being a brand-new teacher, those precious few hours and minutes that I have to plan and prepare are invaluable in the beginning. And since that's where I'm at, I think God was reminding me to appreciate where I'm at rather than longing to be somewhere I'm not yet. Perhaps in time, I'll learn enough Japanese, and become familiar enough with the teachers and students, that more responsibility WILL be given to me. And at times, that might seem like a burden and I'll wish that I were back to being ignorant of everything again. And if I don't enjoy where I'm at now, and am not able to enjoy where I might be in the future, then at no point will I ever feel "content"! But if I sit back and enjoy where I'm at now, then as things begin to change, I can learn to appreciate those changes, and thus can be content no matter where I'm at in life. I think the apostle, Paul, said it best in Philippians when he wrote:

"I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

- Philippians 4:10-13

The grass may seem greener on the other side of the fence, but I want to be thankful that I have any grass at all. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to have joy in all circumstances :)

The beauty of Japan, entry 1: Shrines & Parks

I think anyone who has visited Japan for more than 30min would have to agree that there is a LOT of beauty to this somewhat-tiny country. Some of you who have never stepped foot in Japan know this simply from the amazing touristy pictures you seen online, or maybe in brochures. But I feel I would be remiss to have a blog about Japan and NOT dedicate some space to talking about, and revealing, some of its beauty. If only pictures & words could do it more justice!!

For this entry, I wanted to focus on shrines & parks, mostly because I just visited one today, it was a beautiful day, and so I brought my camera & took lots of pictures :D Although it might appear somewhat random that I placed shrines & parks together, there is a method to my madness: in Japan, the two almost seem to be synonymous with each other.

Now, that's not to say that there aren't parks without shrines, and vice versa, but certainly in my limited experiences, whenever I see a shrine, it's usually enclosed, with benches and trees everywhere, and often there are also some manner of playground equipment. To a foreigner like myself, it almost appears that maybe all of these shrines were once built and used, but have now been mostly forgotten about, and so were kinda "converted" to parks and playgrounds.

The architecture of the shrines are breathtaking. Similar to the elaborate churches & cathedrals of olde, these shrines are beautiful in the simplicity of their layout juxtaposed with the complexity of the intricate detail given to each tile and inscription. Although I have no idea what any of the writing says (it's all in kanji), in a strange way that makes the experience all the more mysterious and adventuresome.

Almost inveriably at each shrine, there is a box of some kind where patrons can drop in some money and offer up a prayer/request. They then tug on a rope, which is attached to a bell, which I believe serves to alert that particular god of whatever prayer/request that was made. As a Christian, it saddens my heart to see such beauty and effort (and money) delivered in vain to a god or gods that do not exist. Some of my friends have mentioned feeling a strange, or almost evil, presence when entering some of these shrines or temples. As of yet I have not felt such a presence; only a wistful feeling of regret that most of these beautiful Japanese people to not know and worship the only One worthy of such homage, Jesus Christ.

But that's why we (Christians) are here; to share the truth, in love, and patiently watch to see how lives are transformed as more people come to know the living God.

Such beauty :)

Tis the season

In Japan, starting in March and usually ending sometime in April, there is a very popular event known as "hanami" ("hana" = flower, "mi" = to see or view). Although the kanji for hanami (花身) literally means "flower viewing", it typically refers to the cherry blossom trees that bloom for a short time during the March/April springtime. Although at any given place hanami only lasts for a week or two, the cherry blossom tree buds bloom at different times throughout Japan, so consequently the season of hanami, if one were to follow the cherry blossoms' blooming throughout the country, usually lasts until around the end of April. For a shutterbug like me, this was a wonderful excuse to bust out the D40, not to mention enjoy the INCREDIBLE weather we've had the past couple of days! Things are starting to warm up around Japan, which (for now) is a welcome change. It's so beautiful today that it's a shame that I've been fighting off a scratchy throat/runny nose. Although my six or fewer hours of sleep/night lately certainly hasn't helped much, my money is on the 100 or so little germ-factories that I now have the pleasure of teaching each week >.< soap =" proof">I don't really mind it all that much, though if it IS what's making me sick, there's got to be a better way to do this (or else it's going to be a LOOOONG year X-P)

In other news, tonight was the first night that Drew and I have visited Ai-chan & Chris's apartment in Itami. About the size of a studio apartment in the U.S., it was a quaint and comfortable (and not really too crowded) experience. Ai & Iku-chan cooked for us, and afterwards we enjoyed a large array of snacks & sweets. Throw in some good conversation, and a little bit of 10th Avenue North playing, and you have a winning combination of a night! A huge thanks to Chris & Ai for their wonderful hospitality!! Ok, it's time to get my sick body into bed.

Peace.

Yea, I started a blog! Now what...?

Ok, so I finally did it. I've started a blog. Let's hope I actually keep up with it >,<

My flights from Orlando --> San Francisco --> Osaka, Japan actually went pretty well. My flight into San Fran was actualy a little early. While I did manage to drift in & out of sleep during my Orlando --> San Fran flight, the TWELVE hour flight to Osaka I stayed up the entire time. I couldn't sleep!! Ironically, it was only as we began to descend into Osaka to land that the lack of sleep really hit me. Too bad my Japanese journey had only begun...

