Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone! I hope this holiday finds you safe and well. I truly hope you enjoy the season, and never forget the reason!
I'm afraid this is one of those "no time" weeks, so I shall simply give a few brief notes that I really wanted to mention:
Firstly, to my friends, thank you so much for writing and also wishing me a Merry Christmas. Especially to Eve and to Liz -- I fully intend to write you thank you cards and letters and such but your addresses have gone missing in the abyss of my desk. It's weird, sorry. If you don't hear from me, know that it's lack of postage information, not lack of love, and that you shall hear from me later.
Secondly, I heard that the Provo Tabernacle burned down. That is incredibly sad and I am sorry to hear it. I really loved that building, and I can't imagine it being gone. I...I have nothing more to say about that. It's just sad.
Third, this is the last blog post of the year! Japan celebrates New Year's in style; they may devote more dedication to it than we devote to Christmas. At least, it seems that way...all public buildings are shut down for a week -- the library where I write these blog posts will be shut down from December 27th until roughly January 5th, so no blog or electronic contact next week. I would offer to write letters, but the postal service shuts down as well. I would offer to buy you souvenirs, but the banks and ATMs shut down, too! New Year's can actually be a little scary for new missionaries if they are unprepared -- if you didn't withdraw/reserve money before everything shuts down, you have NO WAY to access it for over a month. Hope the pantry is stocked!
I exaggerate slightly, but not as much as you'd think. It's pretty crazy. Shibuya was still in business because it's Shibuya (that was where I spent last New Year's) but Kofu is a whole 'nother story, and I suspect we shall witness 4 days of soulless streets.
So everyone please have a Merry Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! Enjoy this time and remind loved ones just how much you love them. Speaking of which, 愛しています！
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Acts of kindness are a big burden - Japanese Proverb
When I heard that saying I laughed so hard. It refers to stories much like the example illustrated below.
I don't like sushi. I don't really have an issue with raw fish, although I would rather NOT eat it, that's not the problem. The problem is 1) I don't like the taste of dry seaweed, and 2) I REALLY don't like eating lukewarm/cold rice! Rice is a hot dish to me and I just can't enjoy the taste of it cooled down. It makes me gag. Dunno why, I'm sorry, but I just likes me some hot rice. So when members take us to a sushi restaurant, I have gotten to the point when I will simply admit that I am not a fan of sushi, so if it's alright I will just order something else off the menu. Members then agree and, trying to help, they then ORDER FOR ME and order EVERYTHING ON THE MENU THAT IS NOT SUSHI. This gives me a mountain of food to eat and leaves them in a panic trying to find other things to give me that are not sushi. I appreciate the thought, really, but I wish they wouldn't do it. Hence, the above saying my companion taught me last night. Other people trying to be nice can actually be a big problem for you.
It's actually a pretty depressing saying when you think about it.
Hello, everyone! Sorry about the radio silence last week. My last companion seems to love making lots of appointments on our preparation day so we didn't have time for shopping or e-mail last week. And since those are things that "can only be done on preparation day" she was most reluctant to take time out of other days of the week. It was most refreshing to be with such an obedient missionary! We had a lot of fun and worked very hard last transfer.
So now I would like to take a few minutes and give you a few updates on some of the things we did, starting with my birthday. Before I do, though, lemme say thank you so much to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! It made me very happy indeed.
My birthday was great! We managed to time it so that I and another missionary (we went on splits, so I was with someone other than my companion) were able to go to the base and eat Thanksgiving dinner with an American family. It was amazing, both being on the base and being with that family. The base was so BIG! Is America really that spacious? I was most surprised. I was also shocked to see a US Post Office and the Chili's restaurant. Long time no see. Then there were the Fruit Gushers sitting on the counter in the house...it was pretty unreal. But we were able to spend a lovely time with that family and eat turkey, candied yams, potatoes, vegetables, and amazing pies. It was such a great feast and a great time. We all went around the table listing something starting with the next letter of the alphabet and saying why we were grateful for it. After clearing all the dishes the kids asked, "Can the missionaries help us put up the Christmas tree?" which made me laugh, and when the youngest daughter found out that it was my birthday around this time she made me a four foot tall birthday card made of paper taped together! It was very sweet of her and I loved it. It was a real blast.
We also were able to go visit Mt. Fuji last week! Two members took us and we were able to visit a few historic sites around Fuji, visit one of the 5 lakes near its base, and basically be tourists for a few hours. Near the end of the trip we stopped by a musical box museum, which was AMAZING and I was very sorry we didn't have more time. I shall try to persuade my companion to go there again another day.
