I Think We're Turning Japanese....

Breaking the Cycle

2007-10-10T12:28:00.000+09:00

I'm going to keep this really short because it is 11:28 pm and I have to be up early for a Greek quiz. However, if I don't just post now and break this nasty habit of never posting this downward cycle of inaction will never stop. So here it is: we are back stateside but you know that already. We are enjoying studying in our respective fields. I just edited our profile and changed our description from education to student. Its nice to be back on this side of the desk again we both agree. We both also noticed that we are much more keen at picking out what our teachers will choose to test us on from the reading we do. Not sure if that has anything to do with having thought like a teacher for a year but it certainly didn't hurt. In closing, I'm pretty sure we havent turned Japanese but after being back from Japan for a whole year now we still enjoy bitter tea, raw fish and sometimes even use chopsticks to eat our salad.

Kimono

2006-03-31T23:07:00.000+09:00

Jeff and I were invited to a special lady's house. Cho-me San is from our church here and she is the gaurdian of the Japanese culture. She teaches Japanese calligraphy, dance and flower arranging--besides being one of the cutest Japanese ladies around. She invited us to try on kimonos in her Japanese dance studio when the spring flowers were in bloom. That fell last week, so we joined her and a few other ladies for a special spring lunch. The bamboo we ate was baby bamboo right from her garden!

The kimonos were amazing. Perhaps I should rephrase that to say--what Cho-me San was able to DO with the silk was absolutely amazing. What seemed a shapeless pile of cloth took form into something really amazing.

Ohanami

2006-03-31T22:35:00.000+09:00

"Hana" is blossom.
"Mi" is derived from the verb "to look".

This last week has been the season of sakura, or the cherry blossom. With Jeff's love for macrophotography, three great Ohanami opportunities and the patience of our hosts--we bring you a taste of spring in Japan.

(We have also been requested multiple times that these pictures be sent to our friends and family in America. Our Japanese friends are very proud of their cherry blossoms and would also like you to take note of the gift of the blossoms to America over a hundred years ago--now showing at the Potomac, Maryland....)

ps. For the record, after the night time ohanami view of the afore-mentioned slide, Mary Ellen gives it a bit of a thumbs up.

Time March-es on

2006-03-31T21:38:00.000+09:00

Well, March has come and gone without much attempt to blogify it. So here is a summary of our March highlights.

Don and Rumiko had a beautful wedding day and soon after moved to the States.

The 'church's' newest baby is growing big enough to crawl up the center aisle at church and embarass her father when he is trying to lead song service.

Our students are faithfully energetic, challenging and VERY entertaining!

We torched a cake in honor of Teishi's birthday...okay, not really but we did make it all a suprise.

We attended our first Japanese elementary graduation ceremony.

There are no words to describe the sound of a couple hundred sniffling parents, children singing sorrowful sayanoras and weeping young boys.
Okay, maybe in Japanese there is ONE word to describe it.

We were able to make two very fun trips to Kagoshima to visit our friends there. This time included an exciting game of Bible pictionary. In fact, you can see the excitement on Jerry's beaming face.

Last, but not least ;), Jeff found a great new slide! It's great fun, very noisy and has a great view, but the warehouse rollway construction is much kinder to boxes than to bottoms. Mary Ellen voted a thumbs down.

social invitation

2006-03-03T11:26:00.000+09:00

Last Friday Jeff was invited to go to Ibuski with a student/friend and enjoy the sand baths. He would leave at 10 a.m.
Meanwhile, I was attending our monthly tea party, starting at 9:00 a.m.

9:55 a.m- Jeff pops into the tea party to say hello and goodbye. We continue to chat for another hour and a half until it is announced that there is a special lunch after the tea party. Various and asundry transportation plans are made and everyone leaves for an hour, only to reconvene shortly for lunch.

12:30-1:00 Jeff arrives in Ibuski where he and Mr. Itokazu enjoy a lunch of Japanese Soba noodles before they head to the sandbaths.

1:00 pm- I arrive at the restaurant with a group of ladies. We sit and talk for nearly an hour before the rest of the group arrives for lunch. We are then served in courses, topped by dessert. Did I mention that we ate banana cake and snacks at the tea party just hours ago?

2:30 pm- Jeff has recovered from the scalding hot sand bath by enjoying a Japanese Onsen. Conversation fills the 2 1/2 hour ride back.

3:00 pm- I am now at the house of a student/friend and her family. She has kindly invited home half of the people that went to lunch and is serving us tea and snacks while we watch a classic Japanese animated film. Some of us watch, some of us munch and some of us sleep.

6:00 pm-Jeff and Mr. Itokasu made a stop at the 100 yen store and are now enjoying a sushi dinner. Each of them finish off 6-7 plates of sushi.

