I've been wanting to post a blog for about a month now about my travels this summer but haven't quite known how to formulate all my experiences into concise explanations. I have decided that it is impossible to express all the thoughts I had as I traveled to China, back to Japan, and then to the US this summer so I will just have to begin typing whatever comes out to the best of my ability. We all know that the world holds a very diverse array of cultures, but it is difficult to realize exactly how different from just reading books or sitting in a world history class until you live there. Even in Asia, there are stark contrasts from country to country. For example, it is easy for people to confuse China and Japan. But, as both my brother and I can tell you they are as I have been saying, "ぜんぜんちがいますcompletely different". Though, it was interesting as I showed pictures to my Japanese students of China they kept saying how much it looked like Japan 50 years ago, so we will see what China is like in 50 years!
The question I am still contemplating relates to those differences. Is there a best way to live, a best way to raise children, a best way to think and act? It seems to me that every culture has certain tendencies, but it doesn't mean that every person in that culture falls into those tendencies. Take education for example. In Japan there is too much pressure on young children to excel in their studies. They spend all their time, even on weekends and after school hours attending cram schools or being tutored with most of the emphasis on test scores to get into a good high school or college. In the United States there is not as much emphasis placed on high test scores but rather on one's class grades, extracurricular involvement, and personality. Thus, often students slide by putting in only half the effort they could into studying and expect good results.
I typically tend to seek out the middle ground when it comes to differences. When I arrived in the airport in Guangzhou in China I felt immediately refreshed to see children running around and playing as they waited to board the plane. They freely ran up and down at times shrieking in delight as they played and sparred with one another. I kept waiting for their parents to come over, tell them to be quiet and then take them back to sit down nicely. But, it never came. On trains, buses and on the streets it was the same. People talked freely on their cell phones, listened to music, and chatted noisily whereas public transportation in Tokyo is typically completely silent and if your phone rings you will get several icy stares. I found that both of these extremes became too much for me. China at times was too loud and I just wanted a moment of peace, but Japan is so silent at times it is stifling.
Yet, the biggest culture shock I experienced the entire summer was upon returning to my home country. As I entered the Chicago airport to transfer to my plane for Minneapolis I was so overwhelmed! Now, if you know the Ohare airport that in itself can be quite overwhelming. People everywhere were speaking a language I could understand every word of, but they looked like people that should be speaking a foreign language! The woman who took my ticket looked like she was from Pakistan, and the man who was my fight attendant was Asian, etc. After being in such a homogenous society for two years it blows my mind just how diverse America is.
I got over most of the reverse culture shock about America pretty quickly, but I could not get over the size of people. It really made me sad to see so many obese and overweight people. I have lost weight myself living in Japan due to the lifestyle. More walking, probably healthier foods, and probably some not so healthy stress. I hope when I return to America I can continue the healthy habits I have here and encourage others to do so as well in order to live a longer and happier life.
One last observation....Though many people feel America is becoming less of a Christian society it sure feels far from it to me after living where there is 1% Christianity. Everywhere I drove I passed hundreds of churches and billboards with Christian messages. Even the newspaper was filled with articles featuring Christian schools and churches, often on the front page.
The thing of course that does not differ between cultures is our need for help. We all have our own problems and weaknesses no matter how strong or well-off our country may seem. We all need God's grace. I can't tell you exactly what culture in best, and that isn't the point anyway, but I think I can better understand some of the differences. Today the sermon was based on the passage in Mark where the disciples are arguing about who is the greatest. The pastor pointed out that they were focusing on the wrong question. What is important in our life is not being the best, but loving one another. We ought not focus on how our differences may make us better or lesser than another, but we can use those differences to educate us on how to show love to the person, or even what aspect of their life they may need love. So often the differences in attitude and mindset on the Japanese really frustrate me and I have a hard time loving the way I should. Thanks be to God that he pours out his unconditional love on us and enables us to do the same when we fix our eyes on Jesus.