My companion changed! That's the other bit of news. She got transferred. We were both very surprised. The other bit of surprising news is that my new companion is actually an old companion: She's been a missionary longer than me! So we are both very old missionaries, and we are both serving in Kofu---and she's served here before!
So, to explain this phenomenon, lemme start by explaining two things. First, Japanese missionaries serve longer than American missionaries because they don't go to the MTC for as long. So while the 18-months/2 years is including the MTC, Japanese missionaries have more transfers in the field because they don't have that MTC time in there. So a Japanese sister will serve for 13 transfers but an American will serve for only 11. So my companion is on her 12th transfer, making her older than me, but I go home this transfer! It's so weird to be the junior for my last time! (I'm not actually a junior companion, we're co-senior, I just think it's funny.) As for the Kofu thing, she has already served here for 4 transfers, and now she's back a year later! So after she finishes her time here she will have spent half of her mission in Kofu.
So that means that my new companion actually knows Kofu as well/better than I do. We are REALLY excited to use this chance to try and bring back some of the old investigators that fell away between her leaving Kofu and my coming in. It's gonna be a really fun time in Kofu this transfer.
My companion really is great. I was a little nervous at first, but she is so sweet! She went to BYU Hawaii for 3 years so she speaks English fluently--albiet with an awesome Hawaiian accent. She's really smart and funny too, so we are always talking and laughing. It's actually hard to stop and we actually have to DECIDE to stop talking so that we can finally get some sleep at night. I know that she's Japanese but it doesn't feel that way at all! She's really easy-going and thanks to her time at BYU Hawaii she understands a lot of why I do the weird foreigner things I do, so she doesn't get frustrated or mad. It's wonderful. I thanked her by putting together her bike after she arrived. She responded by reading my missionary picture journal and laughing so hard she collapsed into a ball of laughter on the floor. I like her.
---
In other news, it's DECEMBER now! That means we can officially listen to Christmas music nonstop. I love December because I love Christmas! For those of you who are wondering, Christmas is celebrated a little differently in Japan. Japan is not a Christian country so most of the celebrations are secular. The main traditions are chicken and cake. The family gets together and eats Christmas chicken--usually from KFC but McDonald's is putting up a big fight this year and they are selling this crazy $20 Chirstmas Chicken Box thing--then serves up and eats Christmas cake. You can start ordering these things in October and they are pretty expensive. A one layer 8-inch cake costs at least $20, and generally around $30 or $40. I guess they are pretty well decorated but that's still ridiculous to me, so we are making our OWN Christmas cake--and EATING it too!
Japan does have a holiday where they celebrate being a family and the family just gets together to spend time together, but that's not Christmas that's New Year's. New Year's is when the entire country shuts down for 4 days. As missionaries we can't really do much--we aren't supposed to knock on doors or visit members unless we are invited, so we are stuck with wandering around empty streets for a few days. It wasn't a big deal last year when I was in Tokyo because the streets were still pretty full even on New Years, but I am a little worried about Kofu--the streets are empty on a NORMAL day. Still, besides missionaries everyone has a wonderful time inside for New Year's. Good for them.
Okay, I think that's all the time I wanted to take for just now. I hope everyone is having a great time and preparing for the holidays. Have a great week, and God bless you all!
I don't like sushi. I don't really have an issue with raw fish, although I would rather NOT eat it, that's not the problem. The problem is 1) I don't like the taste of dry seaweed, and 2) I REALLY don't like eating lukewarm/cold rice! Rice is a hot dish to me and I just can't enjoy the taste of it cooled down. It makes me gag. Dunno why, I'm sorry, but I just likes me some hot rice. So when members take us to a sushi restaurant, I have gotten to the point when I will simply admit that I am not a fan of sushi, so if it's alright I will just order something else off the menu. Members then agree and, trying to help, they then ORDER FOR ME and order EVERYTHING ON THE MENU THAT IS NOT SUSHI. This gives me a mountain of food to eat and leaves them in a panic trying to find other things to give me that are not sushi. I appreciate the thought, really, but I wish they wouldn't do it. Hence, the above saying my companion taught me last night. Other people trying to be nice can actually be a big problem for you.
It's actually a pretty depressing saying when you think about it.
Hello, everyone! Sorry about the radio silence last week. My last companion seems to love making lots of appointments on our preparation day so we didn't have time for shopping or e-mail last week. And since those are things that "can only be done on preparation day" she was most reluctant to take time out of other days of the week. It was most refreshing to be with such an obedient missionary! We had a lot of fun and worked very hard last transfer.
