"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!: -2 Corinthians 9.15

I was reading about Nagoya this morning and I found this wonderful description of the early history of this city.  It's from a booklet called Welcome to CBD COP10, 2010 that was created by the city of Nagoya and the organizers of the COP 10 conference. 

"The name of "Aichi" derives from "Ayuchigata" in Man'yoshu (Anthology of Myriad Leaves), which was compiled in the 8th century.  "Cranes flying toward Sakurada crying and spring-fed tide lands at low tide, cranes flying, crying".  "Ayuchigata" is thought to be a cover near present day Atsuta-ward, Nagoya City.  "Ayu" means "spring" and "spring wind", which allows for such interpretations as a land with rich springs and a land for which wind brings happiness from the sea.  It also reminds us that this area was a rich natural environment."

"The Kasanagi-no-mitsurugi Sword was considered to be held by Yamato-takeru-nomikoto, who appears in Japanese mythology.  In the 16th century, Oda Nobunaga of Owari appeared from among many warring lords who defended their own territories throughout Japan with the aim of unifying Japan.  Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and Tokygawa Ieyasu of Mikawa finally unified Japan and opened up Edo Bakufu.  These three warriors are called the "Three Heroes" and are deeply intertwined with Aichi."

"Along with the activities of the "Three Heroes", many vassal warriors from Aichi began to govern every corner of Japan.  This is why Aichi is called the "hometown of warriors".  In the Edo Period, Owari was governed by the Owari Tokugawa Clan as an important area connecting Edo and Kyo.  Nagoya Castle was built by large scale construction works, mobilizing lords from all over Japan which was called "Tenka Fushin"(Whole Country Construction).  Many craftsmen gathered around Nagoya for the construction of large-scale projects.  Thus, an industry and manufacturing culture flourished and a castle town was build in this way."

Thanks for letting me give you all a history lesson!  More about Christmas in Nagoya during my next post!

Peace,
Christen

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

Have a blessed Advent!

Advent has always been my favorite times of year.  I love counting down and lighting candles and the sense of anticipation that the Advent season brings.

This year however, I am struck with the particular appropriatness of Advent.  For the first time ever Christmas will be different for me.  I won't have many of the traditions that my parents passed down to our family (driving around our old neighborhoods to look at the lights on Christmas Eve) or the weird traditions that my sister, brother and I made up (Stopping at McDonalds on these Christmas Eve drives?!)  This advent I am not only anticipating the birth of Christ, but I'm also waiting for and anticipating a new kind of Christmas.

One thing I'm thankful for is that many of the traditions I hold most dear I've gotten to participate it this year.  In Mitsuba we decorated a tree and light Advent Candles every day.  The kids each get a turn to light one candle and after we say prayers to put a candle out.  I LOVE seeing the excitement on their faces when they realize that it's their turn!  I also have Christmas parties to attend and a Christmas Eve service to go to.  We are even going Christmas caroling!   Even so, Christmas is going to be different this year.  So far this Advent, as I've taken time to reflect daily, I've realized that while this Christmas won't look like the one's I'm used to, the reason and the meaning and the holiness of this season is EXACTLY the same.  It's like two identical wrapped presents.  The gift is the same even though the packaging might be wildly different.  I am looking foward to experiencing all the Christmas traditions that the Christian community in Japan celebrates this year!  I've been told that they include cake and Kentucky Fried Chicken!

There is one change in my Christmas traditions that has been very welcome.  After I graduated from college, I worked at Borders until last May.  This winter I am incredibly grateful to be away from Retail Christmas.  Yes, their are Christmas decorations in every store and Christmas sales going on, but it's not quite the retail explosion that it is in the U.S.  I really did enjoy working at Borders, but not having to worry about coffee sales, Black Friday hours, setting up displays or requesting Christmas Eve off this year has been more of a relief than I thought I would be.

I wish everyone a blessed Advent and I hope you get a chance to relax and to take a step back from Retail Christmas and focus on the true meaning of the season.

