Putting lessons

Well, it's the day after Christmas, and my family went and played our annual post-Christmas round of golf. It was a lovely 74 degrees today and an all-around fun day with the family. We played decent and had a good number of laughs throughout the day. Ryan and I even shared a high five (woohoo!).

Most people don't know that I lettered all four years of high school in golf, not basketball. My parents got my brother and me started at a young age. We hated it. But now that we're older, we appreciate them forcing us to take lessons and get countless blisters on our hands. As a family, we've played all over the country on family vacations. While we may not have enjoyed it then, we have many fond memories...and decent looking family pictures.

But if you've ever played golf with me, you know I am an awful putter, mostly because I never practiced. I address the ball, look at the hole, and (try to) get a reasonable measurement in mind. As soon as I actually putt, I usually go, "OH NOOOOOOOOOO!" and watch the ball sputter a few inches and roll down a hill or zing past the hole and off the green. Occasionally I get lucky and they go in, and I pretend like I did it on purpose with skill and precision. Or as Ryan says, "Some people call it skill; I call it luck."

Looking back on the past year, I think it's kind of been like my putting. Last year, I was home, ready to get out of the snow and speak English. I went back to the village with unsigned contract papers in hand. And I signed those papers, not really sure what a second year would hold. "OH NOOOOOOOO!" I'm not exactly sure where I was aiming or going towards, but I moved. I moved forward and made progress towards...somewhere, something, someone better. I've grown (a little) over the past 12 months, and while I didn't read all the breaks correctly, I still made progress. I may not have ended up where I was aiming (wherever that may have been), but I am further along as a person than I was this time last year.

So here I am again--home, out of the snow, enjoying sunshine, and speaking English. My unsigned contract papers are sitting in my work desk in my frozen little village. I have not yet decided 100% what I'm going to do, but I know regardless of my decision, I'll move forward, make progress, and (hopefully) be a better person than I am now.

Grace

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of saying grace before meals. Probably because I was forced to when I was a kid growing up (rebellious child). I've thought it silly to only thank God for food, especially when I'm here eating dinner alone with Him every night. We just keep the conversation going. So I don't usually ever say grace, unless someone mentions it.

Before I went to school today, I asked God to "give me boldness to share the Gospel and love these people." Direct quote from my journal. See, this week is full of Christmas parties at my schools. But there's no meaning to Christmas here, and so it's a chance for me to share about the REAL reason for Christmas. I figured it was a reasonable prayer to pray going into a day of Christmas parties.

Oh, but I should've learned by now, don't put God in a box.

The teachers at my school today are very...interesting. They like to talk to me and ask me all kinds of crazy cultural questions and random questions about anything. For instance, during break today, I was asked what a "piñata" was. It started with a word I interpreted as "watermelon ball" and then "candy explosion" and a bat gesture. So I told the teacher it was a "piñata" but that it was Spanish. They asked for the English. I had to explain that it was a Spanish word we use in English. Another teacher came over and asked if Spain was to the left or the right of California. Which then led me to explain about Mexico. That's usually how my time is spent at this school with these teachers.

So I went to the elementary school Christmas party expecting some crazy questions. None. Nothing. They kept saying that Christmas had no religious connection in Japan. I kinda thought they'd ask...or something. But nothing. So, off to lunch.

In Japan, before we eat, we say, "Itadakimasu." When I first came to the school, the teachers were fascinated that there's no such custom in America. But one teacher asked about saying grace. Again, that was the end of the conversation.

Today, I came into the lunch room and sat down. Apparently I sat down in the special seat reserved for the "itadakimasu" person. It's his/her job to call everyone to attention and then say, "itadakimasu" with a clap. The teachers told me I was the "itadakimasu" leader, and I would've been perfectly fine saying, "itadakimasu," but they wanted me to say grace...in English. So I did. I thanked God for the food and asked His blessing upon it. Everyone in unison ended with "Amen."

