I’m here! Hiroshima was the home of my grandpa’s parents and is also one of the most infamous sites of world history. I spent some time exploring Kagoshima earlier today, so I haven’t seen much of the Hiroshima yet, but I have much planned for tomorrow! Check out the photo on my flickr about the shopping mall that was demolished during the war…
Some Japanese cultural-isms that make me smile:
1. The way train attendants will politely turn, bow, and acknowledge their passengers every time the leave a cabin.
2. The way a 35 year old man reads his comic books. Common in Japan!!
3. The man digging up his nose with his finger with the same tenacity as if he were digging for gold.
4. An older man’s “bawwaaaaamp!!” while we waiting at a crosswalk, his obtrusive gas reminding me that, yes, this is DEFINITELY the city where my family is from. It was like he was proud of it or something…
Being in “the homeland”, I’ve been thinking a lot about my culture. As a Japanese American, I am neither fully Japanese nor fully American. One may argue that the definition of being American is a melting pot of cultures; however, one cannot deny the fact that a Japanese American sometimes feels a bit out of place in Issaquah, Mercer Island, Olympia.
Cultures are different from each other, and I am influenced in different ways by each culture. To point out common character traits of each, among many traits, Japanese nationals are humble, polite, careful. Americans are outgoing, authentic, expressive. Of course, both cultures share all of these traits, however these particular traits seem to be more prominent in one culture than another.
Different is difficult. Familiar is comfortable. We all faces struggles with not ‘fitting the status quo’, and this happens to be one of mine: who am I? Am I a chameleon, changing skins to match whoever I’m around? Who am I when no one is around?
As with all of us, we must choose who we want to be. As for me and the rest of my life, I choose Christ. He is humble and outgoing, polite and authentic, careful and expressive. He is a passionate lover of all cultures – in fact, He IS all cultures. And as I explore who Jesus is, I find that I, likewise, find who I am.
Jamie
