Update on Japan

As an American that is so in love with Japanese Culture, I know some of the ins and outs that both Japanese and Americans when it comes to experiencing each other culture. Once interesting aspect of this how one expects the other to handle culture shock and become accustomed to their new live conditions/culture. Many times we do not expect a person from the opposite culture to internalize their society beyond what is expected and vice-verse. For example, One common thing to be easily accepted by Japanese when they come to live in America for long terms is to become Christian and sometimes adopt our bad eating habits which usually leads to them gaining weights. These are small things that are not to be usually expected, it seems that Japanese usually never lose their Japanese Character. On the other hand we American seem to blow to scale when we have the tendency to easily adapt the Japanese Character and being many Japanese to shock at our adaptation. We usually internalize it so when that we tend to start bowing while talking on the phone or quoting a kotowaza (Japanese Proverb) to make a point. According to an interesting online poll, some other things gaijin do that surprise Japanese include speaking using dialects like Osaka-ben, singing enka songs at karaoke, giving dates in the Japanese calender system (e.g. Showa 43 instead of 1968), drinking fruit-flavored milk with a hand on one hip after a bath, and sitting seiza, or in proper Japanese kneeling position. Another thing that surprises Japanese people is when foreigners are polite, or then they line up properly in crowds. When Japanese go drinking with a foreigner they always seem to expect them to order a Budweiser, since that's what all foreigners drink, right? But, I personally do not drink but I hear many gaijin tend to order popular Japanese drinks instead like atsukan, Hot Sake. The holy grail of a foreigner living in Japan is when a Japanese person temporarily forgets how to write a difficult kanji -- You know what I mean, we Americans usually call this a Brain Farts -- and you casually jot it down for them. I really wonder if this might happen to me someday.

Japanese Visa

It seems that more changes are coming for foreigners living in Japan, which will be welcomed indeed. Gaijin -- the work literary means "outsiders" -- living in Japan must naturally be registered with the Japanese government, and since 1952 foreigners have been issued an "alien registration card" which records the pertinent information Japanese officials might need access to. Not this card is going away, replaced by a streamlined ID card that embeds various information about cardholder in an IC chip. The new cards go out of their way to abolish the work "alien" (which a lot of people disliked), fingerprint information is also kept out of the registry system entirely (since it made honest foreigners feel like criminals). The new registration system being many improvements, including increasing the length of stay for most types of visa-holders and ending the requirements that zainichi ("residing in Japan") Koreans and Chinese, were born in Japan but maintain Korean and Chinese citizenship for cultural and/or political reasons, carry ID cards at all. Best of all, the "re-entry stamps" most foreign residents had to get before leaving the country (which required a day waiting in line and the local immigration office and cast $60 a year) are eliminated. The goal of the new system is to make gaijin feel more welcome in Japan and hopefully reverse the trend of foreigners leaving, just as the country needs them most. I know I feel a bit more confident that my stay in Japan one day will be much more pleasant because of these changes.

Update 5.4

This was the year I finally said "I will start my own business" and the first five months have been extremely bumpy and have given me many head aches. It seems that many things I encounter in this venture require skills and experience I obtained from the last 9 years. -- for example Selling skills from Radioshack and Technical Skills from AT&T -- This is the month of growth that I have been waiting for since January. I have always been a believer in perpetual income and selling a product that someone will only buy once is not perpetual. -- Why do you think anything made in the last 40 years breaks with ease. -- With my experience of dealing with Dunkin Donut owners I finally found my gold mine. In January I decided to start offering Text Marketing, Rewards, Web Filtering and Streaming Television. Yesterday I got my first big customer. I have so much I could say and still more to come but I would like to wait. LOL

Last week I attended Anime Central for the third year in a row and very much enjoyed it. I hand made a Arrietty costume for my little sister, Emily. She came with me on Sunday and we had lots of fun. I personally enjoy and think others love it because the people can come and be their self. I think we live in a world that judges everyone and expects certain people to follow one line and others to follow a different line. But at Anime Conventions there is the one major rule, Judge No One. Not even Startrek conventions give this freedom to people. Last year I once saw a 90 year old lady wearing kitty ear and tons of Anime Product hanging from her walker. Some people tell me they dislike Anime Conventions because of all the weirdos that come around. But take this in consideration, Who do you think those weirdos are??? Your co-worker, neighbor or that guy who rear ended you last week? I think I would prefer to see them coming instead of never knowing. If you think about it, just like Anime Characters have blown up puffy personality that same happens to Anime Convention Attendees.

The Japanese Nuclear Disaster was and still is extremely overrated.

Some time ago, I was listening to WGN when they made a urgent announcement that Radioactive Seaweed was landing on the California shorelines. Hearing this made my extremely disappointed in this countries news system, leaving me asking myself, "Is really what they call news". If you look deeper in the news report you will find that the radio active levels are well below dangerous levels. It has been over a year since the twin disasters and tourism from china has returned to pre tsunami levels but tourism from America is still well under 10%. What is this countries problem. We just seem extremely scared of such silly matters.

Upotte!!, An anime featuring anime girls with personalities like famous rifles. What will Japan come up with next.

Japan has extreme gun control policies allowing nothing more then hunting rifles and handguns to cops. Cops even wear a strip that prevents someone from stealing their gun. Many people credit Japan's third lowest crime rate in the world to the Gun Control. I recently was reading a blog post from Peter -- Owner of J-list -- saying that many Japanese he encounters find it surprising when he telling them he has never owned a gun. Many Japanese students believe that America really is the land of the free, Freedom to own a Gun and freedom from school uniforms. -- Even though I actually kind of like the School Uniforms idea -- Many pro-gun control people here in America try to use Japan as a example to why America should ban all guns. The thing these people need to realize is that the low crime rate can be more credited to the Japanese National Character. Remember the Japanese people come from a past of arrows and melee weapons. Policies that work in Japan will not work the same in America.

Pedo Bear

Japanese Citizenship System

I find the Japanese Citizenship System is interesting.

Many times I get asked by friends and family to explain the Japanese Citizenship System but since I've never experienced it my self, I have trouble getting my facts completely straight. I just saw this post by a guy named Peter who lives in Japan and owns a very successful business. I read his blog quite often for some interesting inside information and So I thought everyone I know should read this post he made, for it explains the system in good detail.