7:00 pm-The movie ended and I caught a ride back to the apartment with our director. I was exhausted from lack of sleep and my back found all the sitting intolerable. Funny though, my stomach is growling again. And the party roars on...a number of people remain at Shizuko's house for dinner.

8:00 pm- Roughly 10 hours later, Jeff arrives home bearing a invaluable CD holder he was able to find at the 100 yen store. We sit and share our days for an hour or so before lapsing into a tired silence.

9:45 pm- We pull out the futons and enjoy an early bedtime. All that eating and socializing just took it out of us.

I Pity the Fool!

2006-02-13T12:35:00.000+09:00

There was a knock on our door last Saturday night. We didn't have to go open the door or even call out "come it". In Japan they just "come in". This bothered us when we first got to Japan, now we just keep our door locked if we don't want people walking in. Got to work smarter, not harder. It was one of my adult students who is also a church member. She has been studying English for a few years now but the only two phrases she can usually remember when she tries to speak English are, "thank you" and "good morning." We were greeted with a hearty "good morning!" as she entered. The funny thing is that she knows she is misusing the phrases. She and I think its funny at least and always make each other laugh, which in turn makes everyone around us laugh, likely at us. We have fun classes.

She told us in her janglish, Japanese and English all mixed up together, that she was taking us somewhere the next day. It seemed as though we were supposed to know this, but we didn't. We finally figured out that she was inviting us to a flower festival.

The next day dawned and Mary Ellen and I headed out with my student and two other ladies from church we are friends with. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story which includes seaweed tea, flowers and trees, noodles and Mr. T keeping it real in the Far East. The grilled squid was located directly across from Mr. T. I think he was yelling, "I pity the fool who eats that scariness!"

Driving

2006-01-27T13:10:00.000+09:00

One of my friends recently voiced the complaint that us bloggers have not been providing her with enough distraction material for work. I am honored to know that our blog is used as a means of distraction for her...Welcome to my wonderful world of ADD. The land where distraction is a daily reality and oh by the way it has been almost six months since I last drove a car. I haven't gone this long without driving since I got my license 11 years ago. Speaking of driving, we went for a drive with one of our friends and got in accident. It wasn't a big deal, just a little fender-bender. The funny part of it all was when we realized who we had run into. It was the secretary of the local driving school. All the workers came down when they heard the noise and soon we were surrounded with people all wearing jackets which proudly announced that they were a, "safe driving school". Well, they were safe until we ran into them I guess.

This One's For You Greg

2006-01-10T14:40:00.000+09:00

One of my goals I set for myself before we arrived in Japan was to complete a marathon during the year. I had high hopes of training and maybe even setting a new time record for myself. I did run on a pretty regular basis for the first month we were here. I was able to run down to the ocean in the mornings and back towards the mountains on my return for home. I have never run in a more beautiful place. However, after a few weeks the newness of the beautiful scenery and the hope of a good marathon time was worn down by a lack of sleep and a true Japanese work schedule that drove us both to sickness right before Christmas. We traveled in China and got better. I thought that was interesting.

We got back from China on Friday night and the marathon came early Sunday morning. We were picked up at 4 am and drove two hours to the marathon. The two marathons that I ran in the past without injury I completed in around 3 hours and 45 minutes. The one that I ran on a gimpy knee I finished in 4 hours and 40 minutes. I tell you these times only to put my time in this marathon in perspective. I finished with the glorious time of 5 hours and 25 minutes! My cousin Greg has run a few marathons without any training as well but he does them in less than 4 hours, even close to 3 and a half hours I believe.

It was a beautiful marathon. It was also the most hilly course I've ever seen. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since the whole country is mountainous but I was. I was also surprised by how many people out of the more than 10 thousand seemed to be running with little or no training as well. In America you always get some stragglers but this seemed like a whole marathon of stragglers. At around 2 miles people were already stopping to stretch and even have a cigarette. I thought that was pretty funny. "Ya that's gonna help your running problems." The course was lined with people cheering, of course in Japanese style, very quiet and polite. But they were cheering none the less. The course took us through the Japanese country side by traditional thatched farm houses and ancient fields. The farmers along with their sunbonnet-clad wives cheered for us from their little stools placed near the old road. I gave one grandma a high-five and made her smile a very big smile. I also thanked a group of old ladies who were giving oranges to the runners and they were very surprised that a foreigner not only knew some Japanese but was also so polite, they smiled and clapped in approval. That kept me going for another few feet.

Mary Ellen was able to ride along with one of her students, who's husband was also running, and see me along the route. That was really nice. Nothing like a kiss from my beautiful girl to keep me going. I ran with one of my students for part of the way until we got separated, but we caught up after the race. All in all it was a really good experience but I think next time I will train a little more.