Upon landing in Kansai Airport, I made it easily enough through customs and received my luggage without trouble (though my BRAND NEW suitcase looked like they had played kickball with it on the tarmac >.<). Unfortunately, upon exiting the baggage claim, a startling reality hit me: I had NO ONE'S contact info whatsoever. Not the school's. Not Drew's (my American roommate/co-worker friend). Nobody's. D'oh. However, I did know enough to go to Osaka (Umeda) Station, and from there find the train that would take me to Kakogawa.

Naturally, it wasn't just that simple. While I did manage to find the right station, after buying my ticket I managed to board the wrong train (a super-express train), and so I ended up having to pay an additional ¥740, and had them drop me off early (otherwise I would've paid over double the original fare >.<). So I went from having my own seat & a place to set my nearly 100+lbs of luggage to standing in a crowded train with luggage that was taking enough space for two people. I was so exhausted, there were times I almost dropped to the ground. Not a good start. And the best is still yet to come! I arrived safely enough at Kakogawa station, but now the reality of not having a way to contact anyone was REALLY beginning to sink in. Not only did I have nobody's phone contact, but I had absolutely no clue how to even ask! I did manage to find a map @ the station, but even that was limited in scope, and still completely in Japanese (most of which I couldn't understand). However, I felt as though I couldn't just sit around, so being the genius I am, I found what I thought MIGHT be the school (and the house which I'm staying) on the map & decided to drag my 100+lbs of luggage through the streets of Kakogawa. At night. Oh, and did I mention it was about 45-50 degrees?

Needless to say THAT method of finding the house failed miserably. Because my luggage was so heavy, I had to make frequent stops to rest. Add to that the fact that I was now cold AND hungry (and very much lost) and you can imagine how excited I was to be in Japan at that moment :P After walking about a mile or so down the street, and having no more clue about where I was at, I'd decided wondering aimlessly around a strange foreign city dragging super-heavy luggage was NOT a winning strategy, and so I decided to return to the train station. With no other options on the table, I decided to pull out my laptop to see if I could find someone's contact number in a saved email or scanned copy of my contract. You can imagine my elated surprise when I saw that there was a wireless hotspot nearby, so I was able to check (and send) email! So I was able to email my friend, Drew, who received it on his cell phone & was able to email me back right away! He managed to contact the gal who is the receptionist @ Atomic, Ayuko, who showed up with her mother to pick me up at the station and drop me off at Atomic. Not only that, but they also took me to the grocery store so I could buy some much-needed foodstuffs to get me by the next few days. They were very kind :D After that, they dropped me off at the house and left. And probably for the very first time, I felt alone. Very alone. So much, in fact, that I didn't even feel like setting up my room. I didn't even feel like being in Japan. I just wanted to go back. I missed everyone, all the sudden.

The first few days were hard. I knew there would be some adjusting involved, especially when moving (not travelling, but MOVING) to a new country. But knowing it in your head, and experiencing it first hand, can be two completely different things. For me, it was the idea of being so unsettled that bothered me the most; I didn't know where anything was at, what classes would be like, or even WHEN I would start teaching classes. I felt very unestablished, and it bothered the hell out of me. But fortunately, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

For starters, there was my friend/roomate/co-worker, Drew. Although he wasn't there the first night that I'd arrived, his presence has been a source of comfort ever since I arrived in Japan. To have not only an English-speaking friend, but someone I'm familiar with AND a brother-in-Christ...and just so happens to also be a co-worker...suffice to say it's been a huge blessing that Drew is around, and for sure he's played a huge part in making the move to Japan not feel quite so lonely and overwhelming. His experiences of the last 9 or so months have proven to be very helpful, particuarly considering they are the same things I now find myself going through or needing to take care of.

Secondly, over the past couple weeks I've managed to establish myself a lot more. I now have a [post office] bank account (it's actually the largest bank in Japan), have applied for my Alien Registration Card (a.k.a. "gaijin card"), have managed to find & shop at a Costco (the only place, yet, that I've been able to find oatmeal, peanut butter, AND Dr Pepper!). Hopefully, after I've had a paycheck or two come in, I can also get a cell phone, "accessorize" my room a bit more, and do a bit of traveling/exploring (as time permits, of course).

And finally, I'm slowly beginning to settle into my new job. As most of you know, I have absolutely NO background in teaching, with the very faint exception of teaching conversational English to some of the Japanese students that have come to Orlando as part of Mission-to-Japan's homestay program. However, despite this I've been persevering, taking things one class at a time, one day at a time. Overall, things have gone pretty well, I think, especially when you consider I have no real background or experience-based knowledge to fall back on. Some classes, however, have stunk a big one, but I'm trying to learn not to become discouraged from that. Unfortunately that's easier said than done.

Well, I think that will about do it for my first blog post. Hopefully that gives everyone a pretty good idea of my transition to Japan & everything that has entailed.

More to come (unless I forget to post...which is quite possible >.<)