Fukuoka Japan. There are two wards in Fukuoka - Fukuoka and Fujisaki.
I met this one girl in the MTC, named Onda Shimai, with our first set
of Nihonjin and she said she was from Fujisaki Ward. At the time, I
was like, "where's that" but now I understand. So I walked into the
kyokai (church building) and there was the missionary board. I saw
this picture with me in it and I was really confused. Onda shimai
writes a letter for the missionary board every now and then and I was
in the picture of all the Shimai at the MTC. So her father is the
state president and in the ward. It was really funny. So I showed
Onda Shimai (the mom) the picture of me and her daughter, with our
companions, when we were matching. It was way fun.
My trainer is a native Japanese named Motegi Shimai. She is way fun.
At first I was worried that she didn't know any English because she
won't speak it, but I've realized that she understands it (mostly) but
she doesn't like to speak it unless it's perfect, so she doesn't speak
it. She has some kinda werid habits that I realize are just Nihonjin
habits.
So here are a list of interesting things about Japan:
* Everyone rides bikes. I am everyone. When I asked Motegi Shimai
about it she said that everyone is economical. They don't want to pay
for the gas. So today, we had interviews at the hombu (mission
office) and we rode our bikes for over a half hour to get here.
Yikes. The MTC was mentally exhausting, but here is physically
exhausing. Everyday I will get a little stronger. To get the the
hombu/Fukuoka Temple there is this big hill. My companion warned me
about it, but experiencing it was totally different. It was pretty
tough. I'm talking like San Francisco hills on bikes. Yep. So I
bought my bike. It's a GT Aggressor. There is a cute little basket
on the back for my stuff, with a water proof cover for the rainy
season, which should start in the next couple of weeks.
* The peep holes are my height. I'm so serious. It's kinda funny. I
leaned over to look out the peep hole and for the first time in my
life I wasn't on my tip toes. :) You would be so proud of me.
* There are no trash cans on the street. It's the weirdest thing
ever. There is this mindset that you don't throw anything away - you
put it in your bag and throw it away when you get home. So I had to
buy a bike light for my bike. Then we ate at KFC (yes, they do exist
here) and I tried to throw away the bike-light wrapping. That night I
noticed my companion pulled out my bike light trash. She had taken it
home with her! Haha, I couldn't help but laugh, you know? I really
don't think KFC would have noticed or cared, but that's just the way
things work here.
* Gehan (vending machines) are on every corner. I probably pass about
6 on the way to the church, which is about a 10 minute jitensha (bike)
ride. No joke. And everything is sold in vending machines, including
alcohol and cigarettes. I haven't exactly tried to buy that stuff
yet, but I didn't see a place for you to show ID or prove your of
legal age to do that sort of thing. Who knows. But I do really like
this vitamin water that is really just lemonade. Ooishii (delicious).
But along the lines of bad things sold in vending machines, I'm
pretty sure everyone in Japan smokes. I saw a man riding his bike,
texting, and smoking, all at the same time. It was crazy.
* The church buildings here don't have basketball courts like they do
in America. First of all, there just isn't enough space. Second, not
everyone likes Volleyball here. Instead, every church building has a
ping-pong table. No joke. And ping-pong isn't called ping-pong here,
it's called.... something else. I can't remember it right now. So
I'm going to be pretty awesome at ping-pong when I get home. In our
future house of some kind, I think we should get a ping pong table.
Seriously.
* People drive on the wrong side of the road. It's so weird. But
that doesn't just mean cars, but also bikes, people, the way you read
books - everything is backwards! I feel like even the toilet flushes
the wrong way.
* I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you about the toilets. They
are the single greatest piece of modernism on the face of the planet.
When I stayed at the mission home, the toilet was awesome, but I just
kinda thought it was only in that nice house. No, even public
bathrooms are like there. There are curtesy bells that make noise as
you are doing your business. Then, some of the toilet seats are
heated. No joke. It's like the heated seats in Dad's Pacifica. Then
you can push a button and water will spray up and clean you up, then
another button to dry you. No kidding. It's the weirdest thing ever.
It's like the things I saw on TV were real.
* It's true that they don't use dryers. This morning when I did my
laundry, I had to hang it outside to dry. It was a really weird
feeling. Now there are going to be so many wrinkles - I guess I'll
have to use an iron.... :( There are these cute little hanging
contraptions that I hung my folding clothes from. I may want one when
I come back, ok?
There are about a dozen other small things that are pretty werid, but
I can't remember them right now.
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