China: from The Great "picture" to the Forbidden "photo"

2006-01-07T19:16:00.000+09:00

Moped

2005-12-28T10:55:00.000+09:00

We are in China:) It's cold, its huge and its amazing. The internet here at the hostel is a little bit of a challenge but we'll try to post more later. We are going to head down to the Forbidden City and Tian' amen Square this morning. Tomorrow morning we will be going to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs...should be a cold and fun day.

This morning in the middle of receiving our breakfast of toast, egg and coffee our train tickets for our trip to Xi'an arrived. We had not been able to get to the bank so I still had a pocket full of Jap. Yen. After a confusing "conversation" between the delivery guy, the hostel worker and myself I finally just flashed my wad of Yen and told the delivery guy that I had the money, I just needed to change it. His eyes got really big and he offered to take me to the bank on his moped. Maybe I should have been nervous but I wasn't...I dont know if I'm adventurous or stupid:) We dodged through the narrow streets of old Beijing and finally burst out onto a six-lane street full of buses, bikes and delivery men. It was pretty exciting to experience early morning Beijing from the back of a moped.

Well, that's all for now, hope to get some pics on here soon.

Snowflakes and Silence

2005-12-22T21:10:00.000+09:00

Yesterday we had quite a snow, as you can see from Jeff's early morning photos. There's something so cozy about a snowy day. Even the Japanese streets were hushed with the snow.

This week was our last week of classes before holiday here at the English school. In the sprint to finish I didn't realize how it would feel when it was all over. This evening, as I was finishing my last class, I looked up at the snowflakes I"ve been making with my students all week. The classroom was quiet and I couldn't hear any students clamboring over each other upstairs in the lobby. Another silence had fallen.

So feeling a bit nostaligic about each-student-represented-by-a-snowflake and other silly things, I ran and grabbed my camera. My last student, a very cool teenager, was thrilled by the photoshoot. Unfortunately we weren't very good photographers and left half of our heads out of the picture.

I think winter is peaceful only because you know there will be spring. My classroom would feel so lonely right now if I didn't know that each of my students will be back to tear down the snowflakes and utterly destroy my nostolgic momentos. With that chaotic vision firmly in my mind, I turn my back and close the door--on to Christmas Break!

Winter Wonderland

2005-12-22T12:24:00.000+09:00

Here is what I saw when I took our trash out this morning at 630. Notice the poor little schoolboy's shorts. Those are the winter uniform.

Beauty

2005-12-22T12:03:00.000+09:00

Last Friday a group of us visited a garden in Kagoshima. It is on the grounds of the Satsuma family's residence. They are the ones who started the Meiji Restoration. If you have seen the movie "The Last Samurai" it was set in that time period and the samurai leader in the movie was inspired by the Satsuma family's retainer, Saigo Takamori. Ok, I'm done being a history nerd, or writing about it at least.

The garden contains a very old shrine dedicated to some goddess of beauty or something like that. Legend has it that if a woman visits this shrine her beauty will increase, or she will become beautiful if she is more on the ugly side of things. We gave it a shot and as you can see it works very well, the before and after pictures should prove this. (Note: The comparison would have been more drastic if I could have got the Japanese girls to stop smiling, they couldn't stop laughing.)

Us men even felt more manly upon entering the grounds.

Amazing isn't it?!

Smells Like America

2005-12-22T00:00:00.000+09:00

Many American companies have made successful forays into the Japanese market. Costco, or Costico, as the Japanese unwittingly call it, is not one of them. They have a store about four hours from here near a much larger city however they reach only a very limited section of the Japanese population; Japanese who have lived in America, or Americans living in Japan. The Americans love it for the not-surprising fact that they can purchase American products. The Japanese like it because it smells like America. I am still very interested to visit the store and find out what America smells like. The few countries I have visited do have distinct smells, most are not so pleasant, but I couldn't tell you what America smells like.

I have a student who works for Sony. He was able to work in San Antonio for three years and loved the experience. He still misses Mexican food, Mt. Dew, NBA games, his "big" three-bedroom house, and that American smell. He is able to find most of those things at Costico. Two weeks ago he and his family made the eight-hour round trip to Costico in one day and he brought back pure gold for me; a monstrous bottle of Pace Salsa and a bag of Tostitos Tortilla Chips. The labels were even in English! The simple pleasures of life. We have been enjoying the salsa. However I still don't know what America smells like.

