Hitomi, A Christian friend who attends Grace fellowship. She shows me the ropes of Japanese culture and a bit of the language. 

The Little Things

This week I felt that I am truly becoming Japanese. It is the little things –I bought slippers for my bathroom. Every bathroom I’ve been in has had slippers so far, excluding public washrooms. And I can’t have a lunch without rice. Hitomi came over for lunch on Monday. I was planning to make omelets but I couldn’t handle the thought of not having rice. My tummy would miss it. So we had omelets and rice. Hitomi said that the meal was very "Japanese".

I know that there is so much that I still do not understand. The language is still a huge barrier. In many ways I will always be an outsider. But these little things give me hope.

Word Up: Gaijin -foreigner

Tonight’s Special is...

Okuwa, the local supermarket has a section of already prepared suppers. Not that different than a North American store having roast chicken, fried chicken, sandwiches. The foods available here are salads, sushi, and tenpura. Tenpura? It is a group of fried food clumped together; similar to french-fries but different. Seems almost anything can become tenpura fish, shrimp, peas, onions, carrots…the list goes on.

I was feeling courageous so I decided to try a nice veggie looking tenpura. Sounded like a good supper food. Oh was I in for a surprise. My first few bites it was what I expected. There was corn, carrots, potatoes, and onions. It was an interesting combination. Then my next bite I was chewing on white rubber. This was no veggie tenpura. It was veggie and squid. Mmmm –squid. Eating when you can’t understand the labels is always an adventure!

Word Up: Ika -squid

English Club

At the Sayama community center an English Club meets biweekly to listen to a lecturer and discuss the topic. I had the hounour of being this week’s guest speaker. My topic was "Canadian Culture". Not really sure if I am expert on the subject but I have lived there the last 24 years. I shared about my family, Nova Scotia, Canadian winters, but my primary focus was on Christmas traditions. I love Christmas and all the goes with Christmas. The joy out of sharing with the group was that it opened the door to speak a bit about Jesus, his birth, and Christianity.

After the meeting three of the ladies took me out for coffee and cakes. Japanese cakes and pastries are not as sweet as North Americans are and sometimes they are filled with interesting things like green tea paste or red beans. But I tried a fruit cake-type-cheesecake-thing, it was super good.

I loved the time with the ladies. Not because they fed me (that was an added bonus), it was a chance to really connect with people. Connecting with people is one of my greatest joys. Talking with them, learning about their interest, joys, desires. I learned that one of the ladies was also a Christian, rare in Japan. She teaches preschool too, so we are going to get together in the future and brainstorm ideas.

Word Up: Eigo-no-sansei –English teacher

Kyoto

Highlights from the day are:
- Nijo-jo Castle, the home (palace) of the shogun (samurai-lord) back in the day. History facts: Shogun ruled during the Edo period known as the golden era in Japan, ended about 400 years ago. The floorboards were built so that they would squeak –ancient home security. The murals were gorgeous sadly cameras were forbidden.
- The Golden Pavilion. Originally built as a home, it was later turned into a Buddhist temple. The top two floors of which are covered in gold leaf. It was very shinny!
- The koi (goldfish) living in the pond around the Golden Pavilion were fun to watch.
-Last stop was a famous Zen Garden. It felt anti-climatic. As I sat looking at the monks lines in the sand I started reflecting on how full God’s has made my life. He does not ask me to empty myself, but fills me with himself. Ended up with a very personal God-moment. For that I am thankful

All our sightseeing seems to be at religious sites, either Buddhist or Shinto. Not sure how I feel about it. The sites are beautiful and apart of Japanese culture. Majority of the popular historic sites are temples or shires. In that sense I have no problem with visiting. But there are moments that I feel a sense of…creepyness and darkness. That doesn’t happen often, most of the time I feel indifferent. Other times I even feel peaceful, tranquility and a sense of beauty.
In those moments I can see the lure of Buddhism. You can take a break at a temple and forget all cares, worries, and things you strive for. With some cash you can get pre-prayed prayers, good charms, and fortunes. All these things bring temporary hope and freedom. They help quiet the aching soul and hunger for something transcendent for a time. But only for a time…in the end it is all empty.

Word Up: Genki –energy. Also used to ask the question "how are you?" Genki desu ka?

The gang at Nijo-jo Castle

The moose is loved!

Beautiful Koi

Melvin taking in that sights at The Golden Pavilion

Zen Garden

Nothing is Sound

Monday (Oct 3) Steve, Tiffany, and I set out to explore Namba. Felt good making our way on the train without help. While in Namba we found Tower Records. Where I picked up the new Switchfoot CD "Nothing is Sound". Learned later that it had just been released in Japan that day. That night I was checking out the band’s website. Then to my surprise they were coming to Japan! Not just Japan but Osaka. Then I noticed the dates Oct 6th –they would be here in four days!

Going to the show seemed impossible, so many complications and details. It was a joy watching it all work out. Yuki (a student from my Wednesday ladies class) agreed to go with me. I had to ride the train to Namba by myself to meet her. I was so scared I would get on the wrong line or get off at the wrong station. Everything went fine, we arrived that the hotel ten min before Switchfoot walked on stage. The show was great. I found it such an encouragement. The song "On Fire" was more then the show, more then what was going on. It was worship for me.

For me the best part of the evening was the journey back. Yuki and I stopped at McDonald’s for something to eat. We talked about the show, things we like, movies, life. She asked me about Christianity. It was wonderful. A great night!

Word Up: Konbanwa –Good night

Picnic in the Park

Oh the joys of a field trip! Today was a special picnic/fun day for my preschool class, to add to the fun their families came along as well as Hideki and Kayoko, Steve and Tiffany, and even Melvin the Moose. We went to a huge park. The place was great! It had an awesome jungle gym and a sweet BIG slide. Made me want to be five again.

All in all a good day.

Word Up: Oshikko –pee-pee. Only used by young children to let adults know they need to potty.

Sing-a-long with Liz

The boys at play

Climbing...

Going down the slide

We're just too cool

Tako

A student took us (Steve, Tiffany, and I) out for an authentic Japanese meal. We took our shoes off at the entice to the restaurant but didn’t sit on the floor (it wasn’t that type of meal). Set in the middle of the table was a hot metal grill. Our host ordered for us, we had:

Yakisoba –fried brown noodles mixed with vegetables, I think I saw egg, pork, and octopus

Okonomiyaki –this looks like a pancake made of sliced cabbage. The cabbage is kept together with flour and egg. There were actually four different types that we could try from plan, pork, shrimp, and octopus.

Takoyaki –is a rice ball mixed with octopus that is fried.

The common theme of the meal was octopus, which is the newest "other, other, white meat".

Word Up: Tako -octopus

Okonomiyaki

Takoyaki