Before we started full-time Japanese study, I had this subconscious mindset that if we spent X number of years in earnest language study, we would get to the place where we would be able to speak like a native speaker.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  Once you do your due diligence, you are then able to open your mouth and (without much effort) out flows beautiful Japanese. Ah, the thought of it!

While that may eventually be true for the cross-cultural worker who has spent most of their life in Japan, speaking realistically (which we have been learning to do in addition to speaking Japanese), there is a lot more to learning another language than you would think and it takes a lot longer than most people would anticipate.  One reason I didn’t understand this was because (like most Americans), I had not done much foreign language learning. What little I did have was in a European language which (when compared to Japanese) are very similar to English.  Because grammar structures are similar, it might be easy to switch the words in an English sentence with the French or Spanish words and have a similar meaning.

Not so with Japanese.  Part of what makes it such a fascinating language is that the thought processes are so different from English.  I have literally had times when the Japanese sentence I’m working on is opposite in structure to its English counterpart.  For example, if I were to say, “The shirt I am wearing is from my friend”, I would say in Japanese, “Am wearing shirt, friend from received.”  Interesting, huh?

Colby and I were remarking today that one reason why we have trouble incorporating some of the new grammar forms we’re learning into our everyday conversation is because they sometimes don’t have an equivalent in English.  If they don’t have an exact equivalent in English, then our minds don’t naturally think in that particular form.  For example, in Japanese, whenever you want to explain what someone has done for you or what you have done for them, you always use the main verb and then one of the ‘to give’ verbs.  So, if you wanted to say, my friend washed my car, you would say “My friend my car washed gave”.  It’s essentially saying, “My friend gave me the service of washing my car,” which is understandable, but never used in English.

Amidst these language difficulties, I have seen how God has blessed Colby and me.  He has provided a wonderful Japanese tutor and helpers for us to study with.  We have found some really great language learning resources that we use all the time.  The Japanese people are very patient with us when we attempt to use new forms and words.  Most of all though, Colby and I enjoy learning Japanese.  Studying is usually interesting and encouraging, and we are able to look back and see how far we have come.  I really don’t know how it would be if we didn’t enjoy it and we count this as a blessing from the Lord.  Learning Japanese is a task that we will never be done with; we will never “arrive”.  There will always be more to learn, even after years and years of being here.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us as we study. Pray that we would be able to understand Japanese thought patterns and ways of saying things even when they are very different from English so we can communicate as accurately as possible and be easily understood.

After we passed our driving test, we were chatting with the traffic officer. “That was pretty good.” he said, “You only had to do it three times. That’s rather quick.”

“Oh, really?” I said.

“It’s usually 5 or 6 times. I think the most I ever had was someone who took it almost 30 times before they passed,” he replied.

Theresa and I had decided to start the process of getting our Japanese driver’s licenses a few months early because we knew it could potentially be a long process and we wanted to make sure we had them before our international licenses expire in February. In order to do that, we had an official translation of our American licenses made and then we went in for a pre-screening appointment to see if our documents from America would be considered valid here in Japan. “The paper test you should have no problem with – I’ve only had 2 people fail that in all the time I’ve worked here. The driving test, well…” the officer said, sucking in through his teeth and giving the often used Japanese understatement “that’s a little difficult.” The good news was that we didn’t need an appointment to take the driving test and could retake it as often as we needed to.

We arrived at the center at 8:30 AM the following week and began our processing. This involved going to various numbered windows where various things were verified or information collected, paying our testing fee, and purchasing official application photos (different from our actual license photos) at the on-site photo both. The Japanese government seemingly loves paperwork, which is done almost all by hand using rubber stamps. At one of the windows, our applications were stamped in no less than ten different places. The eye exam which was part of this process involved looking into a machine and then telling the traffic officer what color the ‘C’ was and which way the opening was facing (ironically, the letter “C” isn’t used in Japanese). Then we went up to the second floor of the center and waited until they called us in for our paper test. It was indeed quite easy, with questions such as, “When you’re tired, is it okay to drive?” and “If you get into an accident, do you still need to call the police?” Needless to say, we both passed and then started to prepare for our driving test, which was schedule for that afternoon.

In Japan, the driving test is administered with kind of a different philosophy. Japanese roads are narrow, windy, and often have many bicyclists and pedestrians (as opposed to most American roads, which are wide, straight, and comparably empty). The traffic laws in Japan are such that the larger vehicle yields to the smaller, going from semi’s all the way down to pedestrians. The Japanese driving test is less about your demonstrating your ability to handle a vehicle safely on real roadways, and more about demonstrating your ability to drive precisely and cautiously and observe the various traffic rules. The driving test is administered on a specialized course at the driving center, designed to simulate actual roads and conditions, only without other cars or pedestrians. There are certain procedures the testee must follow in order to pass. However, they must not just be completed – rather, they must be done perfectly.

