Peace and Love

There was a giant rain storm that came out of nowhere today. And when the rain came, I was on my baby blue bike, looking for my first meal of the day after being officially certified as an alien by the Japanese government.

I think the rain was symbolically reminding us that summer is over. It's been a record heatwave here in Japan, with temperatures in the 90's in September when its usually supposed to be cool. .

Or maybe the rain was saying welcome to Japan, for reals now. Somewhere in the last few weeks, I almost forgot that I was here to be a student. But now things are finally starting to get settled here. Today marked the end of the first full week of classes, and my schedule is starting to solidify too as i've decided on what activities and clubs to join here at ICU.

I have Japanese language every morning for 2.5 hours, and two 4 hour classes on mondays and thursdays. Tuesdays are basketball practice with the basketball circle (the less intense version of a club), Wednesdays are Soul Run practice (festival dance found here), and fridays are soccer practice with another circle. Saturdays are mandatory excursion dates with one of our classes and Sunday is a day of church and rest.

I feel a little anxious as i've somehow managed to pack my schedule...again...but the sound of the rain on my window brings me a little ease. I'm now a part of the system of structure.

I end with something completely unrelated to the rest of this post. Yesterday American WWII P.O.W.s visited our history class and gave some testimonies on their survival of the Bataan Death March. They talked about forgiveness and why they choose to forgive when such wrong was committed to them. They said forgiveness is not an obligation but a choice of sacrifice. A cancellation of a debt not by the debtor but by the creditor. The same kind of forgiveness that Christ gave to us. And in an attempt to seek the same heart of Christ, they forgive.

Peace and Love,

~Calvin