Unspoken. Unheard.

There are some things better kept to one's self. But there are also things that must not be kept as a secret. Just imagine someone discovering a cure to cancer and choosing to keep that cure to himself until his death.  Imagine all the lives that could have been saved and all the smiles and joy it could have put in the hearts of many families suffering from that struggle. 

For quite some time, I've been plagued with the question of whether it is appropriate to raise discussions of faith and Christianity in a society that values pluralism of thoughts. I've been wondering whether it's even strategic to mention words like "God", "Jesus", or "love" when you know how it causes some people to cringe or how it might even offend some. 

Somehow, I was able to justify my fear with being strategic. How could I possibly keep the best thing in my life out of my conversations. How could I possibly hide the relationship that radically changed my life. How can I keep something that has the capacity to change the lives of people, generations, and nations as a secret.

When we allow fear to consume us, it drifts us away from great things we could have been part of. Another guy will eventually develop a cure to cancer. But the person who brought the cure to his deathbed just missed a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in something amazing. Whether we share the gospel or not, God will still be able to accomplish his works. The question rests on whether we want to be part of his amazing plan in touching lives of people and reaching out to nations.

Some of the things I realized in Japan

Now that I'm back to this not so rich but wonderful country, I will try to share some realizations I had while I was in Japan. I may not be able to accurately highlight everything here, but I'll try my best to recall my experiences. For now, I'll start with 3 things.

1. Values are contagious.

In Japan, when people reserve tables in canteens or restaurants they just leave their phones (mostly iphone6), bags, or other valuables to indicate that the seat is taken. Now that I'm back in the Philippines, I have to constantly remind myself that I can't leave my things unattended unless I want to gift them to strangers.

People are also extremely polite and kind in Japan. I cannot think of an experience that can fully depict this, but I remember one instance on a train with my friend. Unlike here where people rush to get the seats when train doors start to open; in japan, people would even insist that you take the seat when you offer them an available seat. Most of the times, they won't stop insisting on declining your offer to the point that you reach the next stop and another person eventually takes the seat. 

In one instance, there was an old man who lost his balance and almost fell.  My friend decided to offer his seat out of concern for the old man. But he got pushed back to his seat by the old man, forcefully declining while thanking my friend. That picture led me to think why they have a very strong sense of maintaining their social values.

I noticed that when people around you do certain things, you will most likely do the same. Values are contagious.
 
Who we watch, who we admire, who we befriend, and who we allow to enter in our lives will greatly influence our values and decisions in life.

2. Treat your work as a craft. Do your best even in small things.

Counting your notes
In Japan, notes are adorned with portraits on one side. The cashier will hold out the notes with these portraits facing you and the notes will be parallel to a wall as opposed to the floor. Using two hands, the amount will be counted out verbally as they flick through each note.
Handing over your notes
The notes will then be handed to you in a neat stack with the largest one on the bottom. When you put them in your wallet, your notes will now be in order from lowest to highest, making it more convenient for you when it comes to paying for your next transaction.
Handing over your coins and receipt
Next, the cashier will fold your receipt if it’s particularly long, and then place the coins neatly on top. By doing this, the receipt will protect the palm of your hand from coming into contact with any coins. You’ll then be able to slide the small change easily into your coin compartment and either return the receipt into the special box that’s often provided on the counter or slide it into your wallet. Cue graceful bow and you’re on your way!  
(retrieved from: http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/04/27/the-remarkable-art-of-giving-and-receiving-change-in-japan/)
 

This is just one example of how they treat seemingly mundane tasks as an avenue to showcase their excellence. While Japan has achieved great milestones in different industries, it's amazing how they still value excellence in small things.

I am sure not all cashiers like doing their job, yet they continue to provide outstanding service. Most people say that in order to be good in what you do, you have to love what you do. Although loving your craft is important, it does not excuse us from being mediocre in the things we don't like doing. 

I believe that the latter attitude is essential to being a progressive nation or even at being a successful individual. We have to strive on giving our best not only to achieve a bigger goal but also simply for the sake of maintaining excellence in seemingly small and irrelevant tasks.

3.Humans speak the same language.

I now appreciate the importance and wonder of linguistics more than ever. Foreign language is both isolating and emancipating. It connects people as well as seclude them. When I first came to Japan, I knew zero Japanese words. At first, it was so difficult to interact with people whom I don't share any common language. But after months of staying in an international environment, I discovered something remarkable about people and language.

Language wasn't the only barrier of interaction. My classmates were from different culture. There was certainly a number of observable differences in how we act, talk, and think. Nevertheless, after a couple of months, I realized that I was able to relate and connect to people, even to those who don't speak english well.

It's amazing how God designed us to speak human.

Smiles and laughter are just some of my favorite forms of human language. It's sometimes even more powerful than the content of a spoken message. I never imagined how effective they were in connecting with people. I remember the first few weeks I was struggling with my inept Japanese skills, of how a smile started several friendships and how laughter was enough to sustain an enjoyable conversation.

Out of the fullness of our hearts the mouth speak. Regardless of how different people are or their language, the contents of our heart will always somehow leak outwardly. If we fill our hearts with joy, peace, and love, then people around us will soon start to notice their manifestations.

Best Thing I've Seen in Japan

Nothing else in Japan will amount to the joy I feel seeing people's lives change; witnessing generations rise up; and watching them know Christ. 

It's such a great privilege to be part of God's plan for Japan. When you're life's purpose is to change the world, each day never ceases to be amazing.

Lone trip to Osaka Castle

I was supposed to meet my friends at a venue near the castle. But they already left when I got there.

Oh well, at least I got to enter osaka castle. It was free for university students I just had to show my ID. Awesome...

