I've been living off the grid lately and out of reach. Partly purposefully and partly from discontent. I'm staying at Tim Turner's house and i've been here for the past 2 weeks. He's the pastor of a church here in Tokyo. He was born in japan. But, went to the states for college and picked up an american wife. So, his family looks american but they are actually very Japanese. Anyway, If you know Travis or Becky kilson then you will know they are here in Japan this summer interning with Tim at the church. Tim's family went back to america for the summer and he stayed to be with Travis and Becky. He's stay at the church and he offered me his home this summer while I teach an ESL summer school program at CAJ. I've been commuting back to Kabe on wednesday's to teach my regular english class. It's kinda weird being in Kabe for just one day. I feel more comfortable being with my friends from america and hanging with Tim. So, when I go and teach on wednesday's I feel like an outsider even though i've been living in Kabe for a year now. The church is also a pretty empty place now that school is over for the summer. I have mixed feelings about the next year at Grace and in Kabe but we'll take each stride as it comes.
Today, was one of those days where I told myself I should be productive but instead i'm typing this. Which, I guess is being product because it's a form of communication. I found myself with some spare time before class today and decided to chill in the office and see what was going on. Most of the regulars were gone but one of the Japanese regulars was there. She is one of my favorite people at Grace because she is mysterious. I still haven't figured out what is really doing at Grace though. She is a good hard working woman. The kind of lady you'd likely meet back home on a farm in North Carolina. She doesn't take crap from anyone and she'll tell you straight. However, behind her toughness there's a soft heart. She has lived a tough life. There's alot i've learned about her that would lead anyone to just wanna give up. However, see has taken her scars and move on. This is where the roadblock occurs in our relationship though. No matter how I try to get her to open up and talk to me a little bit she refuses. I don't know, why. Today, was especially difficult. I tried to sit down and eat lunch with her and another girl in the office but she asked me to eat at the other table. Ok no big deal they are working. Afterwards, I asked her why she doesn't like me. I was half joking though because I know she does. But, this opened a can of worms that led to a 30 min conversation full of miscommunication both language wise and culturally. At least that's what we agreed on. However, I can't help but think more and more about her. Something in me just tells me there's alot more to her. Something in her that has made her this way. I can't help but feeling for her that maybe she is so harden now because she's afraid of being hurt anymore. She's tough because that's the only way she has learned to deal with her pain. The whole walk it off mentality. That works temporarily but it never fixes the problem nor heals the pain.
Being in japan for over a year now and living as a foreigner i've learned that it's easily to excuse things as either cultural or language difficulties and never really address things. However, as a Christian I have slowly been learning that, while people all over the world may speak different languages and have different cultural backgrounds, at the core of our being we are all people and we are all the same. God created us all in his image and likeness. One of the great lies of the world is that we are all from different worlds. Westerners will never understand the mysterious easterners. It was God who split us up and created the different people groups back in Genesis. Could the different people groups just be God's way of allowing us to see ourselves in a different light. By looking at people of all different cultures we can see God's image in each and every person. After all the gospel was not meant for one culture and then forced to fit into other cultures. The gospel is for all people of all people groups because ultimately all people are the same.
Comments (3)
Like Babel. Have you seen that movie?
Drew?!? You actually wrote a blog, amazing! Also, why do you always get so stinking deep in your posts; then I spent the rest of my night thinking, what did Drew just say... course don't get me wrong, I don't understand anyone unless they are speaking a different language.
It's true we are all from the same place, why else would Keiko be American and I be Japanese... ^-^
I know you are having difficulties with how you feel, I pray that it will all get worked out, I am sure of it. Time can change things, keep truckin (figuratively, ne).
Drew!
Hope things are going well for you today. It was always tricky to just communicate and (even) open up to people being overseas, or even visiting strangers in the States. This all sounds very familiar man. See you around.