Semi-Creative

2005-12-15T13:05:00.000+09:00

When Mary Ellen and I read "semi-tropical" in the description of our placement in Japan we really didn't understand "semi". That word means, now that we are out of the tropical and into the semi, that if I venture more than a foot or two away from our space heater, which I affectionatally call the guitar amp, my metabolism begins to slow and my body begins the slow process of death. Ok, maybe that was a little melodramatic, but that is how I feel. So I spend my time cuddling with the space heater. That is, until it runs out of kerosene and we have no one to take us to the gas station. We ran out this morning. I was ok, with my three layers of clothes and hot coffee, for a while. But then I got cold. I tried to convince myself that I was being a baby, that it was way colder in Nebraska and that I should just deal with it. But I've found that no matter how much colder it is other places in the world right now it doesn't change the fact that I am shivering.

This reminds me of a story that is completely unrelated but humorous none the less. This story involves my cousin named Greg, but I wont say that to protect this person. He was in class at Union College on a ridiculously cold Nebraska winter day. I think it was a science lab. He was quietly going about his task when he overheard a student walk into the room and exclaim "ahhh, It's freezing!" Another student immediately looked up from his work and responded "It's not that cold, look, I'm not even wearing a coat." This brave young chap, from the land of southern Canada, or as some call it, Minnesota, was wearing only a t-shirt. He was obviously very proud of this fact. My cousin, or, I mean, the nameless protagonist of this story, looked up and said what everyone in the room was thinking but not willing to say, "I'm sorry that you're stupid!" and he went back to his task. So maybe that does fit, once you're cold, you're cold. The fact that someone somewhere else is dealing with colder weather doesn't make you warm. I still laugh when I think of that story.

The problem is not that it's really that cold here, it's that they don't have central heating here in any of the buildings. It just doesn't exist. So we go outside to warm up sometimes. Today, sometime after the heater burned up the last drop of kerosene, putting a piece of toast in the toaster oven and beginning to shiver, I had an idea. The hair dryer blows hot air! I immediately ran into the bathroom and stuck the blow dryer under my shirt and had an uncontrollable smile light my face. After a few minutes of this bliss I remembered my toast. My Toast! I rushed out to save it from destruction but found that it was already black, and now cold. I needed it to be warm so that my cream cheese wouldn't tear the bread asunder when I tried to spread it. Ah, another idea. I couldn't put the toast in the toaster for more time or it would be even blacker, but if the hair dryer could warm me up couldn't it warm up the toast?

One Bad Ass!

2005-12-12T22:46:00.000+09:00

Highlight the link below, right click and choose "go to address" and you will understand the title. I found the link of one of my friend's blogs and thought it was too good not to take and share...thanks seth:)

http://community-2.webtv.net/granniehug/ThisMayBeAFirst/

Peace on Earth for History Nerds

2005-12-08T12:20:00.000+09:00

The following is a talk I will be giving at the end of a Christmas concert this Saturday Morning. There will probably be a fair amount of non-Christians present so I'm very excited to get to share! Anyway, I hope you are as blessed by this story as I am every time I tell it.

The First World War is arguably one of the most brutal wars in history. For the first time, armies used machine guns, armored tanks, and chemical warfare. Even though the weapons had become so powerful and lethal, both armies continued to use outdated tactics which resulted in enormous casualties.

When the war started in 1914, both the Germans and the Allied forces thought the war would be over by Christmas. Both sides thought that the other would easily give in. Both sides were wrong.

It was a cold and wet winter on the front lines in France. Because of the rain, the soldiers on both sides were standing in freezing cold mud up to their knees with no way to get warm. If they lit a fire or even smoked a cigarette, they would be easily seen and shot by the enemy. They also lived with the constant fear of the poisonous gas that could come at any time with no warning. Thousands of soldiers on both sides died every day. In the middle of all the death and fear, Christmas Eve came and silently settled on the battlefields of France. Germany and England were both Christian countries, both prayed to the same God, and both celebrated Christmas. And, according to journal entries, both dreamed of home that Christmas Eve.

That night something amazing happened. The British soldiers began noticing something strange as darkness fell. They saw lights in the German trenches. This, as you remember, was a sight out of place on the battlefield since it made an easy target of the soldier who held the light. Then they heard a sound that was, if possible, more out of place than light in the mud-filled trenches. It was a song. Though they didn’t know the language they recognized the melody. Many German soldiers were singing “Silent Night” and holding up lit candles on the end of their bayonets or on small Christmas trees. The English soldiers could have easily shot them, but they didn’t. Instead, many English soldiers began singing along. These soldiers, who only moments before had been mortal enemies, were now singing together from across the bloodstained fields.

Somewhere along the line a German soldier shouted, “You no shoot we no shoot!” The English soldiers, still fearful that it might be a trap, began walking out of the realative safety of their trenches and onto the fields. This time they didn’t meet with guns and knives but with outstretched hands and gifts. The commanders on both sides were frantic to stop this unexpected Christmas party; but it happened so fast and was so widespread that they could do little more than yell. The most amazing thing about it all is that though the truce happened in many places along the hundreds of miles of trenches, it was completly unplanned. Sadly, It did not happen everywhere. One place, the soldiers would be talking and eating together and over the next hill the armies would be shooting.