Peter:
Last time I talked about Donald Keene, the Japanese scholar and translator who came to Japan and took Japanese citizenship, and I thought I'd expand on that a bit. It's quite easy for residents of Japan to become naturalized citizens if they desire it, with the basic rules being five years of consecutive residence in Japan, a history of good behavior, and basic Japanese language skills. In the past anyone wanting Japanese citizenship was required to legally take a Japanese name in officially-designated kanji characters.  While I'm all in favor of writing Western names in kanji characters , this requirement led to strained relations with Japan's large Korean minority, who maintained South or North Korean nationality in part because they were insulted by the idea of taking a Japanese name. While most countries including the U.S. have no issue with allowing dual citizenship, Japan officially requires that anyone desiring to be naturalized renounce citizenship in any other country; however this appears to be a classic case of tatemae (a facade, a social rule that's ignored by everyone in practice), and the requirement is not enforced in practice. Incidentally, I live in Japan on a permanent residence visa (eijuken), not bothering to get Japanese citizenship because, as my wife points out, I'm more interesting as an American than a Japanese who's is bad at kanji. (If you have more questions about possibly living in Japan, there's a handbook for that .)

March 11th Anniversary

This Sunday marks the first anniversary of the terrible 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis which caused so much pain and loss of life in the Touhoku region of Japan. The quake was the strongest ever recorded here, moving the country 2.4 meters towards North America and slowing the Earth's rotation slightly. Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, and if it had only faced the quake, it would have come through with flying colors thanks to its excellent building codes. It was the unprecedented waves that did the real damage, an unstoppable wall of water that reached as high as 40 meters (133 feet) and stretched 10 km inland in places. Now the names of towns like Kuji, Ofunato and Namie live in infamy as regions which were greatly damaged by the disaster -- in the single hardest-hit area, half the town of Minami-sanriku's 18,000 inhabitants wer e carried away by the waters.

While March 11 marked a terrible tragedy, there were bright spots, too. Television images of people calling out for loved ones, fearing the worst yet being reunited with their family members in the end. A baby, found alive and unhurt in the midst of so much destruction. One happy tale was the "Miracle of Kamaishi," a town in windswept Iwate Prefecture that had strictly adhered to a regiment of disaster preparedness drills in its schools when most other towns were lulled into a sense of security by their offshore breakwaters. As a result, 98.8% of the town's 2900 children were able to evacuate safely. The aftermath of the destruction was touching, too, as the entire world moved to help Japan get back on her feet, from the U.S. military's "Operation Tomodachi" relief mission to the huge amount of help from the Red Cross and people like you. The popular Japanese picture sharing site Pixiv  was filled with images  of support by artists from Japan and all around the world. Although the new Japanese tourism slogan of "Japan. Thank you."  is somewhat cryptic and odd-sounding, the country is very thankful for the help she received.

Japanese Immigration Update

Some good news for foreigners living in Japan (or soon hope to be living in Japan, Amen): a new Alien Registration System is coming which will make it easier for gaijin residents here. The new system has several new benefits, the most welcome being the elimination of the "reentry stamp" system, a $60 official stamp foreigners had to get in their passports if they wanted to be able to re-enter the country after going abroad, which was both inconvenient and potentially a big problem since it was easy to find yourself with an expired stamp suddenly. Since the problem of Japan's declining population is only going to get worse -- this year the number of "new adults" turning 20 years old was just 1.2 million, exactly half the peak of 2.4 million back in 1970 -- I believe the country should take real steps to encourage people to immigrate to Japan permanently. Just to be clear, I'm not knocking the treatment foreigners in Japan receive currently, as I know that gaijin have it better in Japan than foreigners in almost every other country. But making changes that make it easier for foreigners to live easily in Japan, like getting rid of that annoying re-entry stamp system, is a positive step forward in my book.


Other changes to this system our still on the table. One that I am familiar with is the problem of gaijin who would like to fully immigrate and because a Japanese Citizen but because of Japanese law you would have to renounce your current citizenship. Which so few Americans are willing to do. The other is their marriage registration system that foreigners do not show up on. If you marry an Japanese citizen you are not recognized as their spouse by the federal government only by your local government. This causes problems for parents that receive frequent visits from social services due to them thinking they are a single parent.

Politics in Japan

Haruhi Suzumiya for President 2012

It's quite nice to not live in the U.S. when a Presidential election rolls around, because you can look forward to a peaceful year without being bombarded by a lot of negative political messages 24 hours a day. That's not to say Japanese elections are a walk in the park -- the primary method of getting people to vote for you involves driving around in a car shouting "I am Yamada! I will work hard for you! Please support me in the upcoming election!" through a loudspeaker from dawn til dusk -- but at least that part is over within a week or so.

Politics in Japan are fundamentally different from in the U.S., as they are probably are in every country. While the U.S. has a two-party political system with Republicans and Democrats, even tough it was not that way in the beginning, Japan has a number of active parties, including the current ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which is a lot more like the democratic party of President Kennedy then the version we have today (eh! hem!), which rode to power on a "manifesto" of promises like making expressways toll-free and paying every family $130 per child per month, most of which have been repealed quietly; the pro-business Liberal Democratic Party, which held power for nearly 50 years in postwar Japan; the New Komeito Party, once the official political arm of the Sokka Gakkai evangelical Buddhist religion; the Japan Communist Party, and so on. To be right-wing in Japanese politics means to be pro-Emperor as well as pro-Yasukuni (the controversial shrine where Japan's wartime leaders are interred, as well as the souls of all the normal souldiers who faught and died). Right-wingers famously drive around in loudspeaker trucks blasting songs from World War II, and sometimes (awesomely) the theme to Space Battleship Yamato (Sort of the Star Trek of Japan); they also lament Japan's weakened position in international politics and get very upset over territorial disputes with China, South Korea and Russia. Left-leaning Japanese dislike the Emperor and the Japanese national anthem Kimigayo, seen as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression, and some educators have been fired for refusing to sing the song at official events. Left-wing Japanese are apt to be pro-China and critical of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty that has bound Japan and the U.S. militarily for the past half-century. So next time you get all upset over how messed up our country is think about Japan. For they have quite a more interesting struggle on their hands.

Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Years

As my family watched the remaining moments of 2011, My Mom and I thought of some interesting points about this world. Such as why people find that drinking them self's sick is seen as a celebration and why kissing someone (anyone, even strangers. Disclaimer: I am not promoting it.) on new years is not as much a big deal as it used to be. I opinion is this, first: people see drinking till the point that they have no sense of oneself is exactly the reason. There life is so messed up that being sick on alcohol is the only alternative to them. They need to know that Jesus is the one and only answer. Second: I think that when Satan pollutes something as beautiful as kissing or sex, we become desensitized to the uniqueness of it. Think of it, We humans are uniquely made by our creator. Did you know that there are several things that make us humans different of the rest of the animal world that not even monkeys or apes can do brains and biologically, But for the sake of length I will with hold this one. We just need to remember GOD is GOD and drinking sick or corruption by Satan is just an illusion of the big picture.

The End is Nigh!!

As many of my reads my not know, one of Japan's most popular singers is not even human but in fact a computer generated female persona. Her name is Miku Hatsune (Click for More Information) and shes the creation of Yamaha. She can sing at higher pitches than a typical know signing voice. Over the years with her increased popularity they decided to take her on tour around the world [Watch Her Concert on YouTube] as a hologram. But before all this some guy made a windows program called "Miku Miku Dance" which generates a homemade 3D video from 3D custom models which includes Miku Hatsune. Watch some of the videos on YouTube there quite interesting. Now the latest feature to come to MMD is an option to connect the Kinnect from the XBOX 360 to your computer and virtually control one of these characters with your movements. I've tried it and it is quite fun but now I can surely say "The End is Nigh" by artificial intelligence (programmed by people don't you forget!!!).

2012?

Well, It looks like we are staring down the barrel of the 2012 gun. It's so amazing to think about all the disasters this world has encountered within just one year, from disaster to prosperity, we seem to make it though this thing we call life as well as we do. I really can not believe that it has not been almost 9 months already since the Twin Disasters in Japan that devastated their country and interestingly tourism from the west (Asia) for them has returned to pre-tsunami levels but the tourism from the east (America) is still not even 1/10th of what it was before. It makes me sad that we, Christian America (or what remains to be christian), seem to show very little compassion to their situation. I've heard though the grape vine that it's so bad that the Japanese Government is considering to offer a Airplane ticket to westerners on their dime to help bring the tourism back, in exchange they want the people chosen to write blogs and stories about their trips to encourage others to go (So, Yes. Existing bloggers have a better chance of being chosen.), But interesting if the proposal gets passed by their government, entries will not be accepted until at least March.

Wishing you a Merry CHRISTmas!

In light of it being Christmas Eve I want write about some of the history of Christianity in Japan. The first documented christian to visit Japan would be Francis Xavier in 1549 whom was affiliated with the Portuguese Catholics. It was assumed by the Japanese that Christianity was a new religion from India for several mistaken reasons. Over the next 50 years the Christian faith had grown to very large numbers until 1603 when Leyasu Tokugawa became the shogun of Japan, he placed limitations on missionary work, which lead to the outright banning of Christianity in 1626, in part because the Shogun was concerned that Japan might end up as a colony of foreign powers, as was happening in asia already, and they were also concerned that the rice farmers would turn on the government over the rice taxes. Despite the banning, thousands of kakure-kurishitan (hidden Christians) continued to practice their faith in secret, creating statues of Maria reworked to resemble Buddhist Bodhisattva and passing the torch from generation to generation. They even hidden icons of the reworked Maria image into lamp posts and roof tiles of temples, to let Christians that were on the run that they were with fellow Christians at these locations. Some hidden Christians ran to small islands to continue there faith, in which one island colony of Christians was not even known to exist until 1890 went they made them self's known. When Japan was reopened to foreigner access in 1853 many Christian clergymen were sent from Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, though proselytism was still banned. After the Meiji Restoration, freedom of religion was introduced in 1871, giving all Christian communities the right to legal existence and preaching. Since World War II the number of Japanese Christians has been slowly increasing. I believe GOD has a plan for Japan and we Christians need to continue to empower these people to push forward. The thing that make me so mad about missions to Japan is missionaries have to rely on numbers to continue their work, every mouth asking for donations, this is not the way we should be going about this. I know money is important to missionaries but I feel like something is lacking when it comes to Japan. Please pray and support someone in Japan Today, I know I am.

A Japanese Kirishitan crucifix, 17th century. Christ is depicted as Buddha-like, in the center of the cross.

Christmas has been established as a secular holiday which was first capitalized on around 1910. Today Christmas Eve is seen as a romantic night young couples to go on a date and then on Christmas day many Japanese eat Christmas Cake (A Japanese Invention) and chicken from Home or incidentally KFC, in which has long lines on Christmas Day due to Turkey being rare is Japan and the Japanese don't have much taste for it.

Well, Just a little update about my latest life challenges. I'm out on my own, working with a friend, starting a Text Message Marketing business which will be one of dozens of services I will be offering to small businesses over the next year. Within one month we should have 31 clients and then he thinks he could get a total of 100 clients by the end of the year, per his relationship with dozens of Dunkin and Subway owners. Ever since my mom re-awoke my passion of Revival, I can't get enough of World Revival Church in Kansas City. I want to see Revival flood this globe and this is my fuel to reaching Japan. I see people whom I have known since I was little and they still struggle over tithing and believing GOD will get them though. Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect but come on this is not hard. That is one reason I like WRC because they being a new challenge to my walk with GOD. People want meat in their relationship with GOD not watered down kool-aid. Well, time for bed! Sleep Well and merry CHRISTmas.

October Post

Well, The month is almost over and the cold is setting in more and more every day. Halloween is only days away and the abandoned store fronts that are rented though the month of October to just sell Halloween stuff are now in full swing. I don't celebrate Halloween nor believe in it but I do like that idea of anyone getting the chance to dress up like anyone they want. I actually think that pretending to be someone or something else can be a very healthy way to release stress and for once not care what people think of you. That is one reason I love the idea of cosplay so much. I remember dressing up as a Samurai (I was just wearing a kimono.) at Blockbuster one Halloween night.

