culture shock

i have always associated "shock" with something really vigorous, like maybe an electric shock (u know, the vigorous shaking perhaps only seen in cartoons). so when culture shock was first suggested to me recently, the idea received an instantaneous nonchalant dismissal.

but somewhere in my mind surfaced the whole list and description of culture shock symptoms - things to look out for in our mentees (Otago International Mentor Programme training) as they make transitions to a new environment.

it's not the shock i had in mind. without the visible vigorous effects of an electric shock, often unrecognized and dismissed.

if u ask me, it's like longer-term extended pms.

perspectives

often in a foreign environment, where one's closest friends and family's thousands of miles away; when one's quite sure one's made for the tropical weather and wondering what one's doing living in a snow globe... there's a tendency for things to get blown out of proportion in one's little pessimistic mind.

as i sat glazy-eyed in class today, watching the snow outside being blown, almost in a rude fashion, by the violent wind, i was kinda expecting the next moment to be one of chaos. like how u pick up a snow-globe and start to give it a vigorous shake.

i've been losing little things here and there. but the blow was bigger when i dropped my beannie. in my dismay i imagined my ears following suit.

in times like this, i tell myself: it must be pms. and it's not the end of the world.

From Loneliness to Solitude

As the theologian Paul Tillich said, "Our language has widely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone, and it has created the word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone."

(quoted from Jenny Schroedel in http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001611.cfm)

My training from loneliness to solitude had perhaps begun in Dunedin, even before I was aware of it. In the process, I've learnt that, the answer to one's loneliness is often not the company of another. In fact, I don't think even when there are two lonely people existing in the same place, at the same time, that their answer to their loneliness is each other.

AoHako KGK Camp

Psalm 51:12 (NLT)

"Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you."

sayonara

do u wonder if u'll ever get to see the person u've just said goodbye to?

ppl come and go. somehow, i thought abt this question more tonight.

distance

"As I am writing to you I feel as if you are not far away at all! Just a few blocks away or even rite here....I guess that is the blessing of being sistas in Christ :) "

heart-warming.

physical distance leads to drifting apart and separation only if you allow it to.

u know u've found good music when...

...listening it for the 100th time still gives u thrill and sends ur adrenaline pumping. the amazing talent displayed inspires praise and glory unto Him who bestows such awesome gifts upon His created beings!

gosh. rodrigo y gabriela is getting into me!

hugs

i received a hug today. it made me realise how hugs are hard to come by since I came to Japan. not that we hugged an awful lot in Dunedin, but there was enough to go around.

i miss those good warm hugs that are so affirming, where encouragement and comfort are conveyed without a word being spoken.

won't you give someone a hug today?

From the Inside Out...

Kau Yang Terindah

Kau yang terindah
Di dalam hidup ini
Tiada Allah Tuhan
Yang seperti Engkau
Besar perkasa penuh kemuliaan

Kau yang termanis
Di dalam hidup ini
Ku cinta Kau lebih dari segalanya
Besar kasih setiamu kepada ku

Ku sembah Kau Ya Allahku
Ku tinggikan namaMu selalu
Tiada lutut tak bertelut
Menyembah Yesus Tuhan Rajaku

Ku sembah Kau Ya Allahku
Ku tinggikan namaMu selalu
Semua liddah kan mengaku
Engkaulah Yesus Tuhan Rajaku

*********************************************

This song has been playing in my head, my heart, my soul for a long time now. Every now and then I have the urge to just burst into song and sing my heart out...

From the inside out. I haven't sung in worship from the inside out for a long time. It's like a craving that needs to be satisfied, a longing to be fulfilled... it's like my spirit wanting to cry out in worship...

i am blogging again!

the joy i get out of blogging from my laptop makes me feel silly.

i dun blog in public computers. it feels weird. even to the extend of being exposed. vulnerable. ironic eh? i suppose being visible while in the process of thinking, reflecting and blogging... is akin to some form of being exposed...

i love my laptop! the familiarity of keys in their rightful positions, without weird characters popping up every now and then, bookmarks designed just for me, blogs of ppl i know just a click away...

355 unread blog posts.

"understanding stuff is overrated"

this appeared on my facebook sticky note when i first arrived in Japan, and was rather frustrated with not knowing what's going on around me.

i can't believe how true this statement has proven to be. most things have sorted out by now, without me understanding most of what's going on. i haven't gotten into trouble caused by insufficient understanding... yet.

even more amazingly, my internet setup guide was completely in Japanese. The pictures would have been helpful had the setup programs read Japanese properly. Instead, I found gibberish on every screen that appeared, and I'm not getting the interface the picture guide was showing...

but voila! here I am, connected to the world wide web, unsure of whether I've completed the setup procedure proper. You're talking to someone who's a total idiot when it comes to geek stuff.

and thus is my introduction to Japan. I suspect my English is rather off - nor am I attaining more grammatically accurate Japanese. Ahhh~ that's part and parcel of being neither here nor there eh?

facebook me for photos =)