Hello and thank you to everyone who prayed for safe passage and whatnot. After leaving Friday at around 11:30 AM (PST), I touched down at Narita on Saturday at around 4:00 PM (JST) with no problems. Everything was actually really smooth and efficient. I exited the plane and found all my bags fairly quickly, with no real wasted time. Oh, Nippon, how I've missed thee.
I waited for a while before a few of the school staff came to pick me up. They had to drive about four hours out from Shizuoka prefecture to get to Tokyo...they're so nice. I haven't really been taking any pictures yet but some background info: The boss is actually a Buddhist priest as well (and I'm currently staying in the house adjacent to the temple until our apartments are completed) so it's definitely been an interesting experience meeting his family (who are pretty much all teachers or help out in some way at the different campuses). Because I have a direct contract with the school, I knew that what I saw and heard from them beforehand was what I was getting. There is a general sentiment that teaching English in Japan is tough, and for good reason; Japanese work culture is not like its American counterpart. But I've had the privilege of receiving such good care from the people here: they've been taking care of our meals and housing, driving us around if we need it, making sure we adjust well, etc, etc.
There's no pressure to convert to Buddhism or anything like that, but positive Buddhist values do influence the way the family treats others (read: us), and by extension, the vision of the school. For example, kindness toward others, respect toward nature, becoming self-aware and disciplined (among other values) are emphasized in both the behavior of teachers as well as students, as the teachers are expected to be role models. Though they aren't Christian, it's refreshing to be around people who are convicted in what they believe and try their best to live that out, even though that means our theology will conflict at some point. But that's okay because I'm not out here to soapbox. One of my main convictions from when I knew I was going to come out was to build relationships with the people here and to show them love through my actions and not just words. 1 John 3:18, ne?
There hasn't been anything too exciting that's happened, but I've been able to walk around the area and take in the peaceful neighborhoods around here, as well as the beach. It's beautiful, above and beyond what I remember. Hopefully, I'll take more pictures soon so all two of you who are going to keep up with this blog won't be bored out of your minds.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, ja mata.
I waited for a while before a few of the school staff came to pick me up. They had to drive about four hours out from Shizuoka prefecture to get to Tokyo...they're so nice. I haven't really been taking any pictures yet but some background info: The boss is actually a Buddhist priest as well (and I'm currently staying in the house adjacent to the temple until our apartments are completed) so it's definitely been an interesting experience meeting his family (who are pretty much all teachers or help out in some way at the different campuses). Because I have a direct contract with the school, I knew that what I saw and heard from them beforehand was what I was getting. There is a general sentiment that teaching English in Japan is tough, and for good reason; Japanese work culture is not like its American counterpart. But I've had the privilege of receiving such good care from the people here: they've been taking care of our meals and housing, driving us around if we need it, making sure we adjust well, etc, etc.
There's no pressure to convert to Buddhism or anything like that, but positive Buddhist values do influence the way the family treats others (read: us), and by extension, the vision of the school. For example, kindness toward others, respect toward nature, becoming self-aware and disciplined (among other values) are emphasized in both the behavior of teachers as well as students, as the teachers are expected to be role models. Though they aren't Christian, it's refreshing to be around people who are convicted in what they believe and try their best to live that out, even though that means our theology will conflict at some point. But that's okay because I'm not out here to soapbox. One of my main convictions from when I knew I was going to come out was to build relationships with the people here and to show them love through my actions and not just words. 1 John 3:18, ne?
There hasn't been anything too exciting that's happened, but I've been able to walk around the area and take in the peaceful neighborhoods around here, as well as the beach. It's beautiful, above and beyond what I remember. Hopefully, I'll take more pictures soon so all two of you who are going to keep up with this blog won't be bored out of your minds.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, ja mata.
Senpai...
ReplyDeleteWho's the other? :D
ReplyDelete@ Ryan: <3
ReplyDelete@ Kevin: LOL technically you're the only follower but I don't know who might be reading without following.
I remember being at Shuza, we would look out at the towering Buddha statue and feel a sort of evil presence. I like that you present "positive" Buddhist values. Whether or not their core doctrines are true, there definitely is a lot of good that comes from Buddhism compared to the recklessness of mainstream culture. - blas
ReplyDeleteBlas, I love the formality of tone in this comment, much like the messages I was posting in our Kakao room.
DeleteBut on a slightly more serious note, yeah, there is a lot of good I see. I think the problem that many Christians are now starting to grasp is that for so long, mainstream Christianity didn't really provide room for other people to be heard. Of course, the intentions were to win people to heaven. But as with any other point in history, the times, culture, values of society are changing; and it's my firm belief that people just want to be heard and understood, not bashed and told that everything they've believed growing up and that their specific culture has taught them is wrong. And once they see Christians doing that the way Jesus would for nonbelievers is when I hope they turn to Him. It's undeniable that other religions can offer morally good lifestyles, and there are positive things to be gleaned. How will we respond?