YATTA!

Another good reason to move to New York someday...

Things I Learned in Japan

Sometimes I like to read through my journal entries from past months and years. Tonight I was so happy to come across this one: a list I made back in March entitled "What I've learned from my time in Japan-- a sampling." I miss and think about Japan often, but some of the details and memories of our time there are starting to fade. This is for anyone else who might be in the same situation...let's take a trip down memory lane and remember what we've learned (cue the Wayne's World finger wiggle):
*sometimes the stuff you can't stand becomes the stuff you crave--for me, it was green tea and tofu
*you don't have to be proficient in a foreign language to be a good cross-cultural communicator
*and if you ARE proficient in a foreign language, it still doesn't guarantee you'll be a good communicator
*driving on the left side of a narrow road is totally do-able
*you can either like bread or like rice--those are your choices, and what you choose says a lot about you
*monkeys are funny to kids in every country
*it's possible to live a quality life without watching TV
*buying TV shows on iTunes is a fabulous idea
*it's possible to get your pants hemmed, in the store, for just $3
*Louis Vuitton is for the masses
*there is indeed something special about Japanese rice
*4th graders represent humanity at its best
*a heated toilet seat can change your day for the better
*it's possible to survive a cold winter without central heating
*bringing a down comforter with you when you move is a worthwhile use of suitcase space
*an apology covers a multitude of sings (edit: I meant SINS...but sings is true too)
*some of the least popular kids are the best communicators
*it's possible for 35 first graders to prepare and eat school lunch in their classroom every day
*kids stop wanting to dance when they turn 11
*sometimes working together as a group is better than maximizing efficiency
*a cherry blossom tree in bloom is one of the most beautiful sights in the world
*Disney characters and McDonald's have universal appeal
*there are A LOT of ways to jump rope
*sometimes it's a compliment to be told you have a big nose
*never underestimate the power of the "Backstreet Boys" to bring someone to faith in Jesus
*you can eat lots of stuff (e.g. seaweed) if it's coated in yummy dressing
*you can say a lot with a few well-chosen words
*if your co-worker says his wife is terrible and very ugly, he probably doesn't actually mean it
*if you're starting to get comfortable and confident, you will soon do something very embarrassing
*it's strange to not know your own blood type
*you can know a person's personality if you know his/her blood type
*you're capable of riding a bike a lot farther than you think
*you're capable of handling a lot more stress than you think
*crying in a bathroom is a great way of relieving stress
*there are a million ways to play UNO
*kids in school uniform=kids at their cutest
*safety is in the eye of the beholder
*third graders walking home alone for 45 minutes isn't dangerous
*neither is letting fifth graders keep their own box cutters in their desks

AND, FINALLY...

* the title "teacher" is a bit of a misnomer-- you spend more of your time doing the learning rather than doing the teaching

There's No Place Like...Somewhere Else

Two weeks ago, we said good-bye to a young missionary about to embark on an adventure in Brazil. Sound familiar? My sister, Cris, followed in my parents' footsteps by moving far away to rediscover her Brazilian roots and teach people about Jesus. And, my guess is, learn A LOT about Jesus as well (for anyone who's interested in reading her tales, check out crisinbrazil.blogspot.com). As I stood at the airport, saying a tearful good-bye, I realized how hard it is to be the one being left behind. I've rarely, if ever, been that person-- I'm usually the one tearfully saying good-bye, hopping on the plane, and finding that my tears are mostly dry by the time I'm over the nearest major ocean. Mark's always been the "leaver" too, so we're now getting to experience the other side of things.
And it's awful! While your counterpart gets to flash her passport and enter a new, exciting, colorful land, you're stuck in the same old, same old place. Even if it's a place where you have family, friends, and a job you love! It all starts to seem a little drab. My inability to be completely content where I am--or, to put it differently, my constant desire to go somewhere else and try something else-- really became clear to me after another recent episode.
We recently watched a documentary entitled "God Grew Tired of Us," which tells the story of several of the Lost Boys of the Sudan as they journey from Kakuma Refugee Camp to begin a new life in New York. I had read the book by the same title this summer (in my Summer of Sudan, as it turned out...there are SO MANY good books about refugees out there, especially about the Lost Boys!) In fact, I read several books about the Lost Boys and other refugees this summer, back when working with refugees was something I really hoped I'd get to do someday. And now I do! So what was my reaction to this documentary? Did I smile smugly and think "yes, that is indeed what refugee resettlement is like" ? Did I get angry because the filmmakers didn't accurately capture the essence of what refugee resettlement looks like, "if only they had consulted ME, they would have gotten it right" ? No. Actually, my thoughts were more along these lines: "wow, that is so cool!" "can you imagine?!?" and, most astonishingly "wouldn't it be amazing to be involved in something like this? I'm so jealous of those people [the resettlement staff]" And then I remembered that that IS me. I am involved, quite heavily, in the refugee resettlement process. In fact, it's what I spend all day doing, and I get paid for it. And I really enjoy it. It's what I've felt called to do for a long time now. But, for some reason, seeing it on a TV screen made it seem to exotic, and I found myself wishing I was there instead of here. Even though, in this case, here is pretty much the same as there.
I feel so blessed to be doing what I want to do in the here and now. But there are always a thousand other places I'd also like to be. So I suspect that the Big Life Lesson I am supposed to learn right now is to enjoy where I am, especially since it's where I prayed for so long to be. And one Big Life Lesson that I've already learned somewhat, but which God is still reviewing me on, is that the things I'm learning now will prepare me perfectly for whatever comes next. In fact, there's a lot I could say about that, so I'll leave it for another time, because I've got to go--I've got airline tickets to look up:)