Countdown

I wish I had a countdown this year. But it seems that I'm less than 5 days away from the 24 hour journey back to sunny southern California. So, no countdown this year.

Well, I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) last weekend (12/4)--not without any hitches of course. I missed the train going out to the city on Saturday (12/3), so I had to wait an hour and a half for the next one. Minor hitch. Had a nice time eating and hanging out with friends and not studying. Awesome. Middle of the night, not so awesome. Seems I caught some 24-hour flu. So I thought studying with a head cold during the week prior was rough. But sitting through a 4-hour test with flu symptoms is by far much worse. I survived the test (passing is a different story) and hopped on the train ride back to the village. I luckily stayed home and rested on Monday (12/5) as per the suggestion of my boss who also brought me lunch, dinner, and breakfast.

On Wednesday (12/7), I got back on the train for another trip to the city. I left my house at 6:30 on Wednesday morning and arrived in the city at 12:15. A long day. But my good friend and fellow Bible study friend in Wakanai (the northernmost part of our island) came in at the same time. We spent the day Christmas shopping and catching up and then met up with some other Bible study friends for dinner at our favorite restaurant--Emmy's. She makes legit Mexican food; not just legit for Hokkaido Mexican food, but real legit Mexican food. Because she learned to cook in LA. Thursday (12/8), we sat in a long boring meeting all day. But Thursday night a bunch of us headed out to the German Christmas Market for some dinner. A tad nippy, but it was nice to be outside and enjoying the city. We even met a girl from Mongolia who tagged along with us. An adventurous night and good fun. Friday (12/9) was another long day of meetings and then running to jump on the train back to the village. Not of course without a stop at Subway and Starbucks. Can't wait to get a real $5 footlong and a pumpkin spice latte.

Yesterday (12/10) our office had our bonenkai which is like an office Christmas party. We had our usual bowling tournament. If you've ever seen me bowl, well, you're one of a privileged few. I am AWFUL at bowling. And last year the office witnessed how awful my bowling was. Some of the other JETs went bowling a few months back. I was glad to not be the only one who couldn't get the ball to hit the pins. But yesterday, I redeemed last year's bowling. I ended the second game with a TURKEY (3 strikes in a row)! I surprised myself too. Our team still ended up getting fourth out of five teams, but we had a good time. The office went and enjoyed a fancy traditional Japanese dinner before heading out to nijikai, or second party. I don't like going to nijikai because it's usually at a hostess bar and I'm one of three women in our office. But the other 2 ladies said they were going, so I tagged along. Definitely not as awkward this year because we had a karaoke room (last year it was just hostesses...in a bar...super awkward). My boss made me sing a song in English (and if you've seen me sing karaoke, you're one of a privileged few), and the hostesses complimented on my English. The office guys had a good laugh. The ladies and I headed back to the hotel where we were put up for the night and headed up to the spa on the roof to check out the lunar eclipse. A relaxing way to end a hectic week.

Now it's Sunday (12/11), and I'm at home baking cookies to share with my office. My house is a disaster from all the packing, unpacking, and repacking that's happened in the past 7 days. My suitcase is sitting in the living room half packed, reminding me I only have 4 more work days until I'm on my way home.

Last year's countdown, I listed things I was looking forward to. This year I'm most looking forward to being with my family, laughing with my friends, and worshipping with my church. Of all the things I miss from home, I miss people. I miss fellowship. I miss having people to sit with in silence and have it totally be okay. I cannot wait to see my parents and my best friends when I step off that plane. I cannot wait to see my aunties and uncles almost as soon as I get home. But I'm most looking forward to walking into church on Sunday morning to worship my Lord Jesus and to hear the Word preached in English. And I have to laugh a little because I would not have said that just a couple of years ago. How God has changed my heart and my life in just a few years!

Thank You, God, for giving me family who wants me home, friends who want to see me, and a church to worship with. But most of all, Lord Jesus, thank You for coming as a baby wrapped up in a manger on a cold winter night for me. Thank You for giving me hope and a new life and a new a heart. I can't wait to see You.