Halloween is here again. Time to get the cosplay out.

The other day I was thinking about the interesting fact that we Americans find modern Japan so interesting, such as sleeping pods that you can rent for just a couple hours to get a nap or the fact that their  large soft drink is about the size of an American small soft drink, like wise I was thinking that there are many things that the Japanese find interesting about us such as why our drinks are bigger then theirs or that you can buy mulch at the gas station in the spring (This one recently interested me) or a pizza can get your house faster then an ambulance. These sorts of things interest the Japanese about us as much as it interests us about them.

My Japanese tutor is returning this weekend after extending her trip to Japan by three weeks due to her daughter getting burn. Hope she has great things to share.

Japan has the third highest suicide rate in the world.

The other day I learned that some young girl (I really don't know much about the story) last week committed suicide by letting her self get hit by a passenger train in Peotone, Illinois. I heard that just as the train was about to kill her; she made eye contact with the engineer. Regardless if I got the story right or not the point is that this kind of thing is happening everyday in Japan and being that Japan has the third highest suicide rate in the world, it make me ever the more persistent in getting to Japan. Yesterday, something very interesting happening to me which I am surprised it took me so long to realize it. A few weeks ago I went to World Revival Church and had a really awesome time and one thing that I remember as being good but did not fully understanding was a quote that Steve Gray made during his message, He said "Use what you have... Take action! Take what you have and give it out for the Kingdom of God! Stop wishing upon a star.", as I said, it was good but I did not know what to make of it until yesterday when I was downtown walking to my first stop when I noticed a homeless man sitting on a crate along the side of the walk way reading a bible. As I continued to walk; I remembered Steve's quote and thought to my self, how can I expect GOD to send me to Japan to help the suffering if I am unwilling to help those in my own backyard. So without much hesitation I walked into the Dunkin Donuts I was about do some work in and asked for a cup of hot chocolate (Yes, It was free because I was working there) and on my return trip I offered it to the homeless man and continued on my way. Some time later I was walking to my second stop when again I noticed another homeless man, I passed that guy several times as I brought stuff from my car to the store and each time thinking more or more about if I should help him too. My self was saying stuff like "You already did your good deed for today" or "People are watching, What will they think of you?", On my last pasting I finally thought "I do it or not, God help me decide!" when suddenly I was just pasting the guy and some string came lose from my bucket of string (A professionals must have.) and got tangled around my feet like it was being controlled to, I struggled to make the last few steps when the string got worst and tangled in my hand carts wheel so bad that I came to a complete STOP!. Tided up with nothing to do but free my legs and cart, I thought "OK, God you got my attention.". I went to the store and dropped that stuff off and headed back the homeless guys way and ask him to join me for lunch. I found out that his mother was abusive and left his dad who just died the year before from illness and he is now homeless since this summer. I bought him a sandwich and when we were talking I asked him what his next steps were to getting back on his feet. His answer was that he was in need of a job. I offered to call an owner of some Dunkin Donuts in Chicago and put in a word for him and he was more then willing to take my offer. I called and he went his marry way. If I improved that guys life or not the point is that I must use what I have to carry out GOD plan on my life instead of complaining. Why wait for the position within an organization before I work for his kingdom.

September Post

This is a time in my life where I need to make progress within my life and I find harder then ever to make progress. I am making some good money again and I have been determined to finally make it to Japan by next May. Because of some mistakes I have made I own a little money here and there but I am unable to pay back any of it with ease. I lost my unemployment back in June and now I am making just enough money to make small dents in my debt. This is discouraging because I wanted to have visited Japan since 6 years ago. I have made no wasteful spending for a last couple months now and I am looking forward to this May that it will finally be my turn for some reward.

I hate making progress then other things fall apart. I finally made a few hundred on the side which could have given me some progress and then I had an on the job injury last week. I have been off work for one week and just went back today. 8 days ago I was pulling some wire in the ceiling in a Dunkin' Donuts up north and behind my back a Light Fixture fell from the ceiling and cut the back of my calf. There was four code violations with the construction of the drop ceiling which includes: 1. The fixture was 2'x2' in a 2'x4' opening with no cross bar. 2. No side clamps holding the fixture to the bars. 3. More then 5' of BX from the light to the junction box. Which left the light hanging 6 inches from the ground. 4. No anchors (Wire or Chains) connected to the fixture and the joists. I went to the Hospital and received 8 stitches and an expensive hospital bill. (Don't get me wrong we have the best health care system in America with some faults that far exceeds to quality of any system in the world.)

On a lighter note the guy who took me to get an X-ray was named Ray. So now I have the joke X-ray Ray. LOL.

As I mentioned before I have been learning Japanese from a private tutor. My progress of learning Japanese is coming along. I get all fuzzy inside when I make my own combinations of words to form sentences that where not directly thought to me. My vocabulary has been lacking since my primary focus is on learning the Japanese alphabet.

By the way, For anyone out there that is interested in learning kana like I am should check out this website I found. (http://www.manythings.org/q/kana.php?u=hiragana) It has some different kana (hiragana and katakana) quiz flash card games. I can already see my progress in learning kana when I get 102 out of 105 correct. That right, 105 variations of unique sounds in the Japanese alphabet. Plus, not to mention that their are two different alphabets with the same sounds and the over 2000 kanji characters which are combinations of kana sounds. This is nothing like when I used "Hooked on Phonics" when I was a kid.

One interesting thing about Japanese is the heavy use of loans words from other languages. Many loan words we use in English come from French, for example, words like beef, pork and poultry came to indicate the meat of cows, pigs and chickens through the interaction between French-speaking landowners (who ate the meat) and their English-speaking hired help (who tended the animals). Most foreign loan words in Japanese are from the 20th Century but quite a few others came into use in the Edo Period and before, including tempura (from the Portuguese word for spice), ga-ra-su (window glass), ko-hi (coffee), and ki-ri-shi-tan (Christian). (Remember, In Japanese, "i" makes the sound of "e" as in "he") In fact, these words have been used for so long they have kanji characters assigned to them, which violates the (modern) rule that katakana is to be used to write foreign loan words.