A few weeks ago it became cold in Japan.  That means...
-Heated public toilet seats
-Heated vending machines
-Wool shorts and black tights being in style for girls
-Everyone else in coats and me overheating in my sweatshirt!
-REALLY CUTE winter accessories and Christmas decorations in all the stores





Winter Flowers

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I am thankful for:
Shrek Marathons
Care packages with cranberry sauce
Care packages without cranberry sauce
YWCA Japanese classes
My family
My friends in America
My friends in Japan
My friends everywhere else in the world
A rice cooker that always works even when my stove doesn't
Hanging out with 2 and 3 year olds three mornings a week
Being almost done with my seminary applications!
My Friday English classes and all the kids at ELCC
Japanese/English conversations with the girls in the office
Beautiful weather
That my family is all together today
Skype conversations with friends from home. 
Gilmore Girls on DVD
My own washer machine
An incredible support network back home
New and exciting opportunities this year
New Years Eve in TOKYO!
The leaves finally turning red in Nagoya this week
The most delicious clementines I've ever eaten
That Kaki (Persimmons) are in season
Answered prayers and that God always hears us, even when we can't voice our prayers
Alice's Restaurant on YouTube

Gobble Gobble Gobble!
<3 Christen

"On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage". Acts 28:15

A few weeks ago there was a national holiday in Japan and I spent the morning touring Atsuta Shrine with one of my friends. Atusa Shrine is a famous Shinto shrine in Nagoya and the morning we went was cool, sunny and beautiful. Sharing the beautiful grounds with us that day was a boy/girl scout bazaar, a class of adults learning about Shinto and hundreds of Parents and their children. In Japan it is customary for parents to bring their children to the shrine to be blessed when they are 3. 5 and 7 years old to pray and this was a specific day for that. There was such a sense of the Holy in that place. I know I will go back before I leave Japan.

"...You shall make them of choice wheat flour" -Exodus 29:2

Happy November!

Last Saturday the youth center where I live and work hosted an udon making event for kids.  I was so excited to be a part of it because I used to love going to these kinds of events through church or Girl Scouts when I was little.  Also, I love udon!  For those who don't know, udon is a thick chewy type of Japanese noodle that tastes great in soup.  In the grocery store it's usually found partially cooked in frozen blocks.  But trust me--it tastes so much better freshly made! 

For 3.5 hours last Saturday the kids came and made udon and had lunch where we ate the noodles we made.  It was so much fun.  We even had a contest for the worlds longest noodle cut from one piece of dough.  On Friday night I got to help make noodles that the volunteers would eat for lunch and I'm proud to announce that I held the title of Nagoya Youth Center's "longest-noodle-maker" for 12 hours!  Then the next day one of the kids almost doubled my record! 

Enjoy the pictures.  Yes, it was just as delicious as it looked.  There was flour everywhere!

After they made the dough from flour, salt and water the kids got to stomp on it for 20 min.  I was told that the stomping method makes the most delicious udon.




Next each kid got to roll out their own dough and cut their own noodles.




It was difficult for some of the younger kids to cut the noodles, but this girl did an awesome job.




In the running for the youth center's longest noodle!




Soup toppings. 




Once the noodles are cut they must be boiled until they are translucent.




The noodles my group made!




My soup made with the noodles I made the night before.  It was so delicious!





'"What does he mean by this 'a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about."'--John 16.18

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I have to admit it has been a little weird this week. Right now in Boston parties are being planned, costumes are being made and candy is being bought. Halloween is my favorite holiday and it is not celebrated in Japan.

That being said, we did celebrate Halloween with the kids in the English classes as an American culture activity. We had a party last week at the Youth Center and today at St. Luke's. Both were very fun with the kids all dressed up in costumes and we played educational games and read stories about Halloween. I was in charge of Trick-or-treating. The kids loved it and while it wasn't even close to how awesome trick-or-treating is, it was a novel thing for them and they really had fun.


