Care Package from the States

Care Package from the States –

Thanks to Auntie Beth, we received a much anticipated and well stocked care package of our favorite items. Hard to explain how much you miss your favorite cereal, coffee, pencils, pens and apparently for some, candy corn. Auntie Beth was kind enough to stock a box full of our favorite items and send them to us with notes of love and birthday wishes. We are oh so blessed and rationing our items to make them last as long as possible. Thank you SO MUCH Auntie Beth. You have no idea what a treat it is to eat an “Idaho Potato” candy bar and my students thought it was great to receive something from the US as their prize for the Word of the Week. We love you and really appreciate all the love and kindness you boxed up and sent us. What a blessing, like hugs and kisses from aunt Beth is a box.

Care package from Auntie Beth in the states.

Japanese Trash –

So I know this may sound like an odd blog topic but I have been thinking about this for a while and trash is a really big deal in Japan. I thought some of you may find it interesting to know just how Japan handles trash in our region.

When we first arrived in Japan within two weeks we went to the Government office signed up for healthcare, registered as residents and signed up for trash service. While at the government building we were given a large book detailing the trash pickup schedule, what type of trash is picked up which day, and our orange recycling bin. The book is pretty intimidating not to mention I cannot read a word of it.

Japanese trash manual

They require residents to purchase designated plastic bags with their city name printed on the bags. These bags are readily available at any local grocery or Fred Meyer type store. They are not particularly expensive and come in 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 liter bags.

Clearly says Heguri right?

The first week we were here we generated quite a lot of trash as we were setting up house and purchasing many boxed items. You need to understand trash is sorted into PET, plastic, tray, burnable, cardboard, bin and special trash. We have about 3-4 different sorting bins for the various types of trash we accumulate each week. Burnable trash is collected twice a week just down the street in a large green mesh covered bin with a lid to keep the critters out. Pet is collected a couple times a month while plastic is collected every Monday and special trash like broken small appliances, worn out rugs, shoes and sun shades collected once a month on our block.

So, we gathered our burnable trash, took it out to the collective receptacle just down the street and were glad to have it out of the house. When we returned from work, it was gone. Easy enough we thought, mission accomplished. We followed the schedule and put our burnable trash out again on the following Monday. This time when I got home I was met by a neighbor who tried to explain to me we were not following trash protocol and he had graciously corrected our error last Monday. By the time Bob came home shortly after I did, I was able to explain the gist of what my neighbor had been trying to explain in Japanese.

Japanese annual trash calendar for our region

We inadvertently purchased Ikoma trash bags at the local hardware store and were happily putting our trash out every Monday in a trash bag clearly marked “Ikoma”. Well, we do not live in Ikoma, we live in Heguri and we did not have the proper Heguri trash bags. Our neighbor had been gracious enough the previous week to transfer our trash into a Heguri bag but after we made the mistake again, he let us know and was kind enough to give us the correct trash bag so we could see what we needed to purchase.

Simple enough mistake but each city has their own trash bags and by purchasing the correct trash bags they are able to maintain the service for those in the region. We profusely thanked our neighbor, took the bag and soon after purchased the correct trash bags for our region. We had no idea we needed a specific trash bag and for that matter, had no idea we had purchased the incorrect bags. So many new experiences and so many things to learn. Thank goodness our neighbors are gracious and kind enough not assume the worst and lend a hand to help us out.

Pilgrim’s Progress –

We just started reading “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan in my 11^th & 12^th grade English class and I am really excited to be reading this book. It is one of the all-time bestselling books only second to the Bible and has an amazing history. I was reviewing many English classics when I found “Pilgrim’s Progress” listed as the number one classical book on many literature review sights.

I personally have heard about this book for many years since becoming a Christian but have never read it myself. I am committed to read whatever novel I assign to my students so I am looking forward to reading this novel with them. This book is a difficult read and the vernacular is like that of “Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn”, both by Mark Twain but once you have read it for a while the language is easier to follow.

Literary review blogs claim many readers have come to Christ after reading this book. It is written as an allegory much like "Narnia" by C.S. Lewis and the imagery is amazing with many conversations in the book quoting scripture. If you are looking for a good book to pick up and read this fall as the nights grow long and you are huddled inside with your coffee and a blanket, maybe you should pick up a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress. There are many versions and some may be easier for younger readers than others.

"Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan

Thank you for your faithful prayers and for following our adventure. We are blessed to be here and grateful for the friendships and opportunities God is bringing our way. May we all be intentional, living on mission each day in order to bring as many as possible to salvation in Jesus Christ. 

In Him,

K.Chadduck