The German soldiers were eager to get the beef and cigarettes that the English soldiers posessed and the English soldiers, in turn, were eager to acquire the famous helmets, belt buckles and cigars from the German Soldiers. There are picture of English and German soldiers standing together with big smiles, holding the things they had just traded with each other. In some places the soldiers even played games of soccer. Though historians still argue about the validity of this, soldiers from both sides recorded the event in their journals. It is even recorded that the Germans won a particular match by a score of 3 to 2. The soldiers were happy to compete in a way that left no one dead.

Because soldiers wrote down conversations from that night we know some of what was said between them. One German shared that he had lived in London before the war and was engaged to a girl there. They were forced to wait for marriage because of the war. The English soldiers jokingly replied, “Well, we will have you beat soon. Then you can come back and marry your Girl.” Another German soldier pulled a family picture out of his dirty pocket. A British soldier exclaimed, “Your sister is beautiful!” The German soldier excitedly said that after the war the man should come to his home and meet his sister. He then proceeded to give the English soldier his address, in hope that he would survive the fighting and then come marry his sister.

The soldiers from both sides had dead friends in the fields whom they had not been able to bury because of the fighting. Hours earlier they would have died standing out in this field. Now, in many places, they gathered the dead together and buried them together.

The unplanned Christmas truce ended at various times in different places. In some areas it lasted close to a week. Other places it lasted only as long as Christmas day. However long it lasted, in many places, it ended the same: The solders from both sides intentionally shot high over the heads of the enemy that no longer seemed so evil. Because of this, any soldiers who had taken part in the Christmas truce were quickly replaced with soldiers from other places.

That night, because some nameless soldiers were willing to take a risk and walk onto the battlefield, peace broke out on the battlefields of France. Two Thousand years earlier God took a similar risk. He made Himself into two cells (during this time God had no brain-think about that for a while (thanks for that idea Seth!) that would grow into a baby named Jesus. God walked out onto this battlefield of earth, that had known only death and grief, for one reason only. He did it so that He could bring peace to this war-torn world. That’s what Christmas is all about: "Peace on earth, goodwill toward men"! If we are willing to take the risk and go out and meet Him, just like on the battlefields of France, peace will break out in our hearts. Peace that won’t last just one night, but for all eternity.

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."

Luke 2.13-14

The best part of teaching?

2005-11-25T12:13:00.000+09:00

Several times people have asked me, "So how do you like teaching, Mary Ellen?" A few months ago that wouldn't have seemed silly to me, but since I've started teaching, this almost seems like the wrong question.

It's true, some people are better at teaching than others. Some people don't enjoy the preparation or others the presentation. Some people might not have the patience, others might love the opportunity to have a captive audience. In that way, the question is completely valid.

But now that I've met my students, it's the wrong question. Here at our school we teach almost one to one. My largest class has four students in it. We also teach a lot of classes, so we have the opportunity to meet many different kinds of people. The time with my students has shown me that teaching is really all about your relationship with your students. And that is my favorite thing about teaching.

Sometimes that relationship is challenging, like my first encounter with my teenage classes. Time has shown me that my teenagers really enjoy my approval. When I set class up so that they could succeed, they proved that they were not only intelligent but that they are willing to make English class a blast. I've never laughed so hard during a game of charades! Their creativity suprises me everytime! The other week I taught them how to make eggrolls and they, in turn, tried to teach me a Japanese dance routine. I'm afraid I was the poor student that night!

Sometimes the relationship is stunning. If you asked me how I liked teaching Mariko, I might answer "She's a quick learner, but the class takes so much energy it tires me out." Again it would be the wrong question. At first glance I didn't think we had much in common. Our age was the only similiar feature. She listens to American R&B, drives a car full of toys and belly dances as a hobby. Fashion and boys seemed to be the dominating theme in our broken conversations.

Driven by the desire to be understood, Mariko has advanced dramatically in the few months we have studied together. It almost seemed like the prospect of our friendship was enough motivation to make her fluent! As our conversation improved, I realized that we had a lot more in common than I had first thought.

Mariko took me to an art museum the other day. Near the end of the day she pulled me excitedly to her "favorite" exhibit. It was in an outside garden of sculptures and looked to be a metal hallway in the middle of nowhere. She begged me to walk into it alone. It was dark and the only sound I could hear was the banging of my feet on the metal floor. At the end of the tunnel was a doorway and the misty light at the end made it feel like I was waking from a dream. I was suprised at my own excitement, but I was glad to enjoy an experience that meant so much to her. Nearing the end of the tunnel, strips of light came in, making it feel as if I was racing towards the opening. Then the glass confronted me and beyond it was a breathtaking view of the mountain range covered in fall colors. Amazing!

