of accomplishing simple tasks in a foreign country.

Today I managed to get my new TV working. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but when you can't read, it becomes rather complicated. Fortunately, I am able to figure most things out on my own. It's like working a puzzle. So, the point of the whole story is, I am proud because I was able to determine why my TV didn't receive channels, where my antenna plug was (and what it was), and I was able to go to the store, buy the correct cable and connect it all on my first try. I think this is an amazing thing. So now, I can watch a bunch of programs I don't understand. Hopefully I will be able to find anime programs I don't understand. LOL. At least I can practice listening to Japanese now. Anyway, that's the most exciting thing that happened today. Well, one other thing happened. I am now the webmaster (or webmistress?) of an English Page for our program. We will see how that works, considering my lack of web experience. Ok, that's all folks.

of a day like this.

Ok, random FYI: the title of each post is supposed to be a continuation of the title of the Blog, Reflections. They are designed to be read like so: Reflections of the trodden path, Reflections of me, Reflections of a day like this, etc. So now you know (and knowing is half the battle, GI JOE!!!)

Anywho. Today was not too terribly exciting. I woke up early and went to breakfast with a wife (as opposed to my previous outing with a husband). We had a wonderful talk and I made it to Japanese class for the first time after being sick. As my brain still feels like mush most of the time, I spent most of class in a light fog of confusion. It of course didn't help that I had missed the prior two lessons. I left the class not much more informed, but several days of homework heavier. Good news is tomorrow is a holiday, so no class. Bad news is, I will probably sleep half the day and then waste the other half, thereby getting no homework done. Well, hopefully I can get motivated to accomplish something.

Yes, my brain is mush and I am tired. There is nothing more I can reasonably accomplish here, so this will be one of my shorter posts to date. So have I spoken (er, typed) so shall it be done. The end.

of the trodden Path

Ok, so I figure it is time to write up the backstory here. I am Amber. Hello, nice to meet you. I am also called Shihu (as in "She-who-does-such-and-such-a-thing) and I am known as Blue Paradox, or Blue, online. Those are really the only names you need to worry about as far as I am concerned. I was born in Texas, and have lived there 98% of my life. I am one of those Texans who is very proud of her Texas Pride. Now here is the paradox of my Texas nature: I don't eat Mexican, (or spicy food for that matter), I don't like football all that much (I can actually stand it now, which is an improvement) and I don't want to live there right now. But yes, I still love Texas with a passion beyond reason. (I really enjoy the phrase "passion beyond reason", so it's entirely possible, even probable, that I will use this phrase to death, resurrect it, and use it again.) Also, I don't speak with a Texas accent (or what people associate as a Texas accent).

Ok, so now everyone is aware of my love of Texas. Now on to other things.

I belong to the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, or LCMS for short. Since I was a small child, I have grown up learning about God. Somewhere along the way, I decided that I should live my life for Him. At the time, I thought that meant living a good Christian life wherever I might be. I never seriously considered being a church worker. So I made it through two years of junior college not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I had many interests, (most of them in the creative fields) but I didn't really want to live my life as an artist (of any kind) because that is a rather risky way to live (stability of job, salary etc). So nothing really grabbed at me, until I decided I wanted to go to this private Lutheran college. While applying, I found they were starting a new program for church workers (called a DCE, or Director of Christian Education). This caught my attention immediately. This was just about the perfect job for me. I could incorporate my many diverse interests and talents, I could work with kids, AND I was able to serve God. This would be a job with stability that wasn't mind-numinbly boring. Perfect! I applied.

