The apartment setup is coming along fine. This has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. I've never really lived on my own until now and so I've never been responsible for furnishing and decorating my own residence before. As a single guy I have no prior experience in making sure things match or look nice, and so I'm learning on the fly here. I'm still working on getting some things set up and so once things look a little better here in the apartment I'll post some pictures of what the inside looks like.
I like the city I'm living in. It has a small city feel to it, even though it has over 500,000 people. The people here are a little more laid back than the people you might find in a city like Tokyo.
I'm learning to drive here in Japan. That has been an adventure in and of itself. I'm hoping to take my first driving test sometime in the next couple of weeks to see if I can get my Japanese license. I'm driving on an international license right now. It's been an adjustment learning to drive on the other side of the road and on smaller streets and in smaller lanes than one would find in the states. I've already gotten my first parking ticket here in Japan. I had apparently parked in a no parking spot in front of a house, even though there wasn't a "no parking" sign anywhere to be found, and when I first parked there there was a car immediately parked in front of me and another one parked just a little behind me......but whatever. As you can tell I'm still a little bitter about it....so I'm using this space to vent. The very next day I got stopped by a police officer. He saw that I was a foreigner and just wanted to make sure that I had my license and papers with me. I've never gotten pulled over because of my race before. I've learned an important lesson through these two experiences though. Japanese police have very little actual police work to do. Okay, Okay.....maybe that's not fair. Please forgive me. Obviously, I still need to get out my frustration over all this.
Anyway, all in all it's been great here. I'm in the exact place where God has called me to and I'm amongst a people that God desperately wants to reveal his love to. Please pray that I continue to adjust well to my new home. Pray that I balance my time wisely so that I can devote the proper time necessary to learning the Japanese language as quickly as possible.
Here are some of my first pics of my new city. Enjoy and God Bless!
The view looking southwest out over Utsunomiya from my apartment balcony
The view looking directly north from my apartment
The river that runs through the heart of Utsunomiya
The building with eyeballs right outside of the train station...aka LaLasquare Department Store. Oh, by the way this store has the best theme song it plays on loud speakers as you walk by it outside. I find my myself singing it throughout the day...."La La La Square, La La La Square"---that's pretty much it, but it's to a real catchy tune (you'll have to trust me on this)
Rooftop Gardening
Utsunomiya's not so adventurous Adventure Bridge. This was a major disappointment. I thought it would sway in the air and be kinda dangerous or exciting to cross....but it wasn't. It was actually kind of ghetto. You can tell by the number of other people there that the Japanese probably feel the same way about it. Japan is one of those places that there are people almost everywhere you go. If you happen to go to a place and don't see any Japanese people there you just know something is up.
Awww....Bird Love!!!
8 comments:
Hey those pictures are really good...and so bright! It's almost as if you enhanced them or something! I am glad to see that you are on your way to getting over the bitterness of the Japanese police....or are you? Jarod, you are going to do great in Utsunomiya! No matter if you are a fabulous host or not, you truly love the people and have a heart to just serve them and share Christ with them and that is the most important thing. That is true hospitality...sharing your life and whatever you have with those around you! And when in doubt you can just entertain your guests by teaching them the cool functions on your toilet...oh wait, they're Japanese...they will already know about that...hmmm...well, either way I have faith in you and in the God that you serve. You will do great Jarod, and I am excited to be able to be here to pray and see what God does in and through you.
Question: The time posted is that your time, my time or an arbitrary time selected by the computer committee?
Not that you would want to know, but if I came to Japan, I would HAVE to go to the store with the eyes. (Just ask Kyle about Greece)
Just returned from convention thought about you all weekend. Glad to hear you are adjusting.
so, how much is a Japanese parking ticket? I just received one here in Peoria. I didn't have more than a quarter in change and the eyedoctor took more than an hour.
Nope. No enhancement. All natural photography. And the toilet is going to get its own feature blog really soon. Thanks for the encouragement though. That's why I'm glad you're my best friend!
Good question on the time thing Kim. It said I posted like at 5 something AM, when in actuality I posted like at 12 AM. Weird! The store with eyes really is a pretty cool place if you can get over the fact that is has creep eyeballs painted on the side.
I'm not sure how much I'm going to have to pay on the ticket, but rumors are that it'll be pretty heafty. The number I'm hearing from multiple people is $150.00....for a parking ticket. That explains some of the bitterness on my part for sure. I'm sure yours will be cheaper.
Anyway, thanks for the kind words and for the posted comment. It's good to know that people are still thinking about me back home. It means more than you know. Take Care and talk to you later.
Don't be bitter. I'm sure as the police become more familiar with your driving, parking, etc., they'll be much more forgiving in the future. It's good to see you are adapting so well in such a different culture. You are prayed for in plain old Peoria.
Racial profiling! Incredible...you can call it persecution or suffering for Jesus & count it all joy! I think I would have felt the same way as you did. It seemed like a couple of Murphy's laws moments. I have been eager to hear how things are going - thanks so much for the update. We'll keep praying for you.
Hello from everyone here in Fort Worth! We are so glad to hear that you made the trip safely and have finally arrived there. We are so proud of you and your follwing God's call for your life. I know that you will touch many lives and have a profound impact on the city. We are all praying for you! Keep us updated!
Summer!
Hey. Awww....I miss all you guys. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I truly appreciate that kind of stuff. It gets lonely over here from time to time and so it always picks me up to hear from people back in the states. Thanks for being so awesome. Tell everyone I said hello.
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