I wonder how deep this is.

Climbed to the top and the view was rewarding.

Outside were modern buildings. That's how they mix modern structures with their cultural heritage.

Nara Trip (DeersEverywhere-Part3)

 It's just amazing how these deers are so free. No cages or fences at all.

 They seem to be so trained. But I didn't see any caretaker. They bow to people so that they will feed them.

They just look so majestic. It's my first close-encounter with these creatures.

Nara Trip (Daibutsu- Part2)

Had to pay some amount to enter this temple.

They claim they have the biggest buddha in Japan.

It's just so gigantic. Interesting background about this: the temple was burnt few centuries ago and only its head survived.

Fortunately, when we went there, there was ceremony. Someone told me that this rarely happens.

This just looks like the one from movies.

Russia, German, Australia, US, Japan, Mexico,, and PH represent!

Free entrance fee in this japanese garden for foreigners. Wieeee!

Nara Trip (Temples-Part 1)

Outside the train station, you will instantly feel a sense of Japan's history.

BING-BONG! KLENG! Different sounds  of bells from temple.

Wishes and petitions written on wood. You need to pay for the wood though. It's a little pricey for a prayer.

This is a huge statue. I bet this looks creepy during night.

Obviously, I lack literacy on the specifics of japanese history. I'm one of those tourists who simply appreciates the facades of this structures. But I think there's definitely a lot to learn about these landmarks.

Someone performing at middle of a lake.

This was the historically-ignorant tourist who roamed Nara. He looks cool though with that white plastic bag.

Spring Fest (Lifehouse)

 This is a late post. This was a time when cherry blossoms were still blooming, but i'm gonna blog it anyway.

 Bubbles soccer was fun and hilarious especially when people try to bump and trip each other.

 I remember losing the game, but seeing how people bounce was more than rewarding.

 And this was supposed to be a game of hiding the flag but it became a tree climbing competition.

 Outdoor cooking.

 Cooked some noodles and grilled some meat.

Met people from other universities, and met someone from ADMU. I noticed that there isn't much school pride, but instead a more collective national pride exists in these situations.

Frisbee Saturday

Didn't have exercise this week 'cause I needed to rest. So I decided to play frisbee with Tommy, who mentioned that he can't find anyone to practice with. 

In return I got tom yum chicken and indonesian noodles. It was a good bargain! Kidding.

There were two kids who happily played frisbee and soccer with us. I felt like a kid again, with that unceasing energy and bursts of giggles.

 Someday, I hope these kids become part of the generation will change Japan. A generation who believes in a sovereign God. I don't think that's far from impossible.

 Then tsukemen! You have do dip the noodles in the soup. Since I'm not good at chopsticks, it took me almost 2hours to eat. But even after that, I didn't finish my meal.

The intricacy of preparing Japanese dishes makes it expensive. Got free additional eggs in our meal (worth 100yen). Cool.

Spring Semester Welcome Party

 Japanese parties are unusual. They start and end very early, 5:30pm 'til 7:30pm to be exact. There wasn't any music and no program. It's a forced interaction I must say, but I guess this is better than knowing people through social media first.

 Met a lot of new people. This is me with my mexican friends. It's cool how I can understand most of their conversations since Filipino has a lot of spanish derived words.

I can't count on my hands the number of countries that are represented here. It's definitely challenging to overcome different cultural barriers. But I am hopeful that all nations will worship God someday.

Odd Poverty

Poverty is usually defined in an economic sense. If you don't have money you're poor.
But why do we need money anyway? Of course, to access basic needs like food, education, and health service.

However, I found an interesting contradiction to the conventional view of poverty. Cuba is one of the poorest nations in the world, still suffering from various sanctions. 

But Cuba is one of the countries that rank top in terms of literacy,low infant mortality rate, life expectancy, and employment.  


They beat Canada in terms of literacy, infant mortality, and employment rate. They're even better than the US in terms of overall health.

So...what now is poverty? If money is just a means to an end, should we say the Cuba is under poverty?

The Dangers of Internet

We live in a generation bombarded with information. Often overestimating the accuracy, importance, and wisdom of viral internet data.

The 12th most searched question in google is "what shall I do with my life?"(Miller, 2014). People searching the net for life's deep questions, to the point of skipping the process of contemplation itself.

"Books will promote forgetfulness; that people would be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing"

-Socrates

His line of thinking suggests that people put too much trust on information, produced by external characters [which are no part of ourselves], that it leads to the death of our critical faculties. 

We have to stop thinking that answers are always out there. We have start thinking that we have a larger role to shape and create those answers.

 

Icheo Festival

 This week is Japan's golden week. It's holiday and there are no classes for a week. Osaka University is celebrating icheo which is ginko in english. It's "our" school logo here. But I still don't know why we are celebrating because of ginko trees.

There are student booths that sell food and drinks. Somewhat reminiscent to UP fair.

I went to the fair late in the afternoon so everything was about to close. Bought this sausage at a discounted price. Around 50php, it's the cheapest I can get.

Stayed for some performances.

Most performances were acapella, like pentatonix. They were really good. I would appreciate it if UP fair have this kind of music rather than ear-shattering metallic songs.

Pokemon Center

 A mall was celebrating its anniversary. They decorated the grounds with windmills.

 Here's a closer look. Cool ayt?

 

Saw a pokemon center shop in one of the malls.

 

People are welcomed by these adorable pokemon characters.

Pikachu running the cash register.

More of Pikachu.

Some of his friends. Okay, I don't know their names. I'm one of the few people who don't watch pokemon.

 At least I know this is a poke-ball. HAHA

 More pokeballs. Easter edition? I don't know.

 

Some of their other friends stuffed with polyesters.