My first sememster or so was wonderful. My GPA didn't fall too terribly much (I transferred in with a 3.56) and I was invovled in many things. Then my life changed. I became depressed. This is a serious medical condition that I lived with for about two years. It was such a difficult time for me. I was on many different medications during the course of my treatment. (I am also ADD, which complicates the whole medication/remembering to take medication issue) This, I now believe, was an important time for me. I was forced to grow as a person, and grow spiritually. I was forced to depend entirely on God for everything. I believe now that I am a better person as a result of my experiences. Of course, I would never want to do it again. Well, a side effect would be a disastrous drop in my GPA. By my last semesmter, I could no longer stay in my program. I was so close to graduating in my field, but it seemed impossible to do. So my advisor (who kindly helped me through the whole process) worked with the registrar to find a way for me to graduate with a Liberal Arts degree. At the time I was disappointed, but I really couldn't afford to keep going to school. (private schools are exceptionally expensive and I acquired quite a large debt) So I managed to graduate.

This left me with no job though. I spent some time searching, and praying, trying to see if God really wanted me to work in the church, or if He had other plans for me. Turns out the answer was yes, and yes. He wanted me to work in the church, just not in America. I had been brought to a point in my life to seriously consider mission work. As it turns out, I absolutely love Japan, and had an interest in it for several years (fueled by my addiction to anime). So when I found out I could use my training for church work AND go to Japan, I jumped at the chance. So here I am now.

Hope that clears things up. :-)

of creative juices

Today has been a creatively exciting day. I engage in this wonderful activity called role play. I role play online with several friends. This boils down to, we write a story together, each person from his or her character's point of view. This is fun and exciting. Several of the people I write with are awesome. (I know so many talented people) So today, we were online at the same time for a short period of time. (we were in three different countries, so this is an amazing coincidence) This was so cool. I was able to meet with my co-collaborator for a while and work out wonderful and devious plot lines. I think we are also going to start the ball rolling on writing novels together. Anyway, this was wonderful because it is one of the best things in the world, being able to brainstorm with someone. I get so excited when I find people I can click with. The creative synergy is amazing! I feel far more capable of writing a good story when I am working with another creative person. Plus, you feel like a part of something bigger. Yes, it is wonderful. Yes, I know, I am far too excited about this, but I suppose I am easily excitable. :-)

Also, at church today we had Coffee House. This is an English event designed to get the English students connected with the church. This is my second Coffee House at this church. It's fun because I am starting to get to know the people. They like it because I am still new and exciting. We had a wonderful time playing Uno. I think I might have a little "clique" started, since a lot were the same people I played with last time. But I think that's ok. In a larger group, its good to break down into smaller ones. It was lots of fun. Also, I gained a new unofficial language partner. I am excited.

And the Random Thought of the Day:
Sermons seem much longer when you don't understand what's being said.

of the Amazing Japanese

Yes, I know, this is my second post of the day. I am awful chatty today I suppose. But then again, I generally have a lot to say. Eventually I will write up a background post explaining everything up until here. But for now I will stick with today's events.

Today after my wonderful CD wrapping experience, I came home, blogged, and then made my way to the local church here for a "Family Music Night." Now when I was invited to this, I really wasn't expecting much. It was explained as a night where the kids would play some piano, and there would be various other musical numbers by some adults as well. (Hence the word Family in the title) My friend who invited me was going to sing, so I thought I should go to show my support. Honestly, I wasn't expecting all that much. I was envisioning your typical "piano recital" type evening. In a word, boring.

Well, like so much else here, I got something totally different than I expected. It was wonderful. The kids were amazingly talented (1st and 3rd graders, it was amazing!) and it just got better from there. One duet was astonishing, the man played the guitar and the woman sang. I felt like I should have bought tickets or maybe a CD. The first song she sang was great. Picture a Kentucky state fair with someone (Loretta Lynn maybe) singing an old folk song. Now picture it with Japanese words. It was great. And the woman was very talented. (I found out later she has a band here that plays locally) The second song was a beautiful goodbye song. Then there was a man who played the flute, then he played the violin, then he played the piano. The first time he was with a group, second time was a duet with the piano, and the third he was solo. It was amazing, each time, he played better than before! (This man is a truly amazing person. I will tell more about him in a bit.) There was harmonica playing ("A Mighty Fortress" on a harmonica: strange, but good.) and a small stringed instrument (I can't for the life of me remember what it's called, but it reminded me of a really fat, round ukeleile). And then there was an amazing piano duet (two people playing on the same piano). Everyone was so talented. Just when I would think that I had listened to the best of the evening, yet another talented person would step up. I know I have overused this word, but really, it was amazing. I was so glad I went.

