Meeting Our Neighbors

When Tim and I took our Area Orientation Brief class, they mentioned the differences between living on base and off base. There are lots of rules to living on base but there are a whole other set of rules, customs and traditions you have to live by! I took a class a couple days before we moved into our house and it was strictly about living in a Japanese home and neighborhood. They taught us everything from how to clean and care for the straw floors (tatami), how to repair the paper doors (shoji), how to use the appliances not seen in U.S. homes and different ways to prevent bugs, mold and some of the other unwanted that are commonly found here because of the climate.

They also discussed in length about the Japanese tradition of gift giving when you move into a new neighborhood. Back in the states we are accustomed to receiving gifts (generally food dishes) when we move in from our neighbors to basically welcome us to the area and get us through our first meal during all of the chaos of unpacking.

In Japan it is exactly the opposite. As a new neighbor you are expected to bring a small gift to your immediate neighbors (left, right and the neighbor directly across from you) as an offering for them to accept you into their neighborhood. We picked up small boxes of chocolates (because who doesn't love Godiva's?) for them.

Gift giving in Japan is taken very seriously...it must be wrapped (in certain color wrapping...I had to make sure I wasn't wrapping them in a color that signified birth, loss, etc.) We even affixed a small note in Kanji (Japanese characters) that said told them that we had just moved in and we were their new neighbors. It also told them our last name and that Tim worked for the Yokosuka Naval Base.

Gifts will never be opened in the presence of the giver as a sign of respect. They will later open the gift in the privacy of their home. When you offer the gift, it is supposed to be given with both hands as well as they will receive it with both hands. Our neighbors will introduce themselves and bow as a sign of respect (the lower and longer the bow means more respect). All of our neighbors are Japanese and most of them of an older generation. Some have children and some do not, almost all of them have dogs so Zoe will fit in with no problem!

This is just one of the many traditions I was looking forward to. Even though our neighbors don't speak any English, as we don't speak fluent Japanese, there is still a sense of respect and acceptance for us. I have a feeling that living off base will be a wonderful opportunity for our family as we will have no choice but to submerge ourselves in the local way of living and learn to live our lives in an entirely new way!