メリークリスマス

Definitely not as loud and epic as last year's Christmas with Kyle & others, but still cozy and I guess what matters the most was being around family. Ended up playing playstation with them for most of the night and got my ass handed to me playing CoD.

Happy Holidays!

Empty Apartment

It only lasted 10 days but the feeling of waking up with an apartment full of bodies really grew on me over the holidays. This past holiday was everything I could have hoped for and more, and was exactly what I needed. But more importantly, everyone who visisted enjoyed themselves to the fullest. For the first time since arriving to Japan it made me a little homesick because I realized how much I miss spending time with old friends. It was a non-stop party for the time they were here... way too many glorious details, laughs, and anecdotes to list. Letting them go at the airport was the most difficult thing that I've had to do in quite some time =*[.

Happy Holidays... be back in a jiffy!

As of last night at around 7:00 pm I'm officially on vacation for the next week! My friends safely arrived Christmas night and I was so glad to see them all. It's been so much fun already over the first couple of nights and I can't wait for all the rest of our upcoming adventures. I'll try to keep posting in the next couple of days but it will definitely be time permitting. Hope everyone out there enjoyed their Christmas with the ones they hold special.

Working Christmas Week

While it sucks that I still have to be at work this entire week up until the 28th a part of me feels so happy to be able to spend Christmas with some of my students. I handed out Christmas cards this year and although I slightly took some flack for it I shrugged it off since it brought smiles to the children's faces. The above picture are some of the cards and a bag of snacks that I received from some of the most kick ass kids in the world!

O Christmas Tree

This little guy is keeping the Christmas spirit alive in my apartment. And me singing Christmas songs out loud to myself on my couch. Sounds a tad bit sad but it's Christmas so anything goes!

Visitors in a Week!

It's Christmas next week! Yup yup, and I'll be lucky enough to have a handful of friends arriving on Christmas Day and crashing on my apartment floor until January. Can't wait to see these people again! Well not everyone in this picture, just the focus of Jennie and Karen.


This hobo is also making the trip and I fully expect him to get wasted beyond regular capacity. Everyone here in Japan gets drunk quicker anyways. "Blackout" will live again. For the record I tried to take him to rehab but he said "No, no, no."

For some reason I can't find a picture of Ray, but I didn't forget about you! Promise you won't regret picking Japan over Hong Kong.

Holiday Misinformation

When I was doing research on teaching overseas something that came up was the difference in traditional Japanese calendar holidays and celebrations. I was told by a few sources beforehand that Christmas wasn't that big of an occasion. I understood that it was just a regular day and that most business people even had to work through it. Since I'm pretty big on Christmas I thought I'd be missing home a lot more than I am now.


Pretty much all of the train stations, shopping malls, and parks here have some sort of holiday decoration. Lights are the big thing and many places actually look a lot more extravagant than back at home. The holiday season here does remind me a bit of home and I'm glad that the glamourous appearance of it is actually not too different. Maybe all the traditional pieces of the Christmas holiday are not accounted for, but the cosmetic and visual appeal of it is on par. Christmas will continually be swayed in a commercial Hallmark way anyhow so perhaps it all makes some logical sense.

October Christmas

Since Thanksgiving (both Canadian and American) are non-existent holidays in Japan the transition from Halloween to Christmas occurs somewhat instantly. Most large department stores have already started to decorate (it's still October!) and setup Christmas lights, ornaments, and trees. However, perhaps it's a good indication since I'll be having friends visiting and staying with me over Christmas vacation and New Year's!

When I worked at FutureShop back in Scarborough I couldn't stand listening to Christmas music starting in the first week of November. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas music but there's only so much you can take of it after listening to it for 8 hours a day for 6 weeks.