Merri Kurisumasu

Christmas Day for me is usually a busy day. Hell, Christmas week is always a really busy week. I've been lucky enough to have usually about a week off work or school during Christmas/New Year's for the most part. The fact that it's busy doesn't make it stressful...even though there's usually drama of some sort. Here's the thing about Christmas: I am someone who is always surrounded by a lot of people during the holidays. I have a big, tightly-knit family, and some really excellent friends. I am comfortable with solitude, but honestly, I have never been truly alone. Even when I have felt alone in the past, I have never been without people. Even thousands of miles away I don't feel alone. I've made some really great friends here and I have fairly good contact with my people back home thanks to the interwebs. I am thankful for all of my people. I am also thankful for my ability to be a good friend, sister, daughter, and girlfriend to my people.

It's been kind of weird being away for Christmas, because like I said, I'm usually in Kentucky juggling my time with friends and family. But I'm glad to be here, and I'm really glad I get to see my sister in a few days.

You'd think that being in Japan for Christmas might decrease the Christmas spirit somewhat, as this is not a Christian country and they don't even really consider it a holiday here. In fact, most people go to work on Christmas because of that reason. So I was expecting some commercial decorations and maybe a few Christmas songs in the konbini and retail shops, but not much more. On the contrary, Christmas here is actually kind of magical. I think that either Vaughn or Nathalie once said, "If there's one thing Japan knows how to do, it's lights." So totally the truth. The lights here are magnificent. Even in my small town the trees lining the main street are covered in little blue lights. And on the streets of my town, and of course in Tokyo, there are blaring renditions of American Christmas songs...you can't really help but feel like it's atleast a little magical.

Then there's the Christmas parties at my work. For a week prior to our holiday vacation, we have Christmas lessons with all of our classes, including the adults. Our school provided snacks and drinks (usually hot or cold green tea), but our adult group classes were encouraged to bring food and drinks (they were even allowed to bring booze if everyone in the class was over 20). So, my last week before the break included a lot of Christmas crafts with my kid classes, sing-a-longs with my really young kids classes, and chatting and food with my adults. I have two adult classes that I'm particularly fond of. One is on Wednesdays at 3 pm with 4 adults that are at an intermediate level. They brought in gifts for me and we chatted throughout the entire class. One of the students in that class grew up in Hiroshima and always brings me these little sweets shaped like maple leaves called "momiji". They have various fillings, the one pictured below is filled with sweet potato, and I have one to give to Melody when she gets here that I believe is filled with sweet bean paste and it's covered in white chocolate. So yummy.

Anyway, there's another adult class that I really like. They're more at a beginner level of English and the class is on Monday nights. They went all out for the Christmas party...they brought fried chicken (a Christmas staple here in lieu of roast turkey), tons of sweets, beer, umeshu, and Christmas cake (another tradition here). We listened to Christmas cds the whole class and stayed at the school an hour after the actual end of the class.

Let's just say I wasn't short of any Christmas spirit this year. And I expect it to only get better. I'm going to Disneyland on Monday with Leslie, and then Melody comes in on Tuesday, and we have a whole slew of stuff planned. There's nothing like a 2 week break from work to make you fall in love with the place you're living again.

And, I know how this might sound, but there's something about my clean and cushion-y tatami mat floors that puts me in a good mood when I'm home. Good lord. I sound like my mother...!

Oh yes, and Nathalie got me a Holga for Christmas. I went to Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara yesterday and bought some b&w and color film for it. I'm curious as to whether or not my local FujiColor store will develop 120 film, but I guess I'll find out. I'm having insane amounts of fun with an analog camera...finally! It makes me wants to do darkroom stuff again, which I messed with in middle school a lot but haven't done any since. So, definitely a goal.

And just for your entertainment, here's a really cool post from Danny Choo about Christmas in Japan: http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/25335/History+of+Christmas+in+Japan.html#twitter

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

arigato gozaimasu

The above phrase is my most used phrase here in Japan, hands down. I get a giggle usually when I say it because every other means of communication that I use is pointing and/or grunting, nodding, bowing, and saying "hai". I think they laugh at me because I try to speak in English but then end with "arigato gozaimasu" Or maybe they're thinking, "who is this cracker and why is she butchering my language?" Either way, I'm really not bothered by it.