But even better were the words written in the glass in front of me. In both English and Japanese it said: In the Beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth. Mariko opened her heart to me that afternoon and explained that she believed in the One true God and she prayed to Him--and heard answers--for every area of her life. She said he was healing her from depression. Then she asked me if I "knew" the Bible.

I didn't stop right then and have a Bible study, but I'm thinking maybe she'll start studying with me if I ask. I feel confident because she believes that God sent me to be her friend. It's humbling to see what small efforts do in the greater scheme of life. So you can pray for my teaching, but most of all, pray for my students and my relationship with them. Many of them are excited to get to know God and that's the greatest teaching responsiblity I could ever have.

Draw Fours and Red Threes

2005-11-24T14:50:00.000+09:00

In the weeks coming up to our arrival in Japan I began to be more and more nervous about teaching. I wasn't a bit worried about everyday life in Japan. Mary Ellen and I are both adventurous people and when all else fails I can make her laugh. The ironic part of it all is that the few challenges we have had have been mostly tied up in the cultural differences that we collide with at the most unexpected times. Teaching however has been amazing. I love my kids. The younger ones are adorable.

I took our camera to class one day to get some pictures. The pictures are two of the twenty-three classes I teach every week. The girls all have so much bling on their pens it makes me laugh. As they write I can hear the "clack clack" of the huge plastic cartoon figurines crashing around on the end of their pencils. They all have great pens and pencils and they seem to like it when I check out what they have in their pencil cases. The other picture is of two little sisters who make my heart smile. They were so shy when I first arived that they wouldn't talk, make eye contact or sometimes even breath I think. Now they are crazy. They steal each other's stuff when the the other looks away and fall of their chairs they laugh so hard. They are not out of control, just a lot of fun. Right before I took this picture they had put the puppets on their heads like Davy Crockett hats. They refused to do it again when they realized I was going to take their picture but maybe you can imagine.

At the end of class I usually play a few games of UNO with the kids and have them speak English so we can count it as learning. Mostly it's just fun for both of us and I guess that it's ok to have fun in class sometimes. There is some universal law however that states that the cuter and sweeter a student is, the more draw-fours will end up in my hand each game. I'm not exaggerating, the last game I played with a student who is even cuter, sweeter and more soft-spoken, if that's possible, then these two girls, I had four draw fours and two draw twos, in the right color, in my hand at one time. I was like "oh shoot I have to draw again." I could have won the game in one move though I had six cards in my hand...I just couldn't do it. So I kept drawing, and drawing, and drawing. I might still be drawing but class finally ended and we had to cut the game short. However, when I have a class with a kid I'd like to drop a couple draw-fours on I, of course, end up with red threes.

Fishing

2005-10-29T18:45:00.000+09:00

Our school director Rumiko is one of our favorite people; not just in Japan but anywhere. She is an invaluable asset to the school and to us as missionaries and teachers. However, she is just swell and we would love her even if she didn't make our lives so much easier than they could be.

We have over 80 students here at our language school and each one is a friend of Rumiko. Beyond that she is friends with the students parents, siblings, cousins, spouses, grandparents and pets. She is a lady of strong conviction, simple faith, and unconditional acceptance. Simply put, she is what we are all supposed to be though few of us ever attain it.

She isn't friends with people so that she can trick them into Christianity. She is friends with people because she loves them. Because of this many, for Japan, have become Christians. One of the families she has befriended is a couple who owns a CD store in the local mall. The wife, Akane, takes classes with us as do their two children, Maria and Arisa. They are very busy and have very little time to invest in friends but are very hungry for friendship.

On Friday Koji, the husband of the family, rented a fishing boat and invited us to come along for some sea fishing. I'm sure this wasn't cheap and we were very grateful for the generosity and chance to have an adventure. We left port early in the morning and sailed into the bay with him, his uncle, two daughters and Rumiko. We anchored in the shadow of Mt. Sakerajima, a volcano that is constantly smoking, and dropped our lines. Mary Ellen was the first to catch a fish and we were soon pulling them in faster than I could take them off OUR lines. That's right, she would pull them in but wouldn't grab them or take the hook out or break the neck. It's all equal until it comes to killing fish. Then the man suddenly has a God-given duty to do the dirty work. Truthfully I didn't mind a bit. There's something silly about your wife wanting you to be manly that makes you feel good. Rumiko and the little girls liked Mary Ellen's idea so they started having me kill their fish too. Boy did I feel manly.

I really wanted to catch one of those deep-sea-fangly fish that have the custom lures and lights on their heads; but all I caught was about thirty-five thousand of some school fish they call blue fish. I caught so many that I got tired and was relieved the few times my line came up empty.

