Let me start by asking you this, which type of language do you think is used the most: non-verbal or verbal language? After all, we seem to talk more than we listen, so it must be verbal right?
Quite the opposite in fact. Most of the communication is done non-verbally! Facial cues, body position, eye contact, physical touching, all of those are non-verbal modes of communication (I am now getting flashbacks to my interpersonal communications class *shudder*). So if you think about it, everyone is able to communicate to a degree with each other. I got to especially put this into practice in an interaction I had with a kind (and quirky) elderly, Japanese man named Joe-san.
I was actually with a couple of friends of mine, one is a student at the base and the other was a visiting former-DTS student from Sweden who is currently based in Korea. We showed her around our base in Kanmaki, brought her to Lawson’s (the convenience store we visit daily) and went along the river walk just behind our base. We were sitting on the river, enjoying the tasty snacks we got and just chatting. We were having such a wonderful time that the high wind that was blowing our hair in our faces and drying our eyes out didn’t seem to even phase us.
Suddenly, we heard a bicycle approaching, along with some light humming. We turned to see who it was and also to make sure we weren’t blocking the path. Who we saw was an elderly Japanese man, who looked to be perhaps in his late 70s-early 80s. We smiled and waved, politely greeting him with “Konnichiwa”, which means hello. He greeted us back, a huge smile stretching across his face. We thought that he would perhaps pass by, but he instead screeched his bike to a halt and began talking to us.
However, he doesn’t speak any English and we hardly know any Japanese. I’m not sure if he was aware since we greeted him in Japanese.
He began to flap his arms about and talk to us very excitedly. We weren’t sure what he was so excited about, so we just laughed and thought in our heads, “What in the world is he saying?” Luckily, we did figure out that he was asking us if we were watching the birds and if we had seen any eagles (hence the arm flapping).
Though the conversation didn’t end there. He decided he enjoyed our company and wished to talk with us more, even if we didn’t understand each other very well, (hardly any in fact). Luckily, we had our phones to assist our communication. I will say Google Translate translates very poorly, but it was enough, hilarious even!
After talking for about an hour with him on the river, we prepared to say farewell since dinner was soon. However, Joe-san invited us three to his home that was around the corner to meet his wife and have snacks. We were hesitant at first, because quite frankly, he was a stranger and we didn’t feel comfortable just going to a person’s house we didn’t know. We told him we will walk him to his house before we made our way back to ours. We continued to talk along the way, hardly understanding anything language-wise and relying mostly on body language and Google Translate. It was fascinating just how much we were able to communicate using those two things (and a little Japanese that we knew).
We arrived at his petite home, decorated with beautiful foliage and cute, little garden decorations. He invited us onto his patio, and we felt rude if we declined so we made our way into this unknown territory. We did feel safe however, just a little awkward. He brought us some snacks and chocolate to have while he went inside to bring his wife out to us.
Let me tell you, we talked for quite some time and were able to learn so much about this elderly Japanese couple. The wife was hard of hearing from old age, but she used to be a chef, her specialty in making sweets. She was on a famous cooking show at the time and they created quite the variety of sweets and desserts. While we spoke with her, she quickly ran inside and brought out a photo album to show us what she used to do, excitedly flipping through the pages and speaking with a raspy voice (most likely a result of her deafness). We equally shared the excitement and looked at the many photos in her small, frail hands.
I will say, there was a lot of confusion because of the language barrier, and certain phrases Google couldn’t translate. But there was also so much laughter and joy that filled the air. I could see the smile wrinkles on Joe-san’s face, especially when he would laugh. His eyes looked tired but full of adventure and experience over his many years on Earth. He had such a kind heart (as did his wife) and so many wonderful stories to tell. Our time together went on for quite some time; what felt like 20 minutes was actually a couple hours. It was almost as if time stood still for a moment.
Unfortunately, we had to get back to our home for dinner, but he gladly walked us home and got to meet some more of the people stationed at the YWAM base. Through the help of one of our translators, we were able to hear a certain phrase that has stuck with me.
He said, “Even though we may not understand each other, I loved how much you guys tried and we were able to communicate, being very expressive with your hands and voices. It was a joyful experience for me.”
This whole interaction was wild and eye opening for me. And what he said was true; even though we didn’t speak much of each others’ languages, we were still able to communicate and had a wonderful time doing so! This gave me confidence for my time here in Japan and wherever I may go in the future.
Some may say that there is no language that is understood by all, one that unifies us together, but I beg to differ. I believe there is a language that can be understood by all, and that is love. It’s no wonder that it is mentioned so much throughout the Bible and why it is the most important commandment! Perhaps we should practice this universal language a bit more to one another, neh?*
*Neh means “right?”, “okay?” or “yea?”
Update: My original goal was to write at least once a week for this blog; however, with our schedule, it is difficult to find time to do so weekly. My focus is also more on this DTS and what God is teaching me than on the blog, though I do desire to share with everyone this journey! I will continue to write, but I will not have a release schedule (as of now). I will also be going on outreach soon and will not be taking my iPad with me, so for those months I may not have activity. I may not disclose the location for now but hope to share once I am finished with outreach! God Bless!
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