The Land of the Rising Sun

This week was my week of vacation, and it was great! I did a whole lot this week. I think it was partly due to the fact that there were a lot of outside forces causing me to do things. Nothing like having friends pull you around to different places. I'm definitely not complaining though. I probably would've sat home and did nothing otherwise.

On Monday, I went to the zoo (which I wrote about in last week's blog). On Tuesday, I met up with my Korean friends from college. We played billiards, bowling, and ended it all with an hour at the karaoke room. That still has to be one of my favorite things to do here. I did something on Wednesday, but honestly, I can't really remember what I did. I remember playing soccer with Koreans at night, but the rest of the day is a blur. Thursday was my rest and recharge day. I don't think I did anything all day except watch the presidential debate. That's probably about the only thing I've done to keep in touch with what's happening in America. From a pure debate standpoint, I thought they both were fairly week in their arguments. Both left out what I thought to be vital details to their arguments, but then again, I guess their main goal isn't winning the argument. Smile for the camera!!! I really felt bad for the moderator though. How anyone could interrupt that nice man from the PBS channel is beyond me. If they were in Asia, they would get smacked around for a cultural blunder of that magnitude.

On Friday, I went to Japan. This, I definitely wouldn't have even thought of attempting unless it was all laid out beforehand by someone who knew what they were doing. (I really hate going somewhere without everything planned out. If I don't know exactly what I'm going to do and how I'm going to get there, it's just a little too stressful to be a vacation). Luckily, we had a Japanese guy show us around. I went with my coworker, and it was his friend. During the trip, I became more and more thankful that I chose Korea to come and teach in. Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed Japan, but it was just missing some things.

Let me start by saying that Japanese food is bar none better than 99.99% of all other foods in the world. However, it's super expensive. The average price I paid for a bowl of ramen was about 900 Yen. (Look up the exchange rate if you're really curious.) No one can hold a match to Korean public transportation. Japanese subways are run by private companies which translates to high prices and general confusion when it comes to navigating around: tons of transfers and a general confusion of where you are. In Korea, you would have to blind and deaf to get lost on their subway. It's very user friendly. I also felt a great contrast within the Japanese culture. Their pop culture is very "cute." Their music focuses on a more pre-adolescent version of fun: almost carefree. However, the people are a totally different story. They are stone faced! In Korea, the people don't show much emotion when they are just walking around, but once they stop, they are super emotional. Even after the day was done and on the weekend, the Japanese were flat faced about everything. I think their pop music is a reflection of what they wish they could be like, but are restricted from becoming because of their culture set in tradition. There is a certain pride to these Asian countries. It is much different in America. These countries have histories dating back thousands of years, and they are very proud of them. To deviate from traditions dating back thousands of years is like disowning your country.

Japan was super beautiful though. It was really peaceful and quiet. The people keep to themselves and you can just sit and enjoy the numerous views. I can now see why this country is so closed off to the Gospel. Part of it rests in the strict tradition that is enforced on the people. The other is the culture in which they live. There is not good way to confront somebody about something. For example, going up to someone and pointing out sin would be considered one of the rudest things you could do. Idol worship is super prevalent there. There were shrines and little Buddha or Shinto idols everywhere with people praying to them. It really makes me sad to see how darkened they are. Only God can break into that country.

On the first day in Japan, we went to an awesome aquarium! I don't know if I even remember ever having gone to an aquarium before. On Saturday, we went to Kyoto, a traditional Japanese city. Apparently, (around 500 years ago) it used to be the capital before Tokyo.  We spent this morning (Sunday) visiting various shops and markets. Check facebook for more pictures and videos. I took tons!