So now I would like to take a few minutes and give you a few updates on some of the things we did, starting with my birthday. Before I do, though, lemme say thank you so much to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! It made me very happy indeed.
My birthday was great! We managed to time it so that I and another missionary (we went on splits, so I was with someone other than my companion) were able to go to the base and eat Thanksgiving dinner with an American family. It was amazing, both being on the base and being with that family. The base was so BIG! Is America really that spacious? I was most surprised. I was also shocked to see a US Post Office and the Chili's restaurant. Long time no see. Then there were the Fruit Gushers sitting on the counter in the house...it was pretty unreal. But we were able to spend a lovely time with that family and eat turkey, candied yams, potatoes, vegetables, and amazing pies. It was such a great feast and a great time. We all went around the table listing something starting with the next letter of the alphabet and saying why we were grateful for it. After clearing all the dishes the kids asked, "Can the missionaries help us put up the Christmas tree?" which made me laugh, and when the youngest daughter found out that it was my birthday around this time she made me a four foot tall birthday card made of paper taped together! It was very sweet of her and I loved it. It was a real blast.
We also were able to go visit Mt. Fuji last week! Two members took us and we were able to visit a few historic sites around Fuji, visit one of the 5 lakes near its base, and basically be tourists for a few hours. Near the end of the trip we stopped by a musical box museum, which was AMAZING and I was very sorry we didn't have more time. I shall try to persuade my companion to go there again another day.
My companion changed! That's the other bit of news. She got transferred. We were both very surprised. The other bit of surprising news is that my new companion is actually an old companion: She's been a missionary longer than me! So we are both very old missionaries, and we are both serving in Kofu---and she's served here before!
So, to explain this phenomenon, lemme start by explaining two things. First, Japanese missionaries serve longer than American missionaries because they don't go to the MTC for as long. So while the 18-months/2 years is including the MTC, Japanese missionaries have more transfers in the field because they don't have that MTC time in there. So a Japanese sister will serve for 13 transfers but an American will serve for only 11. So my companion is on her 12th transfer, making her older than me, but I go home this transfer! It's so weird to be the junior for my last time! (I'm not actually a junior companion, we're co-senior, I just think it's funny.) As for the Kofu thing, she has already served here for 4 transfers, and now she's back a year later! So after she finishes her time here she will have spent half of her mission in Kofu.
So that means that my new companion actually knows Kofu as well/better than I do. We are REALLY excited to use this chance to try and bring back some of the old investigators that fell away between her leaving Kofu and my coming in. It's gonna be a really fun time in Kofu this transfer.
My companion really is great. I was a little nervous at first, but she is so sweet! She went to BYU Hawaii for 3 years so she speaks English fluently--albiet with an awesome Hawaiian accent. She's really smart and funny too, so we are always talking and laughing. It's actually hard to stop and we actually have to DECIDE to stop talking so that we can finally get some sleep at night. I know that she's Japanese but it doesn't feel that way at all! She's really easy-going and thanks to her time at BYU Hawaii she understands a lot of why I do the weird foreigner things I do, so she doesn't get frustrated or mad. It's wonderful. I thanked her by putting together her bike after she arrived. She responded by reading my missionary picture journal and laughing so hard she collapsed into a ball of laughter on the floor. I like her.
---
In other news, it's DECEMBER now! That means we can officially listen to Christmas music nonstop. I love December because I love Christmas! For those of you who are wondering, Christmas is celebrated a little differently in Japan. Japan is not a Christian country so most of the celebrations are secular. The main traditions are chicken and cake. The family gets together and eats Christmas chicken--usually from KFC but McDonald's is putting up a big fight this year and they are selling this crazy $20 Chirstmas Chicken Box thing--then serves up and eats Christmas cake. You can start ordering these things in October and they are pretty expensive. A one layer 8-inch cake costs at least $20, and generally around $30 or $40. I guess they are pretty well decorated but that's still ridiculous to me, so we are making our OWN Christmas cake--and EATING it too!
Japan does have a holiday where they celebrate being a family and the family just gets together to spend time together, but that's not Christmas that's New Year's. New Year's is when the entire country shuts down for 4 days. As missionaries we can't really do much--we aren't supposed to knock on doors or visit members unless we are invited, so we are stuck with wandering around empty streets for a few days. It wasn't a big deal last year when I was in Tokyo because the streets were still pretty full even on New Years, but I am a little worried about Kofu--the streets are empty on a NORMAL day. Still, besides missionaries everyone has a wonderful time inside for New Year's. Good for them.
Okay, I think that's all the time I wanted to take for just now. I hope everyone is having a great time and preparing for the holidays. Have a great week, and God bless you all!
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