For the past few weeks, Nagoya has been hosting an international conference called COP-10. COP-10 is the tenth meeting of the parties on Biodiversity and involved delegates and world leaders from around the planet. I was able to go this past Wednesday as a representative from the Nagoya Center for Philippine Concerns. On the day that I went we got to sit in at the opening of the High Level Session where we heard many very important people speak including the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of Yeomen and the President of the World Bank. After we stopped by the cafeteria for lunch and walked around the booths and information fair, we sat and watched a working group session as they were approving of some documents to go to vote. It was amazing being in the room with people from around the world discussing how we can be better stewards of creation. The session was conducted in English but everyone received translating headphones so that language was less of a barrier than it could have been. I am so grateful that I had the chance to go to COP-10.

Here is a quotation from yesterday's press release from COP-10 that explains some of what was accomplished:

"Among the targets, it is important to note that Parties:
- Agreed to at least halve and where feasible bring close to zero the rate of loss of natural habitats including forests;
- Established a target of 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of marine and coastal areas,
- Through conservation and restoration, Governments will restore at least 15 percent of degraded areas; and
- Will make special efforts to reduce the pressures faced by coral reefs.Parties also agreed to a substantial increase in the level of financial resources in support of implementation of the Convention."

It's fascinating stuff. I highly recommend reading the full article found here:

http://www.cbd.int/doc/press/2010/pr-2010-10-29-cop-10-en.pdf

 This upcoming week looks like it will be another great one. Sunday we have a baptism/confirmation at St. Stephans and Wednesday is a public holiday and I will be going sightseeing. This plus my normal work and YWCA class means that I will be busy, busy, busy. But I love the work and am so glad to do it!

 Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Enjoy! Happy Halloween!!



I studied Yayoi Kusama's work in school and was so happy to see her sculptures all around the Aici Art Center and the Oasis 21 bus station! 




We went "hiking" in Mitsuba and the kids collected acorns in these cute boxes they made.




Halloween at the Nagoya Student Center.




My Trick-or-treat classroom!




My costume.  I made it up but I think I was a spider queen!




Me as Jack Skellington.  I had to be scary for the older kids.




Jack-o'-lanterns that held the cookies I gave out.



The scariest costume fot the oldest kids!  I look so gross here!



COP-10 High Level Session Opening.  That's the Prime Minister of Japan, Naoto Kan on the screen.




COP-10.  The symbol of the conference was origami animals.



Some of the many information booths at COP-10.

A giant statue at the convention center.



Inside a working session at COP-10.




This is an apple flavored Oreo candy bar.  Seriously.  Not quite as delicious as it sounds.




I took advantage of my unlimited COP-10 subway card and went sightseeing.  This is inside Nagoya Station.



Outside Nagoya Station. 

I found a beautiful river as I was walking.



This is the Hilton Nagoya Hotel.



Downtown Sakae is really beautiful.

In this picture you can see an Outback Steakhouse, a Starbucks and and Emporio Armani.  I think it's funny because there is no way to tell that I took this picture in Japan and not America!

Halloween at St. Luke's.

Cute little scarecrow!

"...and the lion shall eat straw like the ox" Isaiah 11:7

A lesson in Japanese:

Today during lunch all of a sudden one of the four year old boys started yelling frantically at me.  Of course I was concerned because I could not think of anything I had done to provoke him and nothing seemed to be wrong with him.  I pulled another teacher over and he started laughing.  It turns out that he was just pretending to be a lion.  Animal noises are completely different in Japanese and I had no clue that "Gaooo, Gaooo" is the same as "Rawr, Rawr".

Another one that's really different is the noise that a pig makes.  In English it's, "Oink, Oink" and in Japanese it's "Boo, Boo"! 

I was a little embarrassed at first but at the same time really relieved that I wasn't getting yelled at!

A Brief Poetic Interlude

Four of my favorites.  Enjoy!

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
-e.e.cummings
 
 
Useless, useless,
the heavy rain
Driving into the sea
-Jack Kerouac
 
The bottoms of my shoes
are clean
from walking in the rain.
-Jack Kerouac

Glow worm
sleeping on this flower -
your light's on
-Jack Kerouac

"Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in LOVE". 1 Corinthians 16:13

Welcome to the beginning of fall in Japan! The weather is finally starting to cool down and is actually pretty chilly at night! I apologize for the lack of updates last week. I’m definitely in a routine here now and there really wasn’t anything new to report. I am greatly enjoying my work and the friendships I’m making. The English classes that I teach are challenging because the students are at all different levels of English ability but I’ve found some ways to make my classes interesting and engaging for everyone. Last week I brought a collection of Disney stories to read out loud and it was a big hit! The kids are all familiar with the stories so even though the language is above some of their levels, they are a still able to follow along. I think I might have my older class take turns reading out loud every week.


On October 3rd was the annual St. Stephans’ Bazaar to raise money for different ministries and programs that St. Stephans' supports. I was thrilled to be on coffee duty and was able to introduce chocolate brownies to the menu! The bazaar was very similar to the All Saints’ Christmas Fair that I grew up going to at All Saints’. There were crafts sold, a second hand shop and games for the children. It was a lot of work but also a ton of fun. While I don’t have final numbers, I’m pretty sure that the event was a success!

Last Sunday a group of us from St. Stephans’ went to Gifu prefecture to attend a Diocesan learning event. The program was an introduction to the work that the Kani Mission Center for Filipino Migrants is doing in Kani City. The program was in Japanese but I will be getting notes in English about the history of Kani Mission and the work that they are doing. Afterwards we had a delicious dinner and there was a fun raffle.

My language training is going really well. Every day I can understand a little bit more. I won’t be even close to fluent by the time I leave, but I am slowly working up to having basic-basic conversations!

In the next couple of weeks a few things are coming up. First are two Halloween parties. One is at St. Lukes’ and one is at the Youth Center. Halloween is not very popular here and the parties are a great way to introduce Halloween to the kids in the community. We’ve been learning about Halloween in all of the English classes this month. I love it because Halloween is by far my favorite holiday! The second is that COP-10 has come to Nagoya.  I'm still learning about what it means, but from what I've gathered it's an international meeting that this year has the topic of biodiversity.  Two weeks from now I will be going to a COP-10 event that's open to the public. It should be really interesting and I'm looking forward to it.

Sorry that this entry is so diary-like. I do hope to write more about my thoughts and emotions about things here soon. One thing I can say is that I’ve had a couple of dreams over the past few weeks where in my dreams I “wake up” and realize that I still haven’t left for Japan and the past three months have all been a dream. It’s really a disorienting way to start my mornings and combined with the fact that time feels like it's constantly running inconsistently, I’m beginning to feel a little like Alice in Wonderland! I hope everyone is having a fabulous fall. I hear it is beautiful in Boston right now and that the leaves are changing in Groton. I’ve been told that they change color here too but sometime in mid- November.

Peace, Christen

"Return to your home, and declare how much God had done for you". Luke 8:39

It’s time to get personal! Here is my story:


During training one of the many things we did was to decide very clearly for ourselves why we were going abroad for the year. These goals had to be specific and important to us. We were told not to even bother going if we didn’t have a specific goal. We were told that when things get tough, which they most certainly will, that without specific meaningful goals it is easy to lose sight of why you are there and lose hope and faith that God is sending you there for a reason.

