Parsons’ Family Blog
Faith, Family, Friends… This is about our life. We have two children Colette and Owen, who are a ridiculous amount of fun. We are Jesus followers and live in Japan as missionaries with Mustard Seed Global Fellowship. Sometimes it can be hard to live so far from many of the people we love. We hope this blog helps keep us a little more connected.Things I Have Enjoyed Recently – Music II
Continuing the series of self-indulgent posts, I wanted to mention a couple more musicians that I have really enjoyed in the last year. I’ll post some other things I have enjoyed besides music soon…
Here is another laid-back folk artist that I really enjoy listening to. Joshua James has a voice that could be described as tender or vulnerable, but this doesn’t stop him from the occasion belting out. His songs have a nice blend of storytelling with commentary and emotion surrounding his lyrical themes. I think the aspect of his music that I enjoy the most is the vulnerability that his voice communicates (reminds me of a softer, smoother version of David Gray, minus the Irish).
Currently, James only has a one major album, a b-sides collection, as well as a Christmas album (which has some great songs for those who enjoy a quite, reflective mood around the holidays). For those who enjoy simple, acoustic, quality songwriting, I would recommend giving Joshua James a listen.
Over the Rhine is an exciting, Christian, husband/wife duo coming out of Ohio. If you are a fan of a jazzy sound like Norah Jones, then you will like Over the Rhine, trust me. The vocals are mainly from Karin Bergquist and are really quite exceptional. OTR has been around for a decade or more, and their musical journey is one that seems to have wandered all over the place. Starting out a local wonders to opening for Bob Dylan, flirting with a rock sound, then trying something almost adult contemporary, these talented musicians seem to have found their niche with a jazz influenced, brassy sound that most anyone would enjoy. In spite of a small group of diehard fans, Over the Rhine is still largely unheard of (at least in my circle) but I think they would be appreciated by a wide spectrum of listeners.
If you are interested, I would recommend their latest studio album, Trumpet Child. OTR also has some great Christmas albums: the piano-driven Snow Angels and the melancholy, but hopeful Darkest Night of the Year.
MIKA:
If you had the impression that I only like the acoustic, singer-songwriter sound, one listen to MIKA will (embarrassingly) show my musical tastes are not that limited. MIKA is a Freddy Mecury (remember Queen, or Wayne’s World?) clone with unbelievable range. He is of Lebanese/Syrian descent, trained as an opera singer in Paris and based out of England. His music is nicotine-level addicting, most likely annoying to many.
Even though he seems to have borrowed much from Mecury and Elton John, MIKA stills seems, in todays music, world to be refreshingly unique. His flare and dramatics, while unquestionable odd, appear authentic and are even endearing. His songs are guaranteed to either drive a person crazy or make you want to laugh and dance around (I fall into the latter category, along with my kids). If you have had a bad day, listened to too much consecutive melancholy music, need a song for an aerobics class, or just want to smile, give MIKA a chance.
Things I have enjoyed recently -Music
So this maybe one of those self-indulgent series of blog posts, but I thought I might just share some things (music, tv, movies, books, etc) that I have enjoyed so far in 2008. Sometimes I denigrate simple pleasures like entertainment, but there is a place for everything. Hopefully, you might check a couple of these out and find a little joy in them like I did!
MUSIC
Jon Foreman – I discover Jon Foreman on itunes and was mesmerized by his laid back, but layered songwriting. Jon has a great emotive voice and is a gifted lyricist. His albums Fall and Winter were medicine for my soul during our transition to Japan. It was only later that I found out that he is also the lead singer of the band Switchfoot–a group that I have never really been drawn to. I normally stay away from mainstream Christian music (I think it was my years of Contemporary Christian Music immersion as a clerk at a Christian bookstore–the Newsboys and Third Day still make me cringe). I probably need to give Switchfoot a second chance, given how much I like Jon Foreman. Do yourself a favor and give Mr. Foreman a listen, you may find his music ministering to you as well. (Favorite songs: I Am Still Running, Southbound Train, Your Love is Strong)
Foy Vance – Wow. Foy is a powerhouse of emotional songwriting. I can’t believe he is not more popular. His songs Gabriel and the Vagabond and Indiscriminate Act of Kindness are some of the most moving songs I have ever heard. Foy is an Irishman, partially raised in America by a preacher father (I think in a non-instrumental church). His music is a rare convergence of styles; a little gospel, jazz, folk, Dylan-esque storytelling with a big dose of irish emotion. Somehow all this blends into an amazingly powerful sound. Honestly, some of Foy’s songs have been more like sermons than songs to me–they don’t just express an emotion, they motivate and inspire. On a side note, Foy opened for Dave Matthews at a small acoustic concert in London last year. I think the venue held only a few hundred people–that is dream concert for me!