So. Japan. It's a weird place. I've only been in Katsutadai (my town) and Narita (where the airport is), so I haven't got a taste of any big cities yet. Even still, there are a lot of people here, and everything is different. I'm not even sure where to begin. The airport was a bitch getting through immigration and getting my luggage, and I will NEVER over pack again. Carrying two huge suitcases, a massive shoulder carry-on, and a purse all the way to my hotel was cumbersome to say the least. I'm incredibly sore from doing so, and I'm not looking forward to lugging it down the sidewalks again from my hotel to my apartment tomorrow. Sheesh.

The streets here are very different. Well, at least here in Katsutadai. They're narrower and a sidewalk on the smaller streets is kind of non-existent. You get used to it pretty quickly, as most Japanese seem to walk everywhere and/or take public transit, so there aren't too many cars here. In some smaller streets there are cute little restaurants and windows to buy cigs and such with people standing and walking around everywhere, so it's quite a change from the smaller streets in DC or even in Kentucky.

I was so incredibly sleep deprived yesterday (Sunday) after I finally made it to my hotel around 6 pm, so I thought I'd wait to see Gail and tour my future apartment on Monday. The problem was that I didn't know when she was leaving to go back to the States and was worried I'd miss her. I thought about it for a bit and luckily Gail called my hotel phone around 9 pm and told me that she and her boyfriend were in my hotel lobby, and kindly invited me out for drinks. I shook the sleep out of my eyes, got dressed, and went downstairs. And boy am I glad I did.

Gail is super cool. She is so helpful and friendly and saved my life the entire night by translating for me and giving me very useful tips that I will always be grateful for. And her boyfriend Mineo, who speaks English very well, is probably the nicest person I've ever met. And on a slightly more superficial note, they both smoke (everyone seems to here) and Gail says fuck nearly as much as I do, which is a quality I adore in people. We went to an izakaya (that's Japanese for bar) and had some sake and a tea/vodka drink that I can't remember the name of, then we went to see the apartment (which was great to finally see in person and I can't wait to move in), and then to Gail's favorite izakaya called Daruma. The owners of this place are a couple in their 50s/60s and may need to win an award for the cutest people on the planet. I don't have a picture of them now, but I'll have one eventually. I very much plan on being a regular there in the near future. Did someone say drinking problem? Eh, do as the Romans do, I say.

I feel very positive about my health and weight changes that are sure to happen in the following months. Gail told me that if you're a bit on the heavy side it is incredibly easy to lose weight here because of the diet and how damn much the Japanese walk. I walked around more yesterday than I usually do in the span of 3-5 days in DC, so I feel optimistic. Especially since I have vowed to do my best to avoid Western food. I actually prefer Asian cuisine in general anyway, so aside from the occasional craving for french fries, I think I'll be okay.

It is a little scary being new here, for realsies. Every time I go in somewhere they ask about a million questions and all I can do is stare blankly or nod or say "wakari imasen" ("I don't understand"). It's weird. Although I must say I haven't been stared at as much as I thought I would be, which is good.

I went to my main MIL school this morning and met Dana in person finally, as well as another new teacher, Jamie. The whole teaching sub-plot of my adventure really makes me feel overwhelmed, although I am excited for the experience. We'll see how all that goes. I need to make sure to get my advance that MIL offers, as the funds are quickly dwindling!

This evening I went walking around the Katsutadai station looking for a place to eat and I spotted a restaurant with pictures of food on the windows (always helpful) and the smell of grilled meat (I'm a meat-a-holic) and went in. I quickly discovered that it wasn't really the best choice as it was a family-style restaurant where you cook your food in the middle of the table, and I don't feel quite ready to take on that endeavor yet. However, I decided to sit down anyway and see what looked decent on the colorful menu. For fear that I would be deported from Japan because I burned the damn restaurant down, I instead opted for a nice big bowl of soup (wherein the ingredients were already cooked for me). It was delicious. Needless to say, the noodles and soup here far surpass those in US Asian restaurants. Yum.


I am appreciative for my last couple weeks in the States, as I had an absolute blast with my family and some tender goodbyes with Blake. Blake and I have been Skype-ing and that has been really fun because Blake and I have the exact same sense of humor and he's really gotten a kick out of the funny Japanese things I've seen. My sisters and mom were amazing right before I left. When you're away from your fam for so long, you can take for granted how fucking awesomely fun they are. And my family is at the tippy top top of the fun spectrum.

I love it here. Gail says to treat Japan like a cocoon, where you get to immerse yourself in its ways and completely re-invent yourself if you want to. I am so very glad I came.