That evening Rumiko cooked some of the fish we caught and brought it to us for supper. We were brave and even tried some Sashimi, raw fish.

Jesus calls us fishers of men. I think Rumiko exemplifies this. She isn't looking for more notches on her rifle. She isn't looking for numbers. She simply lives a genuine life of love and unselfish interest in others and we are all drawn to a person like that. The difference though is that the fish ended up on our plate and tasted delicious by the way; but the people she has "caught" have found a freedom in knowing Jesus that you can't believe until you breath it in yourself and realize it's what you always dreamed of but never could put to words.

I learned a lot about fishing on Friday; both kinds.

Zoo Basket

2005-10-28T19:44:00.000+09:00

Somedays are so crazy they're a bit of a blur--these last tuesdays have been those kind of days. We've gone to a local public elementary school in the morning and taught 2 or 3 of their classes. We did a short presentation on American culture and then mixed with the kids, giving out high fives, meeting open stares and answering curious questions.

After our diplomatic efforts at presenting our culture, we temporarily destroyed the peace by playing "fruit basket"--except we used animals and called it "zoo basket". It really was a bit of a zoo, but the humor in it all surpassed the noise level. The kids were sliding all over the floor, screaming--and a couple boys, obviously clowns of their class, would duel it out nearly every round for the last chair! The shorter of the two got smart and planted a kiss on the cheek of his shocked opponent--giving him a split second to steal the chair.

We had to hold back laughter during the question/answer session. One little boy took the cake. With an air of seriousness beyond his eight years he said, "I already understand that you wear your shoes inside your houses in America; but do you take them off when you go to bed?"

At the end, each of the classes presented us with a song as a "thank you" for coming. They weren't meistroes, but the effect was stunning--we felt rewarded for our hard work. And then we left them, screaming and excited, for their teachers to deal with. I'd almost feel bad, but Jeff and I had our own classes waiting for us back at the church.

Sometimes the busiest days are the most rewarding. And if they're not, you can enjoy a hard night's sleep afterwards.

Autumn

2005-10-26T19:40:00.000+09:00

While Autumn has been slow coming here in Hayato, we find it's clear skies and golden fields a sweet reward. The views of Sakurajima, our volcano neighbor, are only getting better as the air is drying out. A new friend introduced us to a plateau named "Highest Plain". Our new friend is a janitor who has taught himself English. He enjoys practising on us and we enjoyed the gift of an afternoon picnic in the sun. Things are only getting busier here, but the friendships we find remind us that taking time for people is like stopping for air. Necessary and very relaxing.

Juice it Up

2005-10-22T16:11:00.000+09:00

Most days I try to have my Nalgene handy, especially when classes come back to back. One of my adult students was excited to see the waterbottle. She explained that when she went to America everyone seemed to have a waterbottle! I guess this put me into familiar territory and we hit it off. She explained that Japanese children always carry juice to classes, not water. If it's not juice it's tea. And if you're an adult, maybe it's coffee.

Jeff and I went for a walk yesterday. About a seven minute walk to the local mall. True to form we were greeted at every opportunity with a vending machine. The first one, steps from our front door, hosted Caplis products. Perhaps we would be thirsty a minute later, or remember a friend who would appreciate a delicious drink--just in case, there was a Nescafe awating our every need! The third vending machine was sitting haphazardly at the back corner of the grocery store, looking as if it had just been unloaded off a truck. If you peeked into the warehouse you could see another machine in close competition. The fourth assailed us while we waited to cross the road. It not only offered a drink, but a smoke. Every need in supply, right;) Entering the mall we found a cluster of machines hailing us to gander at the incomprehensible labels and gamble our money on something we might or might not enjoy. The last troupe (but only because we stopped walking) was camped in the center of the mall. Not only could you choose hot or cold, the drinks would be dispensed into a foam cup if that was more desireable.

Even a few of these tempters had recycle bins nearby, making it an easy stop to quench the thirst. (Normally it is considered rude to eat or drink while you are walking, but trash cans are rare. We often choose to stow either the drink or the trash for later.)

The vending machines are kind of a fun way to spend change. Since my Kanji reading is extremely limited, I never know if I'm getting something fruity or tangy. Sometimes I choose my favorite label. Other times it just depends how much I have in my pocket. Jeff teases me when I come home with a can of something. He asks "What have you got there? Alcohol?" I answer truthfully, "I don't THINK so...", but then I smell real deep before I drink. So far so good!

