November Sycamore Tree

Dear Sycamore Family,

Life in Sendai is starting to settle down a little bit now that I’ve had time to calm down from my visit home. I had so much fun catching up with friends, meeting new people, and visiting all of my favorite hang out spots. Since returning to Japan, I’ve been unpacking all the new culture shock I experienced going back to the bay area. I thought back to when I first arrived in Sendai and all of the expectations I had and how they changed the longer I spent here.

Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions I had was that Japanese culture and thinking was very homogeneous. I had always thought that Japan lacked cultural diversity because it hasn’t experienced as much immigration or colonization as the US. However, from travels to places like Kyoto, Okinawa, and the Sendai area I found I couldn’t have been more wrong. One government official in Japan has recently received a lot of criticism for stating publicly that Japan is a monoculture, angering several groups including representatives of Ainu communities in Hokkaido and Ryukyu in Okinawa. Only recently has the Japanese government recognized the existence of these indigenous peoples and their struggle for recognition has been a very long, hard process. So, for a high-level government official to say this in a public statement means they still have a long way to go in terms of raising awareness.

This is only one example of culture shock that ranged from the cleanliness of public transportation to sleeping on a spring mattress instead of a Japanese futon. I’m sure many more experiences will continue to surprise me and some realizations may take years. But, the experience has been an incredible one and I hope that I can make you all proud.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the Sycamore family who is in the hospital, feeling ill, or recovering from the loss of a loved one. The longer I’m away from home the more I realize how much I miss it and my mind often wanders back to all of you.

With Love,
SKLT
Global Missions Intern and
Assistant Director
Sendai Student/Youth Center in Sendai, Japan