I get asked here all the time, ‘why are you in Japan’, or ‘why did you chose Japan’. In fact, I didn’t choose Japan. It was a decision made for me, though it was a decision that I was more than happy to comply with! I am a postulant in the Diocese of Massachusetts and as part of my formation process the Commission on Ministry in the Diocese along with the Bishops recommended to me that I do missionary work or volunteer work for 1 year. Here’s the kicker…I could go anywhere in the WORLD. After I was told that, I have to admit that I was overwhelmed with options. As someone who has lists of future travel plans PAGES long in my journal, I was amazed that I couldn’t choose. The temptation was high to knock one of the countries of my list or to return to a country that I was already familiar with. As I attempted to choose a location for my year of service, I had the distinct feeling that there was something going on in my planning that was bigger than me. Honestly, that feeling overwhelmed me much more than picking a location ever did! I decided to turn it over to God and applied with the Young Adult Service Corps. During my interview, three different locations came up and I knew that the choice was not mine to make. I told Douglas and David that I’d be fine with any of the three placements and returned back to Boston. Even as I was waiting for the news of where I would be living next year, I knew that I’d be going to Japan. I kept getting a feeling that I called an “Asia vibe” and it was no surprise when David called to tell me I’d be going to Nagoya, Japan for the year.

So, why am I in Japan? I am in Japan to develop skills for my future career in ministry. This is the goal I set for myself in training and it still holds true today. Everything about me being here is going to help me be a better priest and a better person. The concrete things are perhaps the most obvious: I’m teaching, I’m working with children, I’m volunteering with homeless men and women, I’m learning a new language and I’m away from home for the longest I’ve ever been before. But it is the abstract aspects of my being in Japan that I’m beginning to recognize as being just as important as the concrete. For example, for the first time in my life, I am a racial minority. I get stared at on trains, giggled at when I order coffee and sometimes, though very rarely, people won’t sit next to me on trains or benches. It’s an experience that is uncomfortable at times, but I recognize it as one that is essential for me to have. Also, female Anglican priests are still a rarity in Japan. I’ve on more than one occasion had to answer questions about me as a female hoping to be ordained that had never come up for me in the states. As challenging as they are, I am incredibly grateful for these opportunities. I know for me that in order to be the kind of priest that I want to be…that I’m being called to be….I need to have these experiences and get out of my comfort zone once and a while.

I love the work I’m doing here in Japan. I especially like teaching more than I ever thought I would. I’m getting an incredible variety of ministry experience and am meeting many amazing people! Two months in I still have the feeling that this is bigger than me and part of God’s plan which is an awesome (in all possible meanings of the word) feeling! Two months down and ten to go. I can’t wait to see what happens!

"If you are able!--All things can be done for the one who believes". --Mark 9:23

It's been a rainy, rainy week here in Nagoya. I love the rain and it's a blessing because it looks like the hot weather is finally gone for good! It was a rough couple of weeks temperature wise when I first got here. Everyone at the youth center is busy prepping for the bazar that St. Stephan’s is hosting this weekend as a fundraiser. The money is going to help fund different ministries, particularly the school for Filipino students where I teach on Fridays.


On a related note, two weeks ago was the 10th anniversary of the Filipino Migrant Center in Nagoya, Japan. It was a great all-day event. We ate delicious Filipino food, watched Filipino dance and heard a panel talk about the day's topic, "Migrants' Contribution in Realization of Social Integration: Towards the Next Decade". It was interesting to hear what each speaker had to say about the topic. There are relatively few foreigners living in Japan, especially when compared with my hometown of Boston, MA. It is difficult for migrants to get settled here when they don't share a common language or culture with their new communities. This is where the work of the FMC comes in. They provide resources and support to Filipino Migrants as well as cultural events and community. Another resource the FMC provides is translation. Japan has a confusing trash collection system. Where I live trash must be divided into Burnable, Recyclable Plastic, Non-Burnable, and Bottles, Cans and Recycled paper. It’s a better system for the planet, but it’s still sometimes confusing to me and I have instructions in English! The fliers which describe how to sort your garbage were not available in Tagalong which you can imagine would be a problem. The FMC provides translation of this information as well as other pamphlets that contain important information for living in Japan. I was so glad to be a part of the FMC’s 10th anniversary. One of the best parts was seeing some of my students perform a dance at the end of the day. They had been practicing so hard for weeks and did a really great job!

