Obaachan - Thank you...

This is a Japanese family that we have come to be friends with.  (Well, except for the white guy, that's a fellow teacher, a Canadian named John.  Not to say we aren't great friends with him, we are, but he's not Japanese...and he's more like family at this point anyway.)

There are kind people all over the world.  No matter where you go, kindness is there to be found.  The problem that many of us face is complacency, or dare I say hubris?  We don't need help.  We can do all things on our own.  To be vulnerable and accepting of help is to appear weak.  To be a self sufficient island, now that is an admirable quality....I don't believe any of this, but I cannot say that I am not guilty of being the person I just described.  It is just so easy to fall into a cycle of walling people out of your life; of refusing help, or just not asking for it.  

Fortunately, this little change of life has forced me, and us, to not only need help, but to ask for it and to accept.  Without all the kindness that we have received thus far we would surely have floundered.    I can only begin to list the many things that people have done for us here - from giving us things for our apartment to taking us to the grocery store to sort out shopping.  One lady, Mariko, became a godsend to us when she began coming over to spend time with the kids while Jason and I worked.  That way they didn't have to come to work with us and could be at home more.

One family in particular (pictured above) has been unbelievable.  The child, Mayu, is a student of mine.  Her mother, Satchiko, speaks English very well and has volunteered to help us with Japanese at many turns.  But it is Mathui (Mayu's grandmother) that has basically blown my mind.  

Mathui is Obaachan to me.  That is Japanese for Grandma.  I have called her that since I met her, continue to call her that, and now my whole family calls her that.   She is kindness embodied.  She lives here in Utazu, 9 hours from Tokyo where her family home and her husband are.  She lives here to help with Mayu while Mom and Dad work.  On any given day Obaachan can be seen riding her bike with Mayu in a seat on the back, all over the city.  She is a climbing toy, a teacher, a care provider.  She took and interest in my family and began a mini-mission to help us.  She met with the school principal, then with the city mayor, in hopes of securing consistent Japanese instruction for the kids.  Now, unsatisfied with the results, she and her daughter Satchiko come to our home every week to give us lessons.  (On their one day off, mind you).   She stops by randomly to deliver fruit or home cooked food.  She has made Japanese flashcards and taped them all over our house, has watched the kids, and even offered to take them on a trip during summer vacation.  Now, Obaachan doesn't speak English...so that can be a challenge...

With all of that, I feel like I am tripping over myself to thank her, while she is doing her best to apologize to me for not being good enough (as is Japanese culture).  I cannot thank her enough.  She is such a blessing.  Satchiko is also a blessing - having not fallen too far from the tree. 

I share this with you because, without these people, Obaachan, Satchiko, Mariko, and many more, we would be much worse off.  Because of them, we are okay.  So, even when you don't think you need help, accept it.  When someone needs it, offer it.  Open yourself to what others have to offer, thereby allowing yourself to grow.  Then, return the favor in kind.  Onegai shimasu (thank you for what you are going to do).