The Christmas That Isn't

I remember the Christmasses of 1998 and 2005. They weren't particularly different and it's not that I remember them in any great detail. What I do remember is savouring them. During both, I knew I'd be living in Japan the following years.

Before coming here the first time in 1999, I knew that as Japan isn't a Christian country, not to expect Easter or Christmas. That year, Easter passed without any acknowledgement what-so-ever. I even worked on Easter Sunday.

Imagine my surprise in November when the department stores and shopping centres began selling Christmas decorations, playing Christmas carols and started taking orders for their version of a Christmas cake (a fluffy sponge cake with lots of cream and strawberries).

Over the next couple of months, I was lulled into a false sense of celebration. I bought and sent Christmas cards, helped in numerous Christmas parties for students at the school I worked and was looking forward to the dinner party planned on Christmas night.

Knowing that I'd otherwise be alone on Christmas morning, my friend Jodie invited me to stay with her on Christmas Eve. We could open our presents together she suggested. Her Japanese husband would be working that day, as would most Japanese, as it's just a normal working day. This fact should have clued me in to the real Japanese Christmas spirit, or rather lack there of. I happily accepted, gave her phone number to my family so they could call me on the day and packed the ingredients for the rum balls I was planning on making for the dinner party that night.

The morning started off well with a fellow ex-pat to celebrate with . While rolling the rum balls however, I realised I needed more coconut.

"Just go down to the supermarket," Jodie suggested.

I was shocked. The supermarket was open on Christmas Day? Really, it made sense, it was a normal business day after all and really quite convenient in my current prediciment.

Part of me wishes I never had gone. A tiny piece of my love for Japan died in those very moments.

I arrived at the supermarket. The same carols were playing, the same decorations on sale, though now at 50% off, the same Christmas cakes on display and housewives wandering through the aisles doing their same old grocery shopping.

I was furious, I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I felt betrayed. It was Christmas Day and this was so not Christmas. For months, there had been a feeling of "Christmas is coming... Christmas is coming.." and now it had come, no-one cared. They had taken everything commercial and cute from the season and none of the spirit. It was a bit like someone continually telling you that they really wanted you to come to a party and then giving you the cold shoulder when you did.

I wanted to grab the grocery-shopping-Christmas-ignoring housewives by the shoulders, shake them and say "This is it! This is Christmas! Don't you understand?!?"

Instead, I quietly bought my shredded coconut, left the centre and cried.

Now every year that I'm living in Japan and November rolls around, I get a mixture of excitement and panic about the approaching Christmas. I don't want to feel that anger and dissapointment again. I don't want the hipocracy that is Christmas in Japan rubbed into my face again.

I can't really plan a Christmas dinner with many people as most of my ex-pat friends return "home" for the holidays, and my Japanese friends are working and don't quite understand. For me, the solution is to travel. I know I'm not going to have the same family and friends with me, I know I'm not going to be eating the same Christmas treats but I do know I'll be doing something special and different. This has become my personal Christmas in Japan tradition.

So far at Christmas, I've been to Singapore, Osaka and Kobe, Hakuba and this year, to Matsumoto. For Christmas meals I've eaten Chinese, Mexican, English Pub food, Indonesian and Spanish, none of them in anyway Christmassy, but all of them special.

As long as my family and friends are in my heart and I keep this one day of the year special, I'll have Christmas no matter where I live.

Blacklisted

Tomorrow morning, Wayne and I are off for a short trip to Matsumoto in Nagano. As it's a short trip, we're lucky that we don't have much luggage and will be able to do the 30 minute walk to the station with our bags (one backpack and my camera bag). You see, I'm pretty sure we've been blacklisted by the cab company in town....

The first time I ordered a taxi to pick us up was a year ago (to the date actually) when we were going to Nagano to go snowboarding. Being a smallish town, I didn't book in advance but thought I would call with plenty of time to spare. I had however forgotten that it is bonenkai (end of year, or as some say.... forget-the-year) parties.

The guy at the taxi dispatch told me the wait would be about 20 minutes. After 40 minutes I was really beginning to worry. I called the company again, and they told me the taxi had come to our place already. I assured him they hadn't so he said they would be there soon. Another five, then ten, then fifteen minutes went by. I had called the company one hour before we needed to leave and now there was five minutes left. We had an expensive overnight bus booked and needed to get the train to get there in time.

Luckily, our neighbour arrived home and offered to take us to the station. I ran up to our apartment and rang the cab company to cancel the cab. The dispatch guy was now surprised that we hadn't been picked up yet, but promised me, a car would be there in ten minutes, I told him that we really had to leave now and insisted on cancelling the order.

Our snowboards and Christmas present laden bag was loaded into our neighbours BMW, we ran up the stairs to the station, just made the train, then ran from the train station and just made it to the bus.