This time will be different because this time I am laying the stepping stones to solidly hold feet as I make progress to Japan Such as supporting a missionary family in Japan since last march and now seriously learning Japanese. I am putting my money where my mouth is. Please continue to pray for me.

Japan Relief Work - Update 2

I am still waiting to make the proper arrangements to help with relief work. The e-mail I received from Amy Eby was quite promising but when I sent a check up e-mail she was no longer available for contact. As it looks now is they might be interested in getting me volunteering at their HQ Office in Tokyo and going out on Relief Work when needed.

I need everyone for pray that GODs hand will be in this and help provide me with decent housing for I really don't want to stay in a lonely hotel. If I can find reasonable housing then the cost of my trip would be much less and the duration can be much longer.

Round Trip Flight: $1,000.00 to $1,500.00

Hotel: $50.00 to $100.00 /per day times 30 = $1,500.00 to $3,000.00

Food: $50.00 /per day

Trip Cost: $3,000.00 to $6,000.00

Hoping to provide more details very soon.

www.japan-m9.com - Donate | Volunteer | Pray.

Japan Relief Work - Update 1

I would just like to give people a heads up on my current situation. I have just been notified by CRASH Japan that I just might be a contender to volunteer for relief work in Japan. I am very emotional right now because I feel like this is it. That GOD has been preparing me for the last 6 years and did not let me go to Canada because this is what he wants me to do. I am asking that people pray for the blessings of GOD to rain down because in reality if they ask me to volunteer I don't know how I can pay for the whole thing and even if it will be possible. I am completely putting my faith in GOD that if I am to do this that it will happen and it will the greatest testament to GODs glory and grace.

Thanks,

Joel Greene

Oh! Canada

As I approach my final 12 hours at home I think about all the things that I will miss here. Like the ability to talk with my okasan (mother) or otousan (father) when I desire and the familiar scenes of America the beautiful. Watashi no kozoku wa ai desu.

Yesterday after getting my oil change and as I drove past the Borders Book Store I noticed a BIG YELLOW BANNER under the sign that read "STORE CLOSING". I have bought all my Manga from this store.

"My favorite Borders is closing"

This Saturday I visited Mitsuwa in Arlington Heights to buy Yoshi and Kevin a thank you present. I love the unique Japanese Environment, authentic Japanese Food in the food court and the Magazines and Books imported straight from Japan.

This is one place the really gets the blood flowing.

"Mitsuwa the Japanese Grocery Store is awesome"

"My Favorite Ice Cream is Green Tea"

There will be more posts to came from each major stop so please stay tuned.

Canada Trip Update 1

Just thought I would give an update to my previous post because I have worked out some more of my trip details. I'm really excited that my new room mate is going to be Yoshi Makino who is a natural born Japanese Citizen and has been living in Canada for the last 6 years.

Yoshi Makino

My plans so far is to leave February 28th and arrive in Prince Albert, SK, Canada on March 1st. With no set return date.

There are two things that really make me believe that this trip to Canada is a calling from GOD. First one would be two people in my life that I really did not think would support this. The first one was my Dad who has been since my lay off putting a lot of pressure on me to look harder for a new job. The second person that surprised me would be my grandmother on my dads side who has always been nagging me to just to go to College, get a good job and become an engineer like your grandfather. Secondly, Like I had said in letter "My passion for Japan", "I believe that when the time comes the money will be there" and so far I am seeing a lot of money that I can scraping off the walls then I first thought. As far as its looking now I will have more then enough money for this trip and then some to put into my future trip to Japan. (Which could come sooner then me or you could think.) God has allowed huge blessing in my life over the last month. I am believing there is more to come.

Ghost of Joel's Past, Present and Future...

Being that Christmas was very recently and Christmas was about the same time that Ebenezer Scrooge took a journey of his Christmas past, present and future in the classic "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, I figured it would be appropriate for me to do the same but instead do a review of the last year finishing with what is to come. And away we go.

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

Beginning the year of 2010 I had already been at AT&T for about 6 months. I remember making plans to take my Japan trip in June of that year. I had saved over $2500 and I had enough vacation to take two to three weeks. My biggest problem was who to go with. As much as I agree with them my parents I was desperate enough to be willing to just go and wing it. (Foolish I Know!)

My problems never seemed to have been solved with my Manager (Jonas Denose). All the work I was trying to put in improving my numbers never seemed to help because of the lack of involvement my manager took with me. I remember him always saying my problem was customer service but never once during my visits did he engage with my customer. I honestly believe that is he took more involvement in my work, he could have greatly help improve my numbers. Once March came around I found out that Jonas was being transfered to the Northlake Garage and my new Manager was going to be Tony White. Only two days on the job with him and I was greatly encouraged by his positive words and engagement. I remember having a repair job where I had to completely rerun all the wiring and hang a new drop and he came all the way out to my job and gave me a hand. I come into work on April 10th and tried to dispatch when my IFD refused. I remember going to Tony White and pointing it out. Several moments later he calls me into a meeting with my rep and garage manager. I was informed that I being let go (General Discharge). The actual reason was never solidly said and I remember being devastated for a couple months after.

AT&T is one brute of a company.

To make a long story short, Two months later after fighting the lay off. I was told by my rep that they will not be bring my case to arbitration. I asked why and he said that during my hearing I used the sentence "I think I remember doing bla bla bla" when I should of said "I don't remember". He said that saying that makes me look guilty to the arbitrator.

The crap that AT&T does is so stupid being that people who deserve to be fired keep their jobs and those who should not get the short end of the stick. Which is exactly what I got. Tony White and my Union Rep said I did. A good example of such bone-head-ness (Yes, I made it up. Do want to fight about it?) is in august I get delivered a summons by an Illinois Sheriff. Apparently some guy who rear ended my work truck the year before was suing me and AT&T personally for several thousand dollars. It took me a week to try to get a hold of someone within AT&T who could help me. Last I heard AT&T assigned my case an attorney. Literally the LAST I HEARD. I have no idea where it will go from there and they better hope I'm not OUT OF THE COUNTRY when the court date comes. The reason I say silly is because I can give you a 95% chance that the guy was just paid off.

