On Monday Jeremy leaves and passes the proverbial baton. Read on for observations of his last week here.
For me the last week has been filled with introductions, while for Jeremy the last week has been filled with goodbyes. Because Jeremy has been in Okayama for about as long as I plan to be in Okayama, I’m wondering if his last week in Japan resembles at all what my last week will be like.
Jeremy has remarked several times recently that he has been surprised by the number of people who have come up to him to say goodbye. Aside from the dozens of English students, Jeremy has received goodbyes and omiyage (souvenirs) from the mothers of some of our kindergarten classes, fellow students from the Japanese classes offered by the Okayama International Center, and several people from Saidaiji Christ Church. If anything it shows the sheer quantity of relationships that he has built during his time here.
What I wonder about, then, is whether I will be able to have the same level of friendships over my time here. I have the definite minus of never having been a particularly social person. Over the last several years I have done a lot of moving around—-from my parents’ home to an apartment on the UT-Dallas campus to my parents’ to an apartment in Plano to Japan. So I think I may have developed a habit of not investing much in friendships since I’m wary of the day I’ll have to pack up and leave.
Even though I’m keenly aware of the fact that my time in Japan is limited, somehow I’ll have to work past my habit of being satisfied with throwaway friendships and work on really getting to know the people in and around the church. It’s not really a matter of fulfilling expectations after Jeremy’s departure—-instead, it’s more something that I think God wants to challenge me with while I’m here.