July 28, 2009: Sayonora Japan

The one year we spent in Japan will certainly go down as one of the very best years of my life. First of all, it was wonderful because it was my and Sarah's first home together. We will miss our little place in the jutaku. We will miss our little bathtub where we learned to heat water the old-fashioned way(sort of). We'll miss our Japanese toilet with the "American" converter. We will miss our little kitchen where we cooked all of our meals...even the tiny refrigerator. We will miss our kotatsu table where we toasted our legs in the winter as we ate supper and watched many a movie on our trusty little laptop computer. We will miss living in such close proximity to all of our neighbors, who also happened to be most of our good friends. We will even miss the monthly group jutaku cleaning days. I will certainly miss watching Sarah look out the window in the stairwell to see which of our friends she could spot below as we made our way out of the apartment. There are lots of things we will miss about that little place.

Of course, we will also miss our little car. We never could agree on what to call the little Subaru Bistro. I wanted to call it booger...because it was little and green. Sarah always wanted to refer to it as the Little Green Monster. It sure was a good little car.

We will miss Iizuka...that wonderful little inaka town. We will miss the 100 yen gym, Chikuho Heights, Ray Duck Hamburgers, Old Lady Place, the French bakery, our bicycles, the sounds of the high school band practicing, the beautiful mountains, the beautiful lakes, yakitori, men's club, running sprints by the river, listening to the "niku" song at the grocery store, teaching night class, Trial, Japanese buses and trains, and an infinite number of other things...

Above all, we will miss the wonderful Japanese people we met during our time in Japan. From teachers and students, to neighbors and the strangers we met along the way, we will miss them all. The Japanese people are some of the kindest, most wonderful people in the world.

I can't even begin to explain the way Japan changed me. It has been a slow, steady change...but I have definitely changed a lot since the time we first arrived here. I am certainly better off for it, even if many people can't comprehend it. I can't say it enough...I have gained such a tremendous new perspective on every aspect of life. I tried to allow myself to be a part of Japan and adapt as much as possible during our stay. For me, it was extremely important to be a part of Japan, rather than simply observe it as some sort of tourist. In doing so, I learned so many valuable things...and actually "found myself" in many ways. I have compared everything I have known (or thought I knew) before Japan to everything I have learned during my stay. I've surprised myself at the resulting changes that have come from doing so.

Perhaps most importantly, I learned the importance of keeping an open mind. It became so apparent to me how important it is to learn from and accept people and ideas different from my own and those of others who have an influence in my life. I learned that pride...including national pride, and assuming one's own beliefs to be superior to those held by others...can be a dangerous, foolish thing. I say this, because I began to notice the way many Americans jokingly, and sometimes seriously, talked about the Japanese, and non-Americans in general, as though they were strange...even inferior people with strange ideas and strange ways. As I came to know the Japanese better, these sorts of negative notions held by others began to bother me more and more. I have seen that the Japanese people as a whole are far more polite, respectful, dutiful, loving, and noble than just about any people I have ever known before. I have come to realize the importance of learning about new people and new cultures, and even challenging and testing the ideas I've always held so closely. I would challenge others to do the same. The result is that I have a much greater respect and admiration for the Japanese...and for people who are "different" in general. And I feel a new-found sense of duty to help people at home have a better understanding of them.

I still love America. After all, it is my home and it is a wonderful place. But I've also come to realize that there are other, equally wonderful places on this Earth...and Japan is certainly one of those places. As I hear some Americans pridefully gloating about America being "number 1" at everything (as I used to do), I realize that it wouldn't hurt for some people to take a Japanese lesson in humility. It's important to learn about other people and to regard them with dignity and respect. It's also important to shelve stereotypes and prideful notions of being better than any others. I've never before realized so much way some Americans really do push their own ideas, religions, business and everything else on the rest of the world without stopping to listen courteously to the ideas and wishes of those they are affecting. I find it astonishing the way so many people are so willing and ready to criticize the religious beliefs, traditions and customs of people different from what they were brought up with, without ever taking the time to study the very philosophies and ideas they are condemning or ignoring.

It became very interesting to me that people with these "weird" ideas of family, religion, traditions and even eating habits actually seemed to be as happy and successful as anyone I had ever known back in America. I saw an entire nation of people with completely different religious beliefs than those held back in the US...and what I largely saw were people who loved, shared and lived lives as good as or better than anybody I had ever known before. This was in stark contrast to what I've always heard so many prideful politicians and religious leaders preach back in the US. I won't get into comparing ideologies and trying to discern who is right and who is wrong...but what I will say is that it has become very apparent to me that there really are "different strokes for different folks" as the saying goes. There is definitely more than one way to go about living life and achieving happiness. I have seen this with my own eyes and experienced it in person. I think it is important for people all over the world to devote their efforts to learning about others and accepting people as they are, rather than ignoring them, trying to change them, or simply thinking of them as "weird". I truly believe that this has been the most important lesson I have learned during my time in Japan. There are some people who will never fully understand what I am trying to convey, but that doesn't necessarily matter. I have lived what I have lived, and I have experienced what I have experienced. All I can do now is share my experiences as best I can and continue to have an open-mind and respect for others.

I never would have imagined that it would be so difficult to leave Japan and return to the US. Of course, we love our family, friends and country...and we will be happy to be returning to them all. But it is certainly difficult to be leaving behind so many other things we love in Japan. We hope to be back again in the not-to-distant future.

Japan will always have a warm spot in our hearts. It really is our "other" home. We hope to always carry with us the lessons we have learned and to remain close with our wonderful new friends. To everyone we have met in Japan, we say,"arigato gozaimasu!" and "sayonora!"

-Brandon