I had a meeting with my Pastor back in December over my Passion for Japan and was very encouraged by his positive belief that this is really a great calling on my life. I remember mentioning that I'm starting to get concerned that because I just turned 24 years old and many of my friends from youth are already married that this would be a burden on my calling. He came right out and said that maybe GOD has placed this calling on your life at this age because he is calling you to actually marry a Japanese Woman. This shocked me because My parents and I were thinking the same thing. (Yes, Grandma you have a good chance of having Japanese Great Grandchildren.) As for the meeting I had wrote a three paged letter called "My Passion for Japan". Please take a moment and read it. Later this year I might have to write a revision to cover my current situation.

Sakatoon, SK, Canada

Back last year I remember giving the year of 2010 the name of "The year of Growth and Reward", I Think, But I never would have imagined that it would not be in physical means but of character and spirit. As I mentioned in my post on September 6th I went to World Revival Church in Kansas City, Missouri. I went to take a further seeming of GODs calling on my life but in additional I believe it was GODs will that I met Pastor Kevin Tabuchi. (Read more about him in my letter.) Hes an experienced missionary to Japan and pastors a church in Canada. After much time of communication last December he invited me to come to their church in Saskatoon, SK Canada. As it stands now I am leaving out on February 14th which will get me there late on the 15th because its a 23 hour drive. We are making plans for me stay for about 2 weeks to whenever. We have decided to work out a deal that because I would be on a Visitor Visa (Can't get paid) we would exchange work for Room and Board. They want to put me up in a room with a roommate by the name of Yoshi who I a Japanese Citizen. He has said that this will be a huge opportunity to met new people and learn lots about the Japanese People. Supposedly Yoshi is the son of a pastor back in Japan who is good friends with Tabuchi-san. I really don't have much to say until I get closure to February 14th. I called the other day and talked with Kevins Wife. When she answered the phone she asked who was calling and after I answered my name she instantly (Not to even pause to put a face with the name.) said "JOEL!!! It's so awesome to talk with you." Talking with them I feel like I'm some LONG LOST friend or even family. I'm very much looking forward to February and coming later this year I'm hoping that I will be able to join their missions trip to Japan.

Please stay tuned as I'm planning on writing frequent posts on the whole trip.

Waz's Up?

I can not believe how quickly time has pasted. Just yesterday I noticed how
the temperature has taken a dive. Two weeks ago my family and I visited World Revival Church in Kansas City, Missouri and I had a really great time seeking god and asking him to help me get though these troubled times. On the first day my parents returned from a conference they had attended and told me they met a guy at the conference named Pastor Kevin Tabuchi from Canadian Revival Center in Canada. He is the third generation of his Japanese Immigrant Grandparents as well as a missionary to Japan for several years. Later that night I personally met him and the first words from his mouth was "My wife and I are believing that your dream of Japan will happen.". That was the most encouraging thing anyone has ever said to me in years. He gave me some advise but held him self back out of reverence of the wises of World Revival Church. We exchanged contact information and he wants to keep in contact.

Pastor Steve and Kathy Gray.

During the last two weeks I also took the compass test at Prairie State College (Community College) to get in and take some class to obtain from certifications. I will be seeing a counselor tomorrow to see my results and what classes they think I need to take. Lucky for me I don't need to take these classes if I'm only pursuing a certificate. The three subjects I'm really interested in taking are Computer Networking, Japanese Language, and Anime Art. Unforchantly PSC dose not offer the last two subjects but when I see a counselor tomorrow I will ask if any other community colleges offer these subjects.

The other day my brother and I went to the rental house my family rents out in Lansing to pressure wash the foundation. Once I got there I realized that I forgot to grab the full gas can at home. So I went to ACE Hardware to buy a new can and then the gas station for some gas. I entered the store and went to the Gas Can Aisle to discover new safety Gas Cans with three switches you have to pull or twist in order to get a stream of gas and if that was not enough the can cost any where from $10 for a small 2 gallon can to $35 for a large 5 gallon. I asked if they still sold the older HAZARDOUS cans in which I get the reply of no. What happened to buying a normal 3 gallon gas can for only $5 maybe $7??? After buying gas and filling the pressure washer I realized how annoying this new can was and how people who make SO MANY MISTAKES (or just stupid) make this world so much harder for us smart people who remember that Yes, You boil water or soup it WILL be hot or Yes, Gas WILL spill and WILL ignite.

Stupid people make the world harder for us smart people.

A joke I once heard was "If Burger King married Dairy Queen, their child would be Jack in the Box." Many adults know how creative children can be, making up nonsensical new sentences in ways adults never could, bound as we are by social norms and expectations. I find the fun thing with learning a new language like Japanese is you get to be just as creative as children with no boundaries. Japan is absolutely one of the most pro-American countries in the world, with most people possessing a positive view of the U.S. which is one traits of advertisers in Japan. Japanese generally have the impression that America is kakko ii (meaning "good style" or cool) and are often open to owning items like Zippo Lighters, a set of Coleman outdoor cooking gear and clothes from Old Navy. Breading your product as American can often bring a boost in sales, which is why companies like Jack Daniels or KFC wrap themselves in images of old Tennessee or Kentucky. Levi Strauss struggled to build a name for themselves in Japan during the 1970s, until they hit on the idea of using iconic Hollywood stars like James Dean, John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe to advertise their jeans (they came cheap, since they were dead), which has to have been one of the most successful advertising decisions ever. And of course Harley Davidson sells a huge number of bikes in Japan, and has many dedicated fans.

would you like to wash your hair with "rinse in shampoo"?

Whether you're talking about Singapore or South Africa, Jamaica or Japan, every country is going to adapt the English language to their own local needs. In Japan, people generally learn six years of English in junior high and high school, yet because no one really needs it once they've taken their college entrance exams, it often becomes more of a decoration for society. One pattern I've noticed is that English gets shortened or simplified in ways that might seem strange to us. Hair conditioner in Japanese is called "rinse" (shortened from "cream rinse"), so it makes perfect sense to Japanese people that "rinse in shampoo" would be what conditioning shampoo would be called. In Japanese a convertible is known as an "open car," a name which gets the job done without adding any unnecessary complexity, while an RV your family can sleep in is referred to as a "camp car." One of my favorite Japanese word simplifications are Phillips and regular screwdrivers -- the Japanese just call them "plus" and "minus." I don't blame them with this one I called them that for years.