The next time I ordered a cab, it was in the middle of the day with no warning. I was told a taxi would be by in five minutes. After 20 I rang the company. The conversation went something like this (though in Japanese...)

"Hi, I ordered a taxi 20 minutes ago and it hasn't arrived yet. This is Melanie from .. (insert address here...)"

"Ah Melanie-sama. No, you've been picked up already."

"No, I haven't. I'm still waiting."

"No, you were picked up about 15 minutes ago."

"No, I can assure you, I wasn't. I'm still here waiting outside the front of my apartment. A taxi came down the next road about 15 minutes ago and picked someone else up, but it wasn't me."

"No, he picked you up. He said he picked up a foreigner. You've already been picked up."

(Now, I have to say at this point, that the person who was picked up in the next street was Japanese, and that chances of the taxi driver having picked up another foreigner is very slim - there are few of us that live in my town)

"No, honestly, I haven't. That's why I'm calling. Maybe someone else took my taxi. Could you please send another one?"

"No, no-one would have taken your taxi. He picked you up. You don't need another one, you've already been picked up."

"No, really I haven't. I've been waiting out the front the whole time and I'm still here. Could you please send another one?"

"Oh, OK, if you're sure you haven't already been picked up."

Another taxi came around and picked me up five minutes later.

The next time we needed a taxi was when we were going to Vietnam in summer. Early in the evening before, I once again called the company. Again in Japanese, it went something like this...

"Hi, I want to reserve a taxi for tomorrow morning."

"Yes, address? Time?"

"It's (... insert address..) for 6.30am."

"No, we're all booked up." Was the reply barked at me. No apologies. Just a direct "Muri" (impossible).

"Oh, well how about 7am?"

"Muri."

"Umm... how about 6am?"

"Muri."

"5.30?"

"Muri."

Mmmm... Personally, I find it hard to believe that on a normal workday, all the taxis have been booked out between 5.30 to 7am. I was panicked and called a friend who came to our rescue. He very kindly offered to get up at 6am on the first day of his holidays to drive us to the station.

There are two companies in town, so I do have to get the number for the other. In the meantime, I'm glad that we can walk to the station tomorrow!

Yah! Holidays!

I discovered something this month....

the 'flu + weather much colder than this queensland girl is used to + asthma = exhaustion + not much fun

.... hense the lack of blogging....

Anyway, I'm over that now, all good, and just in time for my holidays! Yah!

Yesterday was the first day of my winter vacation break and I made the most of it. The boy and I went into the "big city" - Nagoya. It's only 20 minutes away by train and we really don't do it enough. We drooled over all the English books at Maruzen, ate yummy Indonesian for lunch, I gawked at the designer stores... Camper Shoes and Marimekko being my favourites, arranged for my Birkenstocks to be re-souled, ate more yummy food at Outback, splurged on Aussie chocolate and tried not to stare at the other "round eyes" as my New Zealand friend calls fellow westerners. We don't see many in our town.

I'm now madly trying to catch up on Christmassy stuff. Having been sick means I'm now running very late. A few Christmas cards have been sent, but presents haven't. I still have to design, write and send my nengajo.

On Monday, we'll be leaving for Nagano where we'll spend a few days over Christmas in Matsumoto, a sweet little town famous for its castle. Not sure what our Christmas dinner will be, we probably won't be able to find any roast turkey dinners, but we'll just make sure it's something yummy and special.

Christmas presents are calling out to be wrapped, must dash!

If I don't get a chance to blog before I go, I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Kurisumasu!

Engrish Break

I've been going through old photos tonight and re-discovered my Engrish collection. Sit back and enjoy....

Love Triangle

As we've just finished exams and only have a couple of weeks until holidays, we've been able to do a few fun lessons with the kids. One activity we're doing with the high school students is giving them a sheet of paper with three pictures on it and asking them to write a story. The aim they are told is to write a funny story.

There is one in particular that I love from today's class. Before I get to it, I should explain the characters... Melanie - is obviously me and Sam, Adrianne and Mr K other English teachers at the school. I've left the mistakes in and copied it as is;

Sam said, "She is mine. Her eyes are shining. Her name is Melanie. But she has a husband. She is outgoing to love. She has sexy body. I always fall in love with her. I was wallow in her everyday."

But he kissed with Adrianne. The kisses is very passion. I have never explained such a sexy and pleasure kiss. I am steeped in luxurious pleasure. I can't live without her body. It was true.

Ah..... Which is better, Melanie or Adrianne? Melanie has perfect body. But Adrianne has perfect body too. But it is important to honest to me. I want to the most is Mr K. I was homo.

