Hey everyone, once again it has been a long time. Now that classes have officially ended, I have some time to reflect on some things I experienced three weeks ago. So let's get started!
April 10, 2013
This week was mostly notable because I turned 23 on the 10th. My birthday started off in a very enjoyable fashion. The night before some of my friends that lived in other dorm rooms came to my room and we had a really deep conversation. My roommates, our three Japanese friends, and I came and sat in my room and just talked. I showed my Japanese friends an essay that I had written for class that was about how to have a wonderful date with your significant. Being a Westerner, my thought process was very Western, but, I will tell you that my friends absolutely agreed with it. I said that the most important thing was to always act respectfully and show your true personality. Apparently, Japanese men can have a hard time with this. So we had a conversation about relationships and I talked to my two female Japanese friends about what they are looking for and how they have had little success. I got a sense of discouragement from them even though they are still young, both of them being younger than I am. I just impressed upon them that it's important to not lower your standards just to have a relationship with someone. Compromise in this area can be very dangerous, as I know from experience. This conversation was very interesting in that they called me "Otousan" which means father in Japanese because I'm older than they are and I'm married. I found this very amusing. As it was quite late by the end of the conversation, everyone left my room and went into our living area. I hung back a little to tidy up a bit and then came out. When I came out, all of them were waiting for me with party poppers, singing happy birthday to me. It was great and I was very thankful to know all of them.
When I woke up later I was very tired from the previous night's discussion, but the plus side was that we didn't have our normal morning class because of something called the CJS Festa. I got to Skype with Jamie for a long time and then Jay made me an omelet for lunch. After lunch, I went on campus to take part in the CJS Festa. The CJS Festa was an opportunity for Japanese students to come to our classes with international students and interact with them. We had about 15 or so students in my class and we all got into groups where we interacted and played games together. I was able to make a couple new friends that day, which was great! After the class period, there was another event called the Study Abroad Fair. There were clusters of students in groups based on their home university talking to Japanese students about their schools. Unfortunately, only two students came to talk to Nick and I about Oakland, but, it was still fun nonetheless.
After finishing up at the Study Abroad Fair, I returned to my room for our weekly pizza party, only this time it was a birthday party for me as well. 15 people came to eat pizza with us, which is a record that still stands to this day. We all ate and talked and had a great time. However, after I ate I went back to my room for a little while to work on some homework. I started to feel sad because this was the 1st ever birthday that I had not been with my family for and I felt a strong longing to be back home with them, especially my wife. I spent some time praying and talking to Jamie and then I felt better. A little later I went back out into our living area to chat some more with those who were still there when a bunch of people streamed into the room. Following closely behind was Ryota with two birthday cards and two pieces of cake. Everyone sang happy birthday to Joey and I. (Joey's birthday was on the 15th so they did our celebration together) I was so happy that I almost started shedding some tears. Then both Joey and I gave a little speech of thanks to everyone. I talked about how when I first arrived in Japan, I was very lonely and homesick, but thanks in part to all of my friends, I quickly became happier. I also said that they are all like family to me and I meant absolutely every word of that. My friends have definitely been a huge part of my life since I've been here and I'm very blessed to know all of them. This was an excellent birthday and I'm very thankful for the 23 years of life that Jesus has blessed me with up to this point.
On April 12th, we had Japanese students come to our class again to study with us and I'm happy to say that I made another very good friend. Her name is Rio and she was in a group with my friend Kyle and I. We all clicked very well and soon made plans to meet up the following week. However, I will save that encounter for the next post. ;-)
April 13, 2013
At the beginning of the week, I expected this Saturday to be very low key because I went to sign up for a field trip and got wait listed because it was already full. I didn't expect to get a call saying that a spot had opened up, but God had other plans. I got the call and was able to go on the field trip to Takayama. Takayama is a rural city that's about 3 hours away from Nagoya. We went there by bus and the extra cool thing was that Japanese students came on the field trip with us as well. As we made our way to Takayama, I saw the most beautiful scenery that I had never seen in Japan at that time. There were mountains and valleys spread out across the landscape and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was an awesome change of pace from only seeing the big city area of Nagoya. Halfway there we made a stop at a rest area. Now Takayama is very famous for its dairy and beef products, and at this rest stop they had a local specialty, milk-flavored, soft-serve ice cream. I had to buy some and it was absolutely delicious! I also took my first pictures of the mountains here. After another 45 minutes or so we arrived in Takayama city, where we then split of into groups to tour the city. My group was Lindsey, Joe, three new friends Sono, Chanmi, and Yumi, and myself. I might be a little biased, but, my group was hands down the best of them all. We all clicked so well, but not nearly as much as Yumi and I clicked. Although we only met for the first time that day, it was as though we had known each other since we were kids, or rather that we were related to each other. It is truly remarkable how alike Yumi and I are and I truly believe that God had this relationship planned before I even came to Japan. Back to touring the town. We all decided that we wanted to go and get something to eat first since we were starving. We went to a ramen shop and got this specialty ramen that I'm unable to remember the name of more than three weeks later. We walked around after that and purchased some beef that was skewered and grilled. It was so juicy and flavorful, and I was so sad when I had eaten it all. I could definitely see why Takayama was famous for its beef products. We continued walking around, looking in any store that caught our fancy until we had to head back to the bus to go to our last leg of the trip.
Our last stop on this fantastic trip was the Hida Folk Village. All of the buildings and housing in this village were built as they were in olden times, with just wood, straw and other materials that were naturally available. It was so peaceful and serene that I almost felt like I could've lived there. It should not be underestimated now wonderful life can be away from all of the hustle and bustle of large cities, however; I'm definitely more of a city person. We were taken on a guided tour of the village by one of the village elders. He explained to us how the houses were constructed, how they were earthquake-proofed, and generally how life was at that time. It was a very interesting insight into the culture of the more ancient Japan. After the tour we walked around the village a little bit more before we got back on the bus and headed back. On the ride back, Yumi and I sat together and practiced English and Japanese. Her English is quite good and very natural sounding for a Japanese person, so I was very impressed. We talked about all kinds of things and, as I mentioned before, it was like we were related with how similar our personalities and thought processes are. Because of this we have a big brother and little sister relationship with one another and I'm thankful for it. We made one more pit stop on the way back to get some of Takayama's famous pudding, which was also fantastic like everything else was. This trip was by far the best one of the entire semester and I'm so glad God made a way for me to get there. I know that I made some friendships that will last well beyond when I leave Japan to go back home. What a truly blessed day and week this was.
Well I hope you all enjoyed my birthday week! This was quite an excellent week and I'm so blessed for it. Unfortunately, as with just about everything else, I'm finally coming into my own and making more Japanese friends and I have to leave soon. The best that I can do is to make the most out of my last little bit of time here. I'm truly thankful for this once in a lifetime opportunity that most people don't get. I will take nothing for granted. Thanks again for reading and there should be another post up in a few days. Take care and God bless!