The Yamaguchi Traffic Center driving course.

First, before you get in the car, you need to look underneath the back and the front of the car to ensure that there are no objects, animals, or children in the way. You also need look before opening up your door, in order to avoid putting it in the way of a passing vehicle (keep in mind we are on a fake road). If you go more than 30 kph (18 mph) for most of the course, you will probably be dinged for going too fast (although, as Theresa discovered, you can also be dinged for going to slow). Before making a left-hand turn (remember, they drive on the left-hand side here), you must look in your side mirror and out the passenger side window for any mopeds or bicyclists that might come up alongside you. With each turn, after looking left and right carefully (and exaggeratedly so that the traffic officer will know that you have actually looked), you may then proceed cautiously to turn.

The course includes a very narrow set of curves that look like an “S” and a right-left turn combination that looks like a crank handle. These are meant to portray some of the very old side roads in Japan that are both twisty and have houses close to it on either side. They are lined with wind chime like pipes on both sides of the road so the traffic officer will know instantly if you hit one of the hypothetical houses.

Upon return to the start point, the traffic officer will give you “driving advice” which is his list of all the things you didn’t do quite right. Each time we took the driving test, the police officer had different advice for us including:

• that we made our left turns (and also some right ones) too wide
• that we didn’t turn left correctly so as to check for and prevent hitting a moped or bicycle
• that we looked before pulling out into the intersection, but not a second time as we were going through the intersection
• and finally, that Theresa needed to go “just a little faster next time.”

You then go inside to await your fate, parting with the standard Japanese phrase (although especially pertinent in this case), “Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.” which means essentially, “Please treat me well.” After a little wait (which of course seemed like an eternity), an officer comes out and says gokaku or fugokaku (passed or didn’t pass). I passed on my third try and Theresa (having made only one error her third try, but a fatal one) passed on her fourth. After that, we paid the license fee, had our license photos taken, received our licenses, and were on our way – relieved that we are now able to drive indefinitely in Japan.

Theresa and I show off our new licenses.

Praise God that were able to get our Japanese driver’s licenses. Pray for safety as we travel on the busy roads of Japan.

Pictorial characters normally can be a challenge, but if you really want to test your skills, try doing it while whizzing down the highway at 55 MPH. Here in Japan, the local roads (i.e. state routes) and national roads (i.e. US routes) have numbers like their North American counterparts. However, the interstates are named, and – instead of using the north, south, east, and west – are designated as ascending (going toward Tokyo) or descending (going away from Tokyo). This past week, Colby and I, and another Christar worker, took a 12-hour drive toward Tokyo, as we headed to Shizuoka Prefecture for the Church Planting Institute conference.

We left at 9:30 PM on Tuesday night, drove through the night, and arrived at the conference center at 8:30 AM Wednesday morning. The reason for this overnight trip was not what you might guess. Normally, travel on the expressways is quite expensive here in Japan. The journey to Shizuoka would normally cost around $150 one-way. Like many states in the US, Japan has an automated toll collection system (like EZ Pass) and one of the things they have done for economic stimulus is to lower the fee on national holidays and weekends to just $10 no matter how far you travel. To get that rate, you simply have to enter or exit the expressway system on a weekend or holiday. Tuesday was a holiday, and so because we started our journey before midnight, we saved a lot of money.

Colby & I with Mt. Fuji in the background.

The Church Planting Institute (CPI) conference is held every two years and pastors and cross-cultural workers from all over Japan come for networking and to hear and present new ideas on church planting. The conference center is nestled in the mountains, in close proximity to Mt. Fuji, and so it is also a time to relax and take in some beautiful scenery.

It was a blessing to be able to be with so many people who have the same heart for reaching the Japanese with the message of the gospel.  It also was so neat to hear about the new exciting ways God is at work throughout Japan, especially when many of them are the same ways Colby and I feel God is leading us to use as we support church planting in the future. I think both of us came back home with renewed energy to continue with our Japanese study, both so we can quickly get to the place where we are able to begin working in earnest on a church plant, but also so we can have the best possible base of language in order to be as effective as possible.

We head back into our normal routine this week, with language study and English classes.  It was nice to have a change of pace from Japanese study, but we realized that we need to get back to study so we don’t start to forget all the things we are working so hard to learn!

Please pray for wisdom to know how God would have us apply all that we have learned at this conference.  Pray for wisdom as we continue to look for people to help us practice conversing in Japanese and seek to work with them as effectively as possible.