As far as language goes, I’ve had some success this week! This morning I was able to have an actual conversation entirely in Japanese! Granted, it was with a two-year old, but hey—you’ve got to start somewhere right?! I also find that I understand more and more when someone else is speaking. When I first came to Japan I had difficulty distinguishing between words and even understanding words I did know. Now I’m usually able to get the meaning from context and pick out words I don’t know from those I do. Slowly but surely progress is being made!

"We Will With God's Help"

I apologize (but not really...) for the following service announcement:

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are 10 years old! 

Anyone who know me at all probably knows that one of the most important things to me that comes out of my Baptismal Covenant is the phrase,

"Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being"? --Book of Common Prayer, Baptismal Covenant.


Also, if you know me, you may know that I am a big fan of the Millennium Development Goals which I see as an expression of our global community trying to live out the above baptismal promise. 




Photo Source:
http://southasia.oneworld.net/resources/campaign-toolkit-for-mdgs

The goals were agreed upon by leaders around the world 10 years ago this month.  They are specific and have a deadline: 2015.

Here are some great websites for more info: http://www.undp.org/, http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ and I especially recommend the Episcopal Church of America website: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ONE

A lot of progress has been made, but there is still much to be done.  I am challenging myself to renew my support of the MDGs and I ask you to do the same.

What you can do:
1. Pray
2. Be informed
3. Act-join one of the many ministries around the world that support the MDGs
4. Financially contribute to a ministry or organization that supports the MDGs.  The recommended amount is .7% of your income.  That's less than 1%.
5. Tell a friend.


And finally, here is an awesome article by Bono about the MDG's.  Because honestly, who doesn't love Bono?? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/opinion/19bono.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

"We will with God's help"
<3

"Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs". Mark 10:14

I can't sleep tonight so I've decided to do something useful like blogging about my week rather than staring at my ceiling for hours. 

First, a word about the blog titles.  This year as part of my spiritual disciplines I am reading through the whole Bible.  I'm not doing it to claim that I read the Bible in a year, but I figure that it is a good marker as well as a way for me to get in the habit of reading more scripture.  The blog titles are pulled from something I've read in the past few days as part of that reading.  Sometimes they are thematically related to the post but at other times they are not.  I've started including the chapter and verse just in case you want to look it up in the Good Book yourself!

This week has been a blast.  I've started what will become my regular routine and I can tell already that it's going to be a great year! Two or three times a week I help out in Mitzuba classes.  Mitzuba is a Christian pre-school that meets at the center that is taught in Japanese.  The kids are all two and three years old and they are the cutest little people ever.  They are too young to be afraid of me and too young to realize that I don't speak Japanese.  It's a lot of fun.  We sing songs, play with an awesome train set, dance and of course eat snack.  The kids like to bring me Japanese books to read, which of course I can't yet, so I make up the stories in English and when they finally catch on they give me the funniest looks.

On Wednesdays and Fridays I am in English classes.  I help out on Wednesdays and on Fridays I am the teacher for two classes.  I have about 7 students each Friday and they are all over the map as far as English skills go.  It's going to be important to make lesson plans that challenge and teach all students, while not going over some of the students' heads.  On Friday I also help with PhysEd for the 4 year olds which basically means recess!  They speak a little English and last week on my first day at the school, the kids liked to tell me what to do and where to go.  I was grateful because I had no idea what was going on!

I also help out at a day program for homeless men and women once or twice a week.  This is an awesome place where people can come, take a shower, eat lunch, do laundry and basically hang out and have a place to be for the day.  It's a new but inspiring program and I'm really grateful to be able to help out at all...regardless of the language barrier.  And hopefully that barrier will keep shrinking over time.

Speaking of language, I started my first Japanese class at the YWCA today!  I am so glad that my supervisor recommended this class.  Right now I know a lot of random nouns in Japanese, but this class is going to give me the grammar that I need as well as the ability to make sentences.  Both which are vital for any conversation beyond pointing. 