Starbucks and a Stolen Bike

2005-10-18T13:40:00.000+09:00

Last Monday morning we jumped on out rusty old bikes and squeaked and rattled our way over to the train station. We had the day off from teaching in observance of a national holiday and so we headed to Kagoshima. It is a port city of about five-hundred thousand people and it has a Starbucks. This trip was a big deal for a few reasons. The first being that though Kagoshima is only about a forty minute train ride, it costs about $30 round-trip for the two of us. Second, we have friends there who speak English. It is unexpectedly refreshing to form a sentence with no thought to the number of syllables you can use in each word. The city has a Starbucks; but I think I said that already. In the States they serve over-priced coffee drinks. In Japan they serve over-priced coffee drinks. But in Japan it felt like a little piece of home. And unlike Japanese deserts it was full of delicious sugar.

Our friends in Kagoshima, Gerry and Naphi, are teaching English in the SDA Language School and are from India. Obviously, they both speak fluent English. I learned that almost everyone in India is the same. That is one of the few good things left behind from the British colonization. People in many countries are proficient with computers. However, in India people are not only proficient with computers but also English. This is why many times when you get technical support for your computer over the phone, you will hear an Indian accent. Not only are Gerry and Naphi a ton of fun, but they make excellent Indian food. Imagine that. They made us lunch at their apartment and it felt like we were eating at an expensive Indian restaurant except for the price. Our Friend Kazuki joined us as we ended lunch and finished off the food. The poor guy was sweating. The Japanese are not known for their tolerance of spicy food. He smiled, wiped the sweat from his face and made hand gestures of fire blasting from his mouth.

As we walked down a street in Kagoshima later that day we passed a little cafe stuck between an ancient Shinto Shrine and a five hundred year-old fortress. I glanced through the window as we passed by and locked eyes with a guy who was as pasty white as me. He came walking out with a smile and introduced himself. In fairly good English he told me that he is from France and is working in the little cafe just because we wanted to. His name is (I'm not even going to try to spell it right. Here's the phonetic version.) Bernwa. Most any other place in the world we wouldn't have even noticed each other; but here, so far from either of our homes, we were instant friends.

Sumira, another of our Japanese friends, joined us that evening and we put off heading back home by wandering around the mall which is attached to the train station and eating in a restaurant that is basically the Japanese equivalent of a Perkins.

When we got back to the train station in Hayato we found that someone had stolen one of our bikes. Oh well. The weather was wonderful so I pushed my old bike along the dark streets of Hayato and enjoyed the walk with Mary Ellen.

We lost our bike but we can't lose the great day we had. Jesus said that if we are smart we will invest in things that can't be stolen: realationships with Him and people. Someone stole our bike, but no one can take the great day we had with our friends.

The person who stole our bike was in for a nice surprise, the brakes don't work very well. Hope karma didn't catch up with him too fast:)

Privacy and Intimacy

2005-10-18T09:58:00.000+09:00

It is nearly impossible to ask someone why they do something that is ingrained in their culture. I would like to think of an example in American culture, but I am American. However, I have thought of a question I would like to ask a theoretical Japanese person.

"How is it that you are unembarassed of your body (hence no swimsuits in hot springs, open urinals in the middle of a public park...) but do not display any emotional affection in public?"

We see children of different gender changing clothes together, completely unconcerned. The view of the body is very comfortable here. Yet, they are a modest people, not counting a few teenagers. We know from our friendships that the people of Hayato are warm, family oriented people (okay, some work too much) ---but a hug is saved for the child and only on a special holiday will the mother exude such intimacy in public.

Perhaps the tables should be turned....How is it that Americans are so hung up on their bodies and equate bodily closeness with intimacy? Now which culture sounds more confused?

Now and Then Pictures

2005-10-17T06:51:00.000+09:00

Now and Then

2005-10-16T19:02:00.000+09:00

The most unusual thing about the sandwich shop was that it allowed carryout--a rarity around here. Otherwise, it was cozy, as a sandwich shop serving coffee should be. The owner was forgiving of our poverty and let us bring in our own cake for the celebration. And we celebrated! Most of the festivity came from the girls excitement. They seemed so pleased that someone had planned a birthday party for their mother. It was endearing to see two kids so excited at the pleasure of their parent. So a Janglish conversation filled in the cracks between rounds of hand-games and bites of food.

So goes the celebration of a Now festival. The next morning we enjoyed a bit of the Then. It wasn't a very long walk into the past, just across the road and down a bit. We'd been to the park several times to gape at the ancient rubble and wonder what the historical sign would say if it suddenly translated itself. This time the park was full to the brim. Girls in kimonos, men as Samuri and women adorned for tea ceremony filled the lawn around the monument. Everyone was there to enjoy lunch and watch for the festival parade to return up the mountain from the bay.

I can't say that the girls faces were more enchanting in the light of the birthday celebration or the sunshine of the festival, but I can say that both Then and Now grace the Japanese culture with an unsual friendship with each other.