Griffin House – Griffin’s music is very mellow. His albums are the kind of thing you could leave on andjust let them play throughout your day. Don’t let the mellowness fool you though, these songs touch on a host of themes; love, war, faith and others. Griffin is sort like a midwest Jack Johnson–but with more variety. Some of his songs are just fun (The Guy That Says Goodbye to You Is Out of His Mind) others are more pointed (I Remember) and some are intensely personal (Why Won’t You Believe –which is a must listen for anyone with parents who don’t share one’s Christian faith). Overall, Griffin is a solid artist who speaks softly but strongly through his music.
Others Worth Mentioning –
JJ Heller (excellent artist with beautiful lyrics and voice and insightful Christian lyrics – check out her song Small)
Glenn Hansard & Marketa Irglova - (We will get to them later in the Movies section, but these guys are fantastic)
Dan Wilson - (He has been a popular song-writer for many artists over the years, his solo album is wonderful)
My First Japanese Birthday
June 1st was my first birthday in Japan–and it was pretty great! I received my first present, which was the lovely float white version of the popular Japanese “toy” Nohohon-Zoku. These little figurines are popular in Japan and are designed to be solar powered relaxation devices. The big guy’s head bobs gently side to side–I am not sure if it relaxes me, but it does make me smile!
Our whole family met our friends Shu and Megumi and their children Taiyo and Hinako at a mall and had lunch at “Cat’s Cafe,” a chain famous for it’s ice cream. Rachel has eaten there before and she wanted me to eat there with her, but I had always been intimidated by the many cat statues smiling in the window. It was a good meal. I ordered fried salmon–first time I have had salmon fried!
After the meal, Shu and Megumi secretly ordered a giant pitcher of ice cream (on the bottom were corn flakes and on the top were various fruits). It was a GIANT portion of ice cream–even for me. Luckily it was meant to be shared! We had a great time sharing the ice cream, and snapping pictures with our cell phones while I opened their gift.
After that Rachel and our Japanese friends went to see the new Narnia movie (which they all loved) while I stayed in the car with Coco and Owen while they napped. One might think it is odd that I spent a good portion of my birthday in a parked car in a mall parking lot–but it was really enjoyable. We folded down the seats of our van and the kids snuggled up and slept. Owen (who is not much for cuddling) even slept on my chest. I think that was my favorite part of the day.
After the movie, Shu and I went and got coffee together. He is a great friend and is very patient and forthright in his explanation of Japanese culture. I like to imagine him taking me under his wing and teaching me the ways of the Japanese. I appreciate the gift of his friendship immensely.
After coffee, Shu and I hooked back up with our families and it was time to go home. They walked us to our car and watched us depart, waving as we drove away, in customary Japanese style.
On the way home, I got lost on the tollway, which led to an impromptu tour of eastern Aichi (our province). We topped it off with a stop at an area McDonalds for dinner. At nice end to a great day!
A Peek into our “Golden Week”
This past week was a series of Japanese National holidays, added all together they are dubbed, “Golden Week.” Families enjoy their 7-10 days off from work and school to go back to their hometowns, spend lots of time at the park, go to the malls, work in their gardens, etc. Nick had two days off from school, while I had a whole week off as my language teacher went with her husband and children to visit their elderly parents in their hometown. (Interestingly my teacher and her husband grew up in the same small town; they’ve known one another since grade school). Given the high-pressure, long hour jobs that many parents hold, it has been fun to see so many families out and about, getting good time together.
