The Greater Good

At some point in this week, my mind fell into track. My time here is now just shy of two months, and I believe I have just lately emerged from culture shock. Have no doubt, I'm still a ball of nerves when it comes to speaking Japanese, and I still have hairy moments in the classroom(today was my first time teaching 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade), but overall, I'm feeling more comfortable in Japan. In fact, I'd go as far to say that I'm growing to appreciate the Japanese way of being very much.
More and more, I am struck at how far people go to be courteous to one another, not to offend one another, and to show that they have anticipated the needs of others.
In America, we have a certain freedom to be as large as we like. I could walk into the office, throw my stuff on my desk, plop down and sigh loudly and, in America, no one would glance my way. In Japan, there is no allowance for that kind of 'rudeness'. I Place(sorry, can't find italics) my stuff down, because I need to show some respect for these things that I will be teaching with. I don't move suddenly, unless I want to attract attention and I don't sigh loudly, because it might distract others from their work. I sacrifice a bit of my own comfort to be certain to provide comfort for the greater good.
You might be thinking that this sounds so strange, or that I am grossly exaggerating or over-analyzing. It could be, but it doesn't matter because this is something I Feel(italics). I feel it is true. So, originally, my mind wasn't attuned to notice this stuff, but now I see. I can participate in this way of being, and therefore participate in the way of mutual respect and caring that is the ideal here, or choose personal comfort and isolation.
I have rarely felt more love from any group of people than I have from the Japanese communities I 'belong' to. I am lucky, in the sense that I have been accepted to participate with them.