Now before I dive right into Christmas Day, I want to go back and tell you guys about all of the different Christmas Parties I attended and the other activities I did leading up to the 25th.First up was the regular Rotary meeting I attended. However, it turned out to not be a normal meeting. My host club had chosen their next year's exchange student and asked him and his father to attend that week to be officially introduced. His name is Hayate Sato and he is a year younger than me. He also goes to my school and I had met him before at the University Exchange Student Meet-and-Greet. Hayate is a good kid, very smart, and is hoping to go to Canada, which is really cool because I can teach him a bunch of stuff here and help him out in Canada next year! After the meeting, we both had so many questions for each other so we were able to arrange to go to Denny's (yes they have Denny's in Japan!) to chat. I think we were there for an hour and half, maybe more, and we both had a blast. I really hope he is able to go to Canada next year!
The first Christmas Party I attended was on December 9th and it was a joint Shirakawa Rotary Club party. There are three different Rotary Clubs in my city and members and their families from each club attended. It was held at an English Manor that is now used as a hotel and boarding school called British Hills (I think...). I'm not sure what time period, but when the King and Queen of England came to Japan, they stayed in this manor. Before dinner we got a tour of the place and it felt like I had magically transported to England, or into Hogwarts. Everything there was super fancy; from the rooms, to the food, to the British waiters and waitresses. It was kind pretty cool that the waiters and waitresses didn't speak any Japanese because I was able to test out my translation skills for the first time! Yeah, that's right! One of the waitresses really appreciated it and it also shocked me that I was able to help translate. The food was absolutely to die for and I was able to talk to all sorts of different people from the different clubs. I also saw snow fall for the first time since I got to Japan. This manor is located near the top of a mountain so when it snowed, it really came down. I really did miss seeing snow...(We still don't have snow here in Shirakawa.)
We exchange students in the Fukushima district are so lucky to have such amazing せんぱい`s! (aka the Rotex.) Last week, on the 19th, Ayaka and Motoko, two of the Rotex, arranged a special Christmas party for us girls. (There is unfortunately only four of us now because Brendha, the Mexican exchange student, was sent home due to medical reasons. We miss you Brendha!!) We, Karly (Canada), Ena (America), Oceanne (France), and I, met the two Rotex in Koriyama and headed off to Round One, a entertainment/rec center. We played two rounds of bowling, took crazy pictures in Purikura photo booths, and played arcade games. It was a blast! Afterwards, we were all famished so we headed to a cafe that was nearby. What we didn't know was that Motoko had gone ahead of us and ordered special Christmas cakes for us! They were so delicious! We also pigged out on a bunch of other, very unhealthy, yet delicious food while at the cafe. It was such a great day that ended in an even greater way. We came by a giant shoe sale where I bought myself a new pair of boots as a Christmas present. あやかせんぱい、もとこせんぱい．．．ありがとうねええ～！！
On the following Wednesday was my third Christmas party and this time it was just my Rotary Club's party and their families. Momoko, she went to France last year, and Hayate were both there so we had fun talking to each other. I wasn't disappointed with the food, it was beyond delicious, and our Christmas BINGO game was crazy and fun. I won a very cute Snoopy towel and Minnie Mouse cosmetics bag.
My host mom went to Tokyo on the 23rd and couldn't bring me along so after the Rotary party I went home with the club president, who is my host mom's son, and his family. I stayed with them for two nights and I had a lot of fun. They have three children ages 6, 7, and 10 and if you didn't know already, I love little kids! I learned so much in those two nights from those kids, and they learned a lot of English too! We spent most of our time together shopping or playing Mario Kart on Wii. I see them as my host siblings because they are my host mom's grandchildren so I often get to see them. They also call me `おねえちゃん` which means older sister. Their mom even bought me a new pair of Converse shoes as a Christmas present!
Both Karly and I were a bit homesick around the holidays so we decided to do something about it. On Christmas Eve Day, we took over the streets of Shirakawa in the name of Canada! Well...not really, but Karly did come and visit and we walked around town for like two hours, went to a restaurant, and rented a movie. We both agreed we wouldn't know what to do if we weren't on this exchange together and our friendship gets stronger everyday. Love ya girlie!
Christmas Eve eve was really weird for me. I am so used to going to a Christmas Eve Church service and then spend the rest of the night with my family opening our stockings. I have to admit, after my host mom went to bed that night, I felt pretty alone. But thanks to today's amazing technology, I was able to Skype my parents and grandparents and being able to talk to them made me feel so much better and I wasn't dreading Christmas Day as much as I was before. On a side note, I think my homesickness is very backwards! Or at least in how I deal with it. If I am really missing someone, I tend to send them an email or set up a Skype date with them and after talking with them for awhile, my sadness is pretty much gone...you would think it would be the other way around.... I'm so strange! Haha.
Christmas in Japan was very...different. It almost felt like Christmas just skipped over me this year or that it got canceled or something. Japanese people don't really celebrate Christmas. It's mostly a holiday for kids under 10, who get candy and one or two gifts, and couples. And because Japan is a Buddhist country, the center focus of Christmas for them is Santa, not Jesus. Which was very, very strange for me because I was raised in a Christian home. Despite Christmas not feeling like Christmas, I am glad to report that it did not turn out to be Dooms Day like I had thought it may be.
I spent my morning opening the presents I had gotten in the mail from my parents as well as finishing up wrapping the presents I would be giving to my extended host family later that evening. I then shared a nice breakfast with my host mom and I gave her what she told me was her first Christmas present. In the afternoon I walked to a local grocery store to pick up some ingredients for my `famous` chicken noodle soup I was making for our family Christmas party. I was a bit surprised to find out that the party was being held at my host mom's house because she has a such a small place, but it turned out to be a great time. My, what I like to call, `extended` host family includes: my host mom's son, his wife, and three kids, and my host mom's daughter and her daughter. It was a full house! Haha. For some reason, a traditional Japanese Christmas dinner consists of fried chicken. Why fried chicken, I don't know...But it was delicious all the same! My chicken soup and mashed potatoes were a huge hit as well! I was also glad that everyone loved their Christmas gifts. I love gift giving and it really helped me feel better as well. My goal for that day was to go to bed with a smile on my face and I am happy to say that I was able to accomplish that goal.
December has been my toughest month so far because I love Christmas and all of my family and friends' traditions and missing out on them was a struggle for me. But thankfully, I was able to stay busy and share some of my Christmas traditions to my host family and friends here in Japan, therefore staying relatively happy. One of my exchange friends said that if she could get through Christmas without her family, she could get through anything and I couldn't agree more. As I wrote this entry tonight I was able to look back a bit and realize that everything I went through this month has made me a stronger person. I don't really know how to explain it but, I just feel different, like I struggled to climb Mt. Everest and did indeed get to the very top. Hmm, yeah, I like that. December was my Mt. Everest and my perseverance paid through in the end.
I hope everyone had a great holiday season and best wishes for 2011! I am so looking forward to New Year`s in Japan; their New Year`s is like our Christmas. It should be a blast!
じゃまたね! Until next time!
~Stephanie