The highlight of our little “Golden Week” was mine and Nick’s very belated anniversary get-away. Our teammates, Jay and Caitlin Greer, kept the kids while we went into the nearby city, Nagoya, and spent one night. (Its the first time since we were in the hospital for Owen’s birth that we have been away from the kids overnight. That doesn’t really count as a get-away.) It was great fun to be there and get a taste of the crowds and sights and atmosphere of the city. Knowing we will eventually be making our home in the huge city of Tokyo made it even more significant to be out together, exploring unfamiliar surroundings, finding new favorite spots. It reminded me that while “our future in Tokyo” can be so intimidating to me sometimes, we will be able to make our home there too. And we will love being on the adventure together.
Welcome to the Blog!
Thanks for coming and visiting! Rachel and I will be updating this every Sunday, so check back to see more pictures, posts and videos. Thanks again!
Reflections about Japanese
Learning Japanese is a daunting, at times embarrassing, always challenging endeavor. There are two alphabets, ? letters each, along with thousands of Japanese characters. In Japanese writing all three of these are used together to form words and sentences. Right now, as beginners we are reading and writing everything written out using the first two alphabets, but our days of memorizing the Kanji characters are just around the corner. Actually Nick’s Kanji classes began this week.
The word order to Japanese sentences is complex and so different from English, I can feel my poor English brain fighting feebly at the seeming nonsense of the word order. We have been learning directions, and so spent an hour in class one day making sentences like, “There is a coffee shop in front of the grocery store.” The Japanese order of the sentence is something like this: “The grocery store, belonging to the in front of, a coffee shop there exists.” Getting the order wrong can result in embarrassing mistakes, as when I tried to form the simple, I thought, sentence, “Women go do shopping.” My teacher held up her hands, fingers crossed in the now familiar “X” meaning “wrong, or you can’t do that,” and told me that I had said something about “Going shopping for women.”
The words and sounds of the vocabulary are so unfamiliar I find myself often struggling to make my mouth form the sounds or my brain to keep adding new words. My silliest mispronunciation so far happened the day I was answering the question, “What did you do this weekend?” Thinking I was making the response, “I took my family to the park.” I was surprised to find my language teacher doubled over laughing (this is totally acceptable for the teachers to do, apparently. I have checked with other students who have other teachers and they all have had the experience of the teacher finding hilarity at their language attempts.) When my teacher caught her breath from laughing, she told me I had said, “I took my pirate sword to the park.” I didn’t even know I knew the word for pirate sword, but it must be kind of close to word for family!
Coco and Owen spend three days a week at the Japanese daycare just around the corner from our language school. Their own experiences adding Japanese words and phrases to their vocabulary has been fascinating to watch. They are absorbing it as they go about their days there, both from interacting with the other kids and from the wonderful teachers there making concentrated efforts to help them learn. At unexpected moments they have answered us in Japanese, though we asked the question in English. I heard the two of them arguing over a toy the other day, both clutching the toy, saying to one another in Japanese, “Yamata!” “Don’t do that!” After Colette wowed us one morning a few days ago, rattling off the numbers one-ten, Nick told her, “You are doing such a good job with your Japanese, we are so proud of you.” In response Coco tossed her hands in the air and sang out, “I am so good at Japanese because I LOVE it!”
Her response gave me pause, made me think that perhaps there is something there that I am missing. Something even besides her obvious enthusiasm and courage to go for it in learning this new language. Perhaps the something I have been missing is love. I couldn’t say honestly that I love learning this language. There are times when I am discouraged, or embarrassed, intimidated, or just plain tired in my times of studying and trying to use what I’ve learned. I recieved an amazingly timely, and wise, email just the other day from a dear friend who served as a missionary for 14 years overseas. In her email she said this about language learning, “All of the time and effort you spend learning it will be a gift of love for the Japanese people for the rest of your life…” What a difference to see this as a “labor of love,” to have love as motivator and inspiration. Love for our great God about Whom we want to share with the new friends we make here. Love for the Japanese people and culture and this place that we are making our home. I am praying that my love will increase and I feel like God is going to be at work, growing that love in my heart right here in the middle of the hard work of vocabulary lists and new alphabets and making my language teacher laugh as I fumblingly piece together Japanese sentences.
