Christmas in Japan

Reading: Wild Swans, Jung Chang
Listening: Merry Christmas Darling, The Carpenters

I've been working my way through Wild Swans for quite a while. Though I'm still enjoying it, I'm a greedy reader, and I'm already anxious for my next book. Something Orhan Pamuk, I'm thinking.

As for music, I must check out the group Shakalabbits.


















Thanksgiving has not yet passed, but Christmas has arrived in Japan! The Starbucks cups and menus, like the autumn leaves, have blushed a deep red. The Colonel Sanders statues standing proudly outside of every Kentucky Fried Chicken have donned their Santa costumes. The ground floor of Tokyu Hands Sannomiya features an explosion of evergreen trees and flashing lights.

I am doing my part in contributing to the Japanese Christmas spirit by conducting Christmas lessons (as requested by my JTEs), humming carols as I walk, and eating plenty of Starbucks strawberry chiffon cake (pictured above).

I haven't cleaned my house in a week. If I feel that I am accomplishing so little, what am I doing? Last night, I skipped Tea Ceremony lessons (despite my minor success last week), still polishing my Thanksgiving lesson for the third years by the time 5:30 rolled around. I finally closed my computer, considered heading over to 茶道部 (which doesn't end until 6:30 pm), but instead packed up my purse and went errand-running instead.

Having just finished my banking, I was waiting at a crosswalk when I noticed strange movement on the second floor of a building across the street. I soon realized that the strange movement was a ballroom dancing class! As I stared in wonder, my feet feeling strongly desirous to participate, I recognized that this scene ran parallel to that of a familiar Japanese movie . . . I felt romantic as I sang "Shall We Dance?" quietly to myself on the way home, a pack of Kentucky Fried Chicken in my hand.

(My cozy pig slippers, which make Chