Heart warming

I want to write a little about my reception in Japan. Here are some of the things that I will remember forever:
The employee at the library who smiles everytime I come in: our first encounter was absolutely soaked in language confusion, but now we are something resembling aquaintances/friends. She gives me a map or a pamphlet or something everytime I come in and we speak in a combination of English and Japanese and hand gestures (thanks to a very handy book that Chelsea gave me!).
The other teachers at my school: I think I got five cookies on my first day. The person that sits next to me in the staff room keeps me nice and plump with a steady supply of brown sugar candy and ginger snaps. My other neighbor, my supervisor, gave me a sumo wrestling poster, draws me endless maps and gives me all kinds of advice and guidance. She also speaks English so well that to me it feels like I`m talking to another native speaker. Another teacher squeezed out my mop for me, one other invited me to go to a crafts fair with her, another desk neighbor asked me to visit her house, and another English teacher likes to talk about America and my culture...and I like to share.
I`ve spoken very little to my neighbors. In fact, I`ve probably seen them in total for about 5 minutes. However, they always smile like they really mean it when we see each other. They have a very cute baby (girl?) and even SHE smiles at me!
The people at the Ozu Board of Education have done even more things for me than I probably even know about: they drive me around for all types of errands. They`ve helped with bank accounts, registration photos, inkans, my utilities, hooking up my internet and telephone, getting me a library card, and next Monday, they`re going to throw me a welcome party! I never could have done any of that stuff on my own. Ever. I wouldn`t have even known where to start.
And of course my host family was incredibly welcoming and hospitable. They not only let me invade their home for 3 days, but they`ve also invited me to several outings since then! Their kindness and generosity and patience have been truly astounding. I really can`t believe how lucky I`ve been to know them.
And I haven`t even mentioned on all of the random people whose names I don`t know, but who welcome me sincerely nonetheless.

All of this kindness has got me to thinking about how I acted towards foreigners in America. Have I ever reached out a hand or spent any time with immigrants or foreigners? Have I gone out of my way to make them feel welcome as the Japanese and the community of Ozu have welcomed me? Did I ever make a concentrated effort to make sure that a new member to my community had everything they needed or asked if I could help them get situated? How do the people new to my hometown and state and country feel about living there and have I made any positive impact on how they feel? I feel very guilty when I compare my reception in Japan with my own welcome to new people in my native community. This experience, if nothing else, has already taught me more about the boundaries that I set up for myself. They are so firm, that I rarely show the appropriate kindness to visitors or strangers. I am really grateful for these experiences so far and I hope that I can put into practice a fraction of what I`ve learned about hospitality.