Exam Answers

We're on the downhill run to the holidays now! Yah! Just two more weeks to go and then about three weeks off. Not sure what we're doing yet, but thinking of going somewhere for a few days. Does anyone have any suggestions? I want to go somewhere I haven't been before and I've done the big sites and cities.

We've just finished the last exams for the year and there were some answers that brought a smile to my face. I thought I might share....

From Junior High, in answer to the questions;

"Who cooked your breakfast this morning?"

My breakfast eat my family.
My breakfast cooked my mother.
I cooked my mother.
Cock brakefast is my mother.
It's dreakfast cooked my mother this morning.
It my mother cook to for breakfast

Where did you do your homework last night?

I homeworked in the hoom last night.

Where did you brush your teeth yesterday?

I brashed my teachers in the bathroom.
I washed the thieves in the bathroom.
I brashed my pea in the bathroom.
I blash your teach in the kitchen.
I brush south in the bath yesterday.

In one question the high school students had to describe Sam's and my personalities. Some of the results were;

Melanie is cheerful. She is big voice and her smile is cute.
She is cheerful because her class time is very interesting and exciting.
She is like rabit because she is very praty.
Melanie is very cheerful, because she is loved everyone.
She is cheerful and easygoing, because her smile is beautiful and she makes us happy.
He is gentle. He always listens my boring and not-well-English story happily.

Today I'm loving

• My husband. The dear sweet man has moved out of our shared office space to allow me to create my own design studio. You can see the before shots here. Hopefully, I'll have some shots of the end product in a few days.
• My new studio. It's still coming together but looks great so far. I feel so inspired!
• Volume 2 of the Beautiful Songs Compilation Album
• Long, warm, super soft socks
• Starbucks Chocolate Mint Mocha - I ordered my first ever coffee today! I'm not a coffee drinker, but I think I could be hooked.
• Japanese space solutions, they have some great ideas in the stores
• 100yen shops (OK, I love these every day)
• My life

Fingerprints

A little while ago I wrote about how there are times, living in Japan as a foreigner, I feel like I am under suspicion purely for being non-Japanese and Japan's new policy of fingerprinting and photographing all foreigners entering Japan. The fingerprinting practice has now been implemented and so is in a lot of the press for English speakers now.

To be honest, once I get over the conditioning that it is only for criminals, I don't have a problem with fingerprinting itself. What I do have a problem with is that it is only for foreigners. The implication seems to be that it is the gaijin to be feared, and not their fellow countrymen. When if comes to foreigners, Japan seems to have a guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality. I know America has the same practice and maybe I would feel equally offended getting fingerprinted there, though with America, differences of race don't come into it.

In the explanation video, terrorist bombing attacks in America, Bali, Morocco, Spain and London are listed. Never do they talk about the worst terrorist attack in their own country in 1995, the Sarin gas attack, an attack on Japanese, by Japanese. I find the video quite condescending when they try to pass the fingerprinting practice off as being partly to protect the foreigners. Let's be honest Japan (or the government at least), you don't really care about the foreigners, you're too busy worrying about what you think we're going to do to you.

While I'm on the subject of safety in Japan, it is for the most part a very safe place to live in. The recent trend of random street slashings however is a disturbing one. Until this week, I wrote it off as being a "big city" problem and not something to worry about where I live. That has now changed. Two days ago, a girl from our school was chased down the street by an old man with a knife. He was believe to have been seen outside one of the school gates again yesterday.

Japan, is it really US you need to worry about?

Update

j donuts has put together a great post linking to other people's thoughts on this matter. It's a really interesting and somewhat scary read. You can find it here.

Photo Break

A few photos taken at a local festival the weekend of the car accident.

Snow

It's now officially really cold, I saw snow this morning! Admittedly, the snow was capping a mountain in the distance, but it was snow none-the-less. I swear I saw three snowflakes yesterday swirling in the air, but Wayne thinks I was imagining it.

I was hoping some semblance of warmth would hold out for a few more days. We plan to re-arrange the apartment this coming long weekend and was hoping to wait until then to pull out the heaters and winter clothes. Yesterday, I wore a blanket around the apartment but still my fingertips were frozen and made it hard to type.

Last night I gave in and dug out a couple of heaters. And a dig it was. If you've ever lived in a Japanese apartment, you know how precious space is, our heaters were buried in the back of a cupboard under suitcases and backpacks. I haven't gotten out winter clothes yet but have been wearing what I like to think of a bohemian style of layers to survive. I did have to go to the 100yen shop to buy some gloves for the bike ride to school as my fingers couldn't wait.

You would think that once I got to school, I would be warm, but the opposite is true. The floor in the staffroom is freezing and with the Japanese culture of having to wear slippers inside, I can't wear my lovely warm boots during the day. I have a lap blanket I use and have been known to wear a down jacket and scarf at my desk to stop asthma attacks from the low temperature. Adrianne is already wearing her down jacket in the staff room today.

