best and worst word of the week

Studying Japanese can be interesting.

It doesn't seem to make sense that できるだけ (dekiru dake), which literally means "to be able, only" actually means to do as much as possible.

But, if you think about it, we probably have words like this in English too. And, what does Jack have to do with a wind-up box that pops something up out at you? The Japanese have a much better name in my opinion, びっくりはこ (bikkuri hako), which means "surprise box."

This week also held some very fun events in ministry. Especially having a celebration for graduating students and meeting with the gospel choir FREE (pictures included.)

It is also fun to mention that tonight, I got to see my uncle!!! He's been to Japan on business twice already in just short of 6 months that I've been here! I'm so blessed.

Valentines

In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated by women giving chocolate. There are different kinds of gifts, including:

A. purchased chocolate for male co-workers
B. purchased choc for female friends
C. hand-made or very special chocolate for husbands, boyfriends, love interests

The idea is that a guy must return the gift, but 3 times as expensive, on White Day, March 14th.

Well, the guys of Campus Crusade for Christ wouldn't have that, so they decided to treat the women to a special meeting during the week of Valentine's Day. They ran all the usual events, including worship, a message from the Bible, and dinner. They also had a fun game, flowers, and cake for afterwards! My friend said it was the first time she saw men giving for Valentine's Day, and all of us LOVED it!

Is Japan different...

It's a bit difficult to imagine how different a foreign country is until you visit. My Japanese friend did a homestay in America, and yesterday we started talking about the differences between the U.S. and Japan. I don't think I can do them justice, but here were a few of our thoughts...

A. food. she missed sticky rice and miso soup, and I miss readily available and cheap pizza

B. dress. in Tokyo the style is so much more formal overall. sweatshirts and jeans are far less common, and the vast majority of people are very fashion conscious. frills and feminine touches are also everywhere

C. space. Everything in Tokyo is condensed and small. stairways can seem like a joke to me. water glasses seriously look like shot glasses sometimes. Japanese people are so good at packing things into small areas

D. rules. There is a particular order to follow for everything in Japan. In America, going to the bank and the grocery store are in the same category: errands. But in Japan, places like the post office and bank are taken more seriously, and they have procedures and check-points that take a bit longer.

E. this is random, but in Japan the shower and toilet are in separate rooms. my friend thinks it's so inconvenient to have them together. she just doesn't understand :)

まちがえます (make a mistake)

Yesterday I started to wonder, what percentage of the time do I have miscommunications? I think if I knew, I'd leave Japan. Last week's blunders (that I'm currently aware of):

fireworks⇔flower vase
son⇔daughter
janitor⇔doll
milk⇔beef
20 years⇔20 years old


Another fun note about life in Japan~they have a monster instead of a groundhog. The traditional calendar marks the beginning of February as the beginning of spring, or Setsubun. To celebrate, you throw beans at someone dressed like a monster, to drive away evil. Then you eat the number of beans of your age, because traditionally they didn't celebrate individual birthdays in Japan but aged together at the new year.

iroiro いろいろ

いろいろ is a very convenient word when you're learning Japanese. It's means various, as in:

What kind of cakes do you like to bake? いろいろ。

I have some catching up to do on my blog, so I will write about いろいろ things. :)

First, I would like to say that Skype (see photo) is great. I celebrated Christmas with my family over Skype and then had a great party with my roommates and classmates for my birthday. I am super blessed.

I also got to spend my first white Christmas in the area where the tsunami hit last year. I will write my next prayer letter about the trip, but here are some extra pictures. There are really no words, seriously. But you can see a glimpse in the pictures that the devastation is still incredibly serious. The people in Tohoku welcomed the donated Christmas presents we delivered with joy. You can see that I spent time helping to cook and hanging out with kids, since I'm still learning Japanese. For more about the trip, next week please take a look at http://www.ministryupdates.org/eads


Being back in language school is quite the adventure. The amount of reference to alcohol never ceases to out-do itself. This week, one of our kanji was sake (酒). The teacher that day proceeded to act out drunkenness, which I just can't quite picture happening in the classroom setting in America. She keeps us awake though.

Then today, I was thinking that we actually didn't really discuss alcohol at all. We're learning about intransitive verbs. But then, I remembered that shortly after we celebrated a birthday during our break, the teacher mentioned wanting a beer. I think it's a daily topic, with very few, if any, exceptions.

Oh and Happy Belated New Year! I got to visit a temple, as is the Japanese custom. I went with the crowds and watched them wave smoke over their heads (a tradition to make you smarter), threw coins, and read fortunes. Then we went where you can by almost any Japanese food and souvenirs. I'm thankful I could experience they typical new years day in Tokyo!

Lost in Translation

I continue to love my Japanese language school classmates. All of the different cultures create one of the best things I've ever seen. I don't know exactly what it is, but it's so funny. It's Russia, Hungary, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Korea, Taiwan, Italy, France, Nepal, America, and Japan (teachers) at their finest.

breaking new ground

I'm pleased to report that for the very first time, I ate Mexican food in Japan. Saturday was such a precious time of fellowship. My friends Natsuko and Chihiro went to college in America but moved back to Japan in 2007 when I first came to Tokyo. I was able to see them for the first time since coming back! They are so thoughtful and suggested that we go to El Torito, which was a brilliant idea! We also went to the 48th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for a fantastic view of the city. The girls are so fun to laugh with and talk about life with...and it isn't easy for them, but they each have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ, despite being part of the less than 1% of people in Japan who are Christian. I'm inspired by them and by one of my high school teachers who helped share about Jesus with them!