And then, to top off the evening, remember the man who played all those instruments I promised to tell more about? Yes, he is amazing. He helped me last week set up internet in my apartment. He is good with computers and his English is wonderful. While he was in my apartment, he noticed that I like anime. He asked me if I watched it on TV. I had to tell him that my TV didn't work. He felt sorry for me and said that he had an old one he could give me if I wanted. I felt bad and said it was ok, I didn't really need a TV, and there would probably be one when I moved to my next site. Well, today when I went to the music night, he pulled me aside and told me he had brought a TV for me. I was shocked. The man had his family there, he had prepared three musical pieces (on three different instruments no less) and he was involved with running the sound system, and in the midst of all that, he remembered to bring me a TV! Then he tells me that it is small and old, so I might not want it. Yeah, it's about a 15 inch flat panel TV. I couldn't buy that thing used in the states for under $300 probably. But I might not want it. Right. That's a tough call there.

Wow. I feel so blessed. Now my problem is that I don't know how to say thank you. He has gone out of his way to be kind to me, and there is really not much I can do to repay him. (he is not the only one to be this kind by the way.) He seems to be very involved in this church, and I thank God that there are people like him here. It makes me glad to be here. It is also good to know (and be reminded) that even though I am a missionary here, I am also being ministered to. The people in these churches basically provide everything for me and the other missionaries. I think it is a wonderful thing. It is comforting to know that I am completely vulernable here, yet I am being abudantly taken care of. All my needs and far more are seen to by these wonderful, caring people.

Yes, Japan is full of Amazing people.

of friendships with married men.

So today I found myself spending the afternoon with a married man. No, I don't date married men. Ever. But I seem to have accumulated quite a few friendships with married men. Actually, this was the first married man that I have met after his marriage. Most men I am friends with meet me as singles, and then proceed to marry other women. Now all of this is rather pointless information, but as this is a space for my reflective thoughts, I decided I should write them down. (well, type them down in any case) All of this rambling leads to the main idea of this paragraph: I have a lot of friendships with men. And all of them are married. So it occasionally strikes me as odd when I spend time with these friends one on one. Not terribly disturbing thoughts, just occasionally odd.

Now, on to other random thoughts.

The question came tonight as I walked home: Why is it rude to stare at blind people? It's not like they will know you are staring at them.

Also today I had the privledge of watching a CD get wrapped. Now normally I wouldn't consider this such a privledge, but this is Japan, and things are different here. So here the presentation of a gift is just as important, if not more, than the actual gift. So when I got the CD wrapped, I knew it would look nice. But as I watched the woman wrap, it was like a work of art. The only way I can describe it would be, origami Wrapping. Yes, it was that complicated looking. It was definitely the most unique way of wrapping a CD I have ever seen. I am very much impressed.

And just a side note, the CD in question is for my language partner (we meet once a week to speak to each other. She helps me speak in Japanese, and I help her with English. Yes, I need much more help than she does.) She has been taking English classes at a local church here, and has started going to Bible Study and church services. She is not quite a Christian, but she seems very interested. So, as we met, we were talking about music. It seems that Stacie Orrico is a popular singer here in Japan, but almost no one knows she is Christian. She had recently found this out and had been surprised. So, I decided to buy her a Stacie Orrico CD today. Not too terribly interesting, but if you are so inclined, please pray for her.

of me.

of blogging.

So this is my first time blogging. I decided it was about time I got with the program and started writing down my experiences. I am terrible when it comes to keeping journals, but hopefully I will be able to keep up this blog. This is a time in my life that I want to remember, and since it is new and exciting, I should have plenty to write about. Anywho, it's time to enter into the fun and exciting world of blogging. Yeah, that's it for now.