Our school is undergoing major construction at the moment and in the process, we lost one of our classrooms. Most of the time it's OK as one teacher will conduct the class in the student's homeroom. During interview tests however, we need both. What has happened this testing period is that one teacher has to sit outside in the cold, sunless, windy corridor. Thank goodness it's Sam and not me! Poor Gareth has three hours of interview tests to do there today! To make things scarier - it's cold now, but our next tests are in February when we'll be in the depths of winter and our new building won't be up then. And then don't even get me started on the female teachers toilets that are outside.....

On a happier note, I have to say, my husband is wonderful. He knows how much I hate this weather and so on cold nights, he goes to bed before I do, lies on my side and warms it up for me. How sweet is that! He even, admittedly not so happily, allows me to warm up my cold hands on his warm body parts. It's like having a living, breathing, large sized water bottle. Last night, he braved the low temperature and got me chocolate that I was craving and then this morning, he let me stay in while he went out and did the recycling by himself. Isn't he great! I'm not sure what I did to deserve him, but don't tell him that.

Over on my other blog... a bag to win!

For those of you who don't read my other blog, Kimono Reincarnate, I've launched a new business making bags from stunning vintage kimono and obi fabrics.

I've just started a mailing list. In order to give it a kick-start, I'm offering a chance to win this bag. Just sign up to my mailing list before December first, 2007 for an entry and then get an extra entry for each person you refer that lists you in the "Referred by" box.

The bag has been lined with kimono fabric and has a little pocket just the right size for keys and a mobile phone. The back is plain black, the original backing of this stunning embroidered obi.

Good luck!

Good Morning Baltimore!

Wayne and I went on a date last night. It was fun. After a spot of shopping and dinner, we went and saw Hairspray. It was a blast. I'm a big fan of the original movie so was eager to see if this one measured up. It didn't disappoint.

John Travolta was brilliant as Tracy's overweight mum, Edna Turnblad. Not quite as special as Divine was in the original, but still great.

I could tell that Wayne was worried about the movie when Tracy broke out in the first song, "Good Morning Baltimore". He stiffened ever-so-slightly and I could just tell he thought he wasn't going to enjoy it. He hasn't seen the original, so didn't know what to expect. It didn't take long for him to relax, I think it was the line about the flasher (incidentally, a cameo by John Waters) that he realised it wasn't going to be your run-of-the-mill musical.

It's funny watching a movie like that in Japan. Wayne and I were the only non-Japanese in the cinema and we were the only ones laughing. Much of the humour in the film either doesn't translate, is too quick or the Japanese don't have the same cultural references to understand. Lines like "You need a good stiff one", references to the kids being beautiful and "white" and to "Negro Day" were lost on all of the audience but us.

Before the movie, we saw the trailer for the Simpsons Movie. It is so strange hearing the characters in Japanese. While this isn't the movie trailer here's a TV commercial that might help you get an idea of the strangeness.




There are a few differences in the movie going experience between Japan and Australia. The first would have to be the ticket price, it's much higher in Japan, but the one I find most disturbing, is the lack of chocolate, or any sweets at the concession bar! Popcorn is on offer, but otherwise my choices include hot food such as fried chicken. What is a movie without something sweet?

The things they say

A gem from today’s interview test;

"My grandfather is strange. He tells me not to study....... He really likes sake. He drinks too much. I think he will die of cancer of the liver."

And on a totally unrelated topic... KitKat in Japan comes out with new flavours each season. I have to say I'm in love with the latest - Cookies and Milk KitKat. The KitKat wafer is covered in white chocolate that is filled with crushed chocolate cookies. Yum!

Interview Test Time

I never did get around to writing up the rest of my teaching days. It's been a busy week. On Monday and Wednesday, I had extra classes scheduled in and on Tuesday I had a recording session for the junior high practice and listening tests. On top of that I've been catching up on marking and been attacked by hordes of students every day before school, after school and at lunch times as they want their interview test preparations checked.

This testing period has gone so fast! We've started interview tests today! Our students are graded in three different area; their classwork, an interview test and a listening test. Each is worth a third of their final score. We conduct interview tests a week before their listening test.

This interview test is pretty cruisey for the junior high kids as long as they have prepared. They just have to tell us a little about someone from their family, half of it being in past tense. The previous two tests they had 16 questions to answer in 2 minutes, so the process was quite manic.

After the interview tests and listening tests are finished we still have a couple of weeks left of school. The junior high classes will be doing grade-free Christmas based lessons and games, so it's a lovely festive end to the year. And then... holidays! Yah! Wayne and I aren't going anywhere to far these holidays in a bid to save money. I'm really looking forward to it though as I have so many craft and design projects planned.

Bring on the holidays!