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from this week.  Hopefully next week I'll have some pictures of my day to day life.  It's funny because sometimes I forget that I am in Japan.  I still feel like the same person I was in Cambridge and some places in Nagoya even remind me of Cambridge.  Besides the fact that the language is different and I look different than almost everyone in the city, it's easy for me to forget that I am half way around the world from where I was this time last year.  But surprisingly, it's the little day to day things that serve as reminders.  Things like doing laundry and taking out the trash and grocery shopping.  You can't believe how difficult it is to buy things like vinegar when you can't read the kanji and there are no brands that you can recognize!  I spent about 10 min in that aisle looking at the pictures on the bottles and trying to figure out what was inside.  Luckily I guessed right!

Hope everyone has a great week!

"For God all things are possible" Mark 10:27

Okinawa Part 2:

1,000 Paper Cranes

One of the first things that I noticed about Okinawa was that there were not as many Americans there as I had thought there would be. With all the facts that I had been reading the past week for example: 75% of the 90 U.S. Military facilities in Japan are located in Okinawa (source: closethebase.org). I was expecting the Island to be filled with Americans.

An U.S. base in Naha. 

However, I didn’t see or overhear anyone who was obviously and American until the second day while we were at the aquarium. Looking back I guess this makes sense, they are all at work on the bases, but for first impressions, I was a little surprised.

Nevertheless, the problem of the bases is clear. In Naha there have been two widely publicized incidents of planes crashing into schools. More recently, on August 4th, 2004 a helicopter crashed into Okinawa International University administrative building where miraculously no one was hurt. However, in 1959 a jet crashed into the Miyamori Elementary School killing 17 students and neighbors and injuring another 210 people.

Memorial at the Okinawa International University. 
This is a tree that was burned in the Helicopter crash.  There is a fountain that surrounds it now.

A memorial at the Miyamori Elementary School for the 1959 crash.

Also, the proposed site for the new air strip isn’t a perfect choice either. Many claim that building the proposed Heneko air base would be detrimental to the Dugong, a marine mammal similar to the Manatee that is on both the Japanese and American endangered species lists.

Flags in protest of the proposed U.S. Air Base.

The bases by nature are loud and the take up land. Also, if they are located in a city like many of them in Naha are, there are dangers with taking off and landing so close to buildings.

As I learned about the situation that weekend in Okinawa, I kept feeling like I was missing something. I couldn’t put a finger on it until the last day and the only question I could think to ask was: Why Okinawa? Japan is allowing the US air bases to be there, and if all sides agree that the bases are not as safe as they could be, why do the US troops have to be in Okinawa? Couldn’t they move somewhere else? Somewhere safer? I felt like the answer should be simple, but as I kept asking, I got different answers: Money, Politics, Security.

Maybe it was a language problem that just wasn’t getting translated right or maybe it was a problem in my understanding of the issue, but I continue to feel as if a large essential piece of the puzzle is missing.

Naha

I am still reading about, learning about and asking questions about the history of the U.S. in Okinawa. As much as I would like to have one, I don’t have any conclusive opinions on the issue. Maybe someday the pieces might all click into place.

Names of those who died in the Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum

What I do know is this, while I was in Okinawa and surrounded by all the memorials and evidence of a battle that was truly tragic on all sides, the American in me was impressed with people on both sides of the issue. Not only was I proud of the men and women who were serving their country far away from their home, I was also inspired by the men and women who were fighting to protect their cities, the safety of their communities and to have their voices heard over the influence of money and politics. I never once felt like I, as an American, was being blamed for the problem of the bases and all of our Okinawan hosts were gracious and very willing to share about the life of their community.

Monument at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum

I still don’t know if a solution in Okinawa will be solved simply or soon, but I pray that people on all sides of the issue will continue to respect each other and continue to work towards a peaceful solution that promotes the safety and dignity of everyone involved.