Where Am I?

As much as you probably know I have been off work since April, 2010 and it is probably safe to tell everyone that I was laid off from AT&T. During the past year I have been asking GOD why this stuff happens to me. I tell you, I feel like I have been though more hardship then what is really necessary. My family and I have become more involved with the Revival going on at World Revival Church in Kansas. (Not to mention the trip my family is taking to World Revival Church this weekend.) The other day I listened to a message by Pastor Steve Grey. He said that the fact hardship is present in your life is just a sign that GOD has not abandoned you and he still loves you. I have come to figure out I am like two people from the bible. First one being Joseph and the second being Abraham. I believe that my dream of Japan is similar to GOD's promise to Abraham that he would give him a son and my hardship is similar to Joseph being betrayed. When I was younger I was always jealous of people who always got an easy pass to do what they thought they really wanted to do. I remember when we had are youth trips costing about $450 and I had to raise that money all by my self going door to door selling chocolate bars, but some kids parents would just whip out their check book and write a payment in full on several occasions. I have come to understand that I learn more from a experience simply because I worked very hard to get there. If you compare my current state to Josephs Path then this should be my last major fall and things should start to really look up.

To starting with, My dad informed me that his work is about to hire four new employees for Coffee Services (Dunkin' Donuts Equipment Repair and Install Service) and since I have experience with service calls this job be a good choice for me. According to my dad, the Manager of Coffee Services personally requested I turn in a resume. I know both Steve (Coffee Service Manager) and Dave (Warehouse Manager) because last time I was unemployed I helped my dad with Equipment Deliveries to the stores. The only downside to this job is if I get hired I might have to relocate to around the Orlando, Florida Warehouse. But I believe if I get the job then moving will be good experience for me when Japan comes.

Hardships are sign of GODs love. | My dad works as a truck driver for Dunkin' Donuts DCP.

It's funny how perceptions work differently in different languages. If you're below a certain age, the most famous Chinese name after Mao Zedong (or Mao Tse-Tung if you're even older) is probably Chun Li, the cute fighting vixen from Street Fighter II who shouts "Yatta!" ("I did it!") after she wins a fight. While the brains of English speakers labor over properly memorizing a strange-sounding name like Chun Li, which has no mental hooks for us to attach it with, Japanese have the benefit of being able to internalize the name using kanji characters. Because kanji names have meaning, Japanese might get the impression that Chun Li was a beautiful baby born in the spring, since the characters mean "Spring Beauty."
Someone I am paraphasing this paragraph from said he has a house in Tierrasanta area of San Diego, and just for fun he asked his Japanese daughter what she thought the name might mean. Her answer was really cute: "It means Santa Claus wearing a tiara crown."

I want to tell everyone that in my spare time I am building a website called GetPlugged :: Japan, Please visit it and support me by using it. Please cometinue to read my blog posts and pray for me.

April 2010

Where do I even start with this post. So much to say but so tired at 1:30 in the morning. I know I will compile a list of subjects I want to touch on.

1. Job.... O-: Um, Lets just save this one for the end.
2. Japanese Conference.
3. Cell Phone.
4. Japan.
5. Life.

1. Japanese Conference.
As you might remember from my previous post I mentioned this Japanese Conference coming this May. Well, At this point I can say I'm not going to do it. I could not get the time off anyways but after some talk with someone in charge of volunteers I found out they wanted all attendees even volunteer who where not even going be able to enjoy the conference to payand I don't mean the pay for a room and food, I mean the whole thing even the conference. I don't have a problem to pay for a room and food. But hello I'm volunteering for it. You can't expect someone to freely volunteer if they got to pay almost $200. So unless they offer to wave the conference fee, I out. Which I beat it will not happen.
2. Cell Phone.As I mentioned before I just upgraded my cell phone and I can report I'm still loving this phone. Couple things are annoying but hey far less then some of my past experiences.

3. Japan.
Japan looks like it is definitely in the fine print. Because I don't see it happening till next year because of some big changes in my life that need to be leveled out until then.

A good Japanese TV Series I can suggest you should watch is "Myu No Anyo Papa Ni Ageru". It's a movie about a young father who contracts CIDP.


4. Life.
Firstly last week I twisted my angle then just this Tuesday twisted it a second time and man I tell you it really hurts. There, So if you were curious how much a twisted angle hurt you don't have to wonder anymore because I already tried it for you and I give it a 7 out of 10 of the scale of survivable injuries. 1 being a paper cut and 1o being losing a limb or body part. Just Kidding.

Second we are coming up on us digging around our foundation to replace the drain tile because we have a massive flooding issue in the basement that might of mentioned before. (not to mention it was my room and I want it back.) We are doing it Wednesday, Tuesday and Friday. It will be a big task and I hope to post pictures after.

Third the Anime Convention is paid for and I'm ready for some fun. Others are still welcome you just have to pay the $55 at the convention for a weekend pass.

Next week I'm planing on working hard on developing our company because I've discovered I'm definitely not corporate material.
Well, I guess that brings me to my Job and well... I don't want to go into detail but I can say Tony White my new manager really has become a great manager so far. He is much more encouraging then Jonas and is willing to get me what I need.

One thing I will say is I have been off work since April 3rd........ The one job I was in that investigation I mentioned before was the catalysis and with out saying to much all I ask is everyone pray for me. I'm in a HUGH pickle and I need all the prayer I can get. Sorry for so little detail, I hope to say more in the future.

-C4

New for 2010

It is official congress haves passed a unwritten senate health care bill, now it is the judicial branches turn in which I know and hope they turn it down for being unconstitutional. Apparently there are 38 states that are planing to take this to the courts about and 10 have already started. They claim the government is forcing the states to do something that would to much burden on them.

My dad on Saturday tripped and hit his face on my sisters car fender in which he put a big cut in his chin. (and swung tons of cat liter on the hood.) He went to the doctors office and had to get 7 stitches...OUCH!!!. It only took him a couple hours but we were thankful we do not have ObamaCare yet because if we did it might have taken several hours instead.

