The blog is back!

Hello!

Thank you for your patience everyone. It’s been a busy few weeks, but I’m back!

Things are great at church. I’m looking forward to GraceCity Quiz Night, which was held for the first time last year and is happening again tomorrow. It promises to be a great event! Been swatting up on flags of the world in secret. Just need to make sure I get on the right team now.

The season turned very quickly here and the sudden change in weather has meant that most people have battled some kind of bug in the last few weeks. I would estimate that on any given day, between ten and twenty percent of people are wearing facemasks out and about to stop the spread of colds and other things. It’s not something you generally see in England. Some of the students I teach choose to wear it every day. I have yet to wear one, but so far I have managed to dodge being ill.

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I’ve had a real push with studying language recently. Put my foot in it by telling a Japanese guy that his Japanese was very impressive. Having said that, he did introduce himself as coming from Thailand, which turned out to be a joke. Not very funny if you ask me.

At school, some of the students have been asking about music from Britain. So, I’ve taken on the delicious task of making a CD that represents Britain. I’m hoping that we can use it in lessons. Maybe learn the words to some of the songs and sing along, like karaoke. I’ve been trawling my music library thinking about what to include. I’m still not completely happy with it and feel I’m missing some essential names, but this is the final track list. Take care everyone.

1. U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

2. Take That – Shine

3. Oasis – Wonderwall

4. Amy Winehouse – Love is a Losing Game

5. The Cure – Friday I’m in Love

6. Sex Pistols – God Save The Queen

7. Coldplay – Yellow

8. The La’s – There She Goes

9. Leona Lewis – Run

10. David Bowie – Starman

11. Spice Girls – Goodbye

12. The Beatles – Hey Jude

I'm an alien, a legal alien, I'm an Englishman in Japan

This week, I went to my school’s annual cultural festival where I watched, amongst other things, a Junior High School performance of the story of Peter Pan. It was actually really good, made all the more special by the addition of Pikachu as one of the main characters.

Also, an extraordinary sequence of events to tell you about. It started with me going to the Naka Ward Office to pick up my Alien Registration card (Yes, it really is called that), which is a card that foreigners staying in Japan must carry with them. It’s very shiny and official looking, but rather disappointingly confirms once and for all that I am definitely Stephen Morris and not a famous football icon. Not that kids need to know that of course.

Then on Saturday, Dave, Nils, Michael and I went to watch a really good 'folky-sounding' band play. Towards the end, the band played a cover of song by Sting, in which the chorus goes 'I'm an alien, a legal alien, I'm an Englishman, in New York', although the singer changed New York to Japan for our benefit.

Then lastly, today I was reading through part of the book of Ephesians and read ‘In Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ’ and a few verses later ‘So then, you are no longer foreigners or aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.’ 

Crazy, huh?! Anyway, I was reminded that although I may be an alien in Japan and be far away from home, I am not far off from God. This certainly cheered me up and the timing of it reminded me of my favourite Proverb: A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

Anyway, have to go now because Nils and I are about to catch up on Spooks. We’re on episode 4 and loving it! Take care.

PIKA…CHUUUUUUUUUU!