Hello,
It's Carmon speaking!
Culture shock has not been the slap in the face I expected. We’ve been here three weeks, and in all honesty, I
really like it here. What makes things hard is obviously the language barrier.
It seems a little too late when you’ve poured that awesome bowl of cereal,
taken a big spoonful, and gag at the realization that the white carton you
bought last night is NOT milk. Or your eczema getting so patchy because you are
failing to find body lotion and mistakenly buy face wash (I assume) instead. Or,
how about going to the cell phone company for the 4th time due to
previous miscommunications, only to be re-read the sales pitch and asked the
same questions again and again and again.
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| "have we offered them this money trap yet?" |
Even so, the good out weighs the difficult by far. This culture is so kind. One
woman noticed we couldn’t find our bus and directed us to the right one. 20
minutes later, we got off to go into a grocery store only to find that same
lady had also gotten off the bus, followed us in, introduced herself and then
expressed her concern in assuming we were lost. Turns out, we thought we knew
where we were but we were at a completely different place than we thought. How she knew that… I don’t know. But we were glad she was there to get us
home.
The stores & restaurants have INCREDIBLE service. You would have to pay $80 for a steak to get this kind of service in the states. We were in an Indian Curry restaurant last Sunday, for example, and I had hardly got my coat off when the waiter (and owner I believe) brought over his kerosene heater to sit right by my chair. He did his best to communicate with us, smiled the whole time, and insisted on bringing us things to try.
After purchasing anything, many stores have employees walk with you to the exit and carry your stuff to the door so they can bow as they hand us our bags and say, “Thank you for coming.” Perhaps this is also to verify that we don’t slip anything in our bags on the way out, but based off what I have experienced thus far I think it is simply hospitable service.
As for the school, I feel blessed to be where I am. ALL of the teachers are nice and make me feel that they would like to communicate. Some are more courageous than others in practicing their English around me, but none make me feel as though they think lowly of me or want nothing to do with me. I am excited for the time when they all feel comfortable around me to allow me to practice what little Japanese I speak, and they can practice what little English they know. Enkais (drinking party) are coming up. I hear that this is when the teachers really open up and show their true colors. I’m looking forward to it.
Please pray that God would use us at His will. Right now we are not sure how to minister. This culture is very caring, but not very personal –at least in quick encounters. We can easily freak someone out by simply inviting them over to our home for dinner. So right now we are trusting that God is using us when we are unaware of it, perhaps.
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| I don't think this is Tokyo... |
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| ...like delicious curry! |
After purchasing anything, many stores have employees walk with you to the exit and carry your stuff to the door so they can bow as they hand us our bags and say, “Thank you for coming.” Perhaps this is also to verify that we don’t slip anything in our bags on the way out, but based off what I have experienced thus far I think it is simply hospitable service.
 |
| Very hospitable. |
As for the school, I feel blessed to be where I am. ALL of the teachers are nice and make me feel that they would like to communicate. Some are more courageous than others in practicing their English around me, but none make me feel as though they think lowly of me or want nothing to do with me. I am excited for the time when they all feel comfortable around me to allow me to practice what little Japanese I speak, and they can practice what little English they know. Enkais (drinking party) are coming up. I hear that this is when the teachers really open up and show their true colors. I’m looking forward to it.
Please pray that God would use us at His will. Right now we are not sure how to minister. This culture is very caring, but not very personal –at least in quick encounters. We can easily freak someone out by simply inviting them over to our home for dinner. So right now we are trusting that God is using us when we are unaware of it, perhaps.
