Prepared for Okinawa

So the Lord has granted me more grace than I even knew by preparing me for living here in the Japanese culture in ways that I didn't even realize. Here are a few of the ways he has prepared me before I even thought about coming to Okinawa (some of these things are just quirks about my personality that work well here):

• Chopsticks - In high school I randomly decided it was cool to eat with chopsticks and so I started using chopsticks to eat everything! And I mean everything. I even ate pizza with chopsticks. My brother brought me back some real chopsticks from Tibet since no one uses chopsticks in Haiti. Although my high school literature teacher, Mr. Hersey, was an MK from Japan and he taught my class the correct way to use chopsticks. It may seem like a little thing, but being adept at eating with chopsticks has helped me feel more at ease in the Japanese culture. Eating is such a normal and regular thing that it would be stressful to be frustrated in such a common task by not being able to use the utensils.
• Hand washing - Okay, some people may call me a germ-0-phobe, but it was ingrained in me from a young age to constantly wash my hands. Haiti can be dirty and you can get sick easily by not maintaining proper hygiene, so my parents drilled it into our heads that we always needed to wash our hands. I am so thankful because Okinawan people are very clean and sanitary. I would probably horrify them with my lack of concern for sanitation if I hadn't been brought up to be so conscientious about it.
• Humidity - Growing up in Haiti I was accustomed to a high level of humidity. I have lived in the Northwest for 8 years so my tolerance has dropped, but I am acclimating quickly. I know people who completely wilt in the humidity and it can be incapacitating, so I am thankful that I am able to function despite the high humidity. (And the bright beautiful blue skies are so worth it!)
• Flexibility - I mean this in two senses, one is physical and the other is psychological. I am grateful for my natural, though fading, physical flexibility so that kneeling and such are not overly strenuous for me. I am however, way more grateful for my flexible mindset. There is something about living on a tropical island that just means things move at a different pace and often things don't go according to the given time frame. And I don't know if it's just a part of ministry in general, but the details and schedule at the school are constantly changing as well. My natural personality desires concrete expectations and advance warning of changes. However, growing up in Haiti has caused me to be very go-with the flow and highly adaptable to unexpected changes. So I can be very easy-going and fluid when necessary, rather than stressed and flustered. And I have learned the art of 'flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants,' which is very useful for surprise situations.
• Conservation - Thanks to my parents influence, I learned how to conserve things like water and electricity. While these are often such an indispensable part of life in the US that we don't think about them, in Haiti many times we went without both. So my parents taught us to always turn out the lights when we left a room and to close the refrigerator door rather than standing with it open and to turn off the water rather than just letting it run. Okinawa does not have problems (at least that I've seen) with supplying water and electricity, but the school I work at tries to conserve as much as they can so I can be an asset in that effort rather than the constant drain on resources.
• Cockroaches - I HATE COCKROACHES! I am sure most people do, but I was surprised to see my intense dislike shared by the Okinawans I've interacted with. They react as much as I do and they immediately get out heavy duty cans of bug spray to kill them. I suppose it makes sense because cockroaches are so dirty and Okinawans are so sanitary. But it is a big deal and they are very adamant about killing the cockroaches right away. Sweet! My kind of people. (Unfortunately they do not harbor any dislike toward spiders since they eat mosquitoes. Oh well, I haven't seen any tarantula sized ones yet, so I am okay.)

Okay, all for now. More to come but I need to sleep.