I should probably not say this because I don't know who is reading it but when I got back to the garage on Monday from Pole Climbing I discover that Jonas (My Manager) is once again out to get me. He tells me about some job I did where the customer was IRATE. Weird Word because it dose not mean "I Rate You" or something like that. Apparently it is a word that AT&T likes to use a lot. They must of liked it better then saying "Your customer was angry". Yes, I should of paid more attention to detail but that was nothing compared to the real problem. Which sorry to say I'm not going to get into. (NO NO It is nothing like that. It was a stupid complaint.) But it comes down to Jonas was seeking to fire me. This time we sat in a investigative meeting and Jonas tried to chew me out for this and that but Justin on of the other managers actually stood up for me and said Jonas we need to look at what the company says how to do a job not make up our own ideas and that was one of the wises things I have heard Justin ever say.
So now I have not heard anything yet which I'm glad and hope there is nothing else.

Also on Monday I learn that almost everyone including me was denied their transfer request. The only ones who got it was those who said they would transfer into the city. BUMMER!
I was really bummed out because I wanted to get out from under Jonas mainly because of the reason above.

So come last Friday and I learn that Jonas is being transfer to the northlake garage and my new manager will be Tony White. This will take effect the 29th and hope it goes over well including hopping Tony is a good guy.
Big news I finally upgraded from my old Motorola Rokr E1 to a new HTC Tilt 2 (Smartphone). I have been out of contract for almost ichi-han (1.5 in Japanese) years. This new phone is nice but I was disappointed in the TouchFLO shell from HTC so I just disabled it went to the default Windows Mobile interface. Yes, I am not a fan of Microsoft but because I'm into modding I figured the HTC was my best choice since the iPhone is not that modable except for jail breaking it. But so far I am happy with this HTC.

And the last thing on my post today is my excitement to attend the Anime Convention coming this May. I'm still hopping to get the time off approved. It is in May on the 14th, 15th and 16th. So any of my friends who enjoy Anime you are welcome to join me. I'm real excited because Anime is one of my favorite ways to learn more about the Japanese People. No, I don't mean like Japanese People watching one of our Soap Operas to learn about American Life because we all know that is a made up wonderland or sometimes horrorland.

Oh and one last thing my parents have suggested that I not focus on Japan this year and instead focus on buying a house since the prices are so low and the first time buyers credit ends soon. (Which I might still miss.) If I did this my dad would put focus on joining me next year even try to get my grampa to come too. This is disappointing to admit they are right but why is my goal of Japan such a problem for me to reach. Please continue to prey for me and ask god to send me tons of connections over this year especially at this conference I'm volunteering for this May.

Feb Update 2

So I return to work tomorrow and I'm definably going to say something to my union rep. Boy how time goes by so fast.

I e-mailed someone by the name of Justin and Amy who are on their way to returning to Japan for Missions. I just thought I share my first e-mail.

<<< --- Start of E-mail --- >>>

Dear Justin & Amy Perry

My name is Joel Greene and I am 23 years old and currently live in the South Chicago Suburbs. I first heard of you guys though some friends of mine and it is great to hear what you guys have been doing in Japan and admire you for it. For the last 5 years I have had a strong burden on my heart to help spread Christianity in Japan. I have prayed hard since then and have decided that I would like to take a short trip to Japan to help me find out if this is what God is calling me to do. I have had some contact with Christian Japaneses involved in the ministry and Missionaries over the last couple years but the disappointment is that every time I make contact they either past the buck to some else or forget about me all together.

My family and I have been attending Believers Church in Matteson, Illinois for more than 17 years. I have had a youth pastor who is very involved in missions and would have guest missionaries quite often. In fact my father has even been of mission trips to Guatemala. I know this must be God because when I was about 12 years old I would sit in my Youth Group and listen to my Youth Pastor and be scared of God calling me into the ministry or a place like the 10/40 window but now I have a peace about this. I have committed myself to God for whatever he wants me to do even if that includes relocating to Japan and going full time into the ministry.

The reason I'm contacting you is to ask if at all possible you can get me in contact with ANYBODY that can help me on my quest. I may finally have the opportunity to visit Japan coming this June if the right connections are made. I work for AT&T and I have saved half of my goal of $5000 and about 3 to 4 weeks of vacation time. (which is only available to me in whole in the month of June) The only bummer at the moment is my work blacks out the last two weeks of June and any other time is already taken. My Union Rep said he might be able to get me special consideration if I can provide a letter from a missions organization proving that I'm requesting the time off to do what I really am doing.

I am really just in love with Japan, I love the people, their culture and location and I just feel extremely burdened to help. I've attended Japanese Events, Been to conferences, Eaten their food (a lot) plus I've even worn a Kimonos. yes, I have even come realize that there is still a lot to work to do and It might not even work this year (again) but this is closes I have ever come to it possibly happening.

Mental support is one of the things I need. Thank you for reading my e-mail and please help me out. I'm behind you and I pray for you.

Sayonara,
ジョエル グリイン (Joel Greene)

<<< --- His Reply --- >>>

Joel,

It sounds like the Lord has definitely put Japan on your heart! We are actually not leaving for Japan until August. We start our term at the beginning of the school year in Japan.
My advice is just to remain patient. When I returned to the USA after my first mission term when I was 23, I was prepared to get ready and go back right away! Well, this is 2010 and the Lord has delayed my returning to the field for six years! It doesn't sound like you'll be delayed for nearly that long with the time you've spent raising funds and accumulating time off. Let me tell you from experience, when the Lord allows you to go, the door will open wide for you. He probably has a time and a place for you to serve the Japanese people and it's just not here yet. From experience again, let me tell you that while you are waiting, get as immersed in the Japanese culture in Chicago as possible. Especially, get to know Japanese people; build relationships. Make friends with some guys at the sushi shops, at the markets, etc. We found a nice, intimate Japanese restaurant in Wicker Park when we were in Chicago in 2006 and it's a place like that where some great relationships could start.
Keep in touch and we might have a lot better connections for you after we move. I will definitely pray for you and your desire to go to Japan in His service.

-JustinP-

<<< --- End of E-mail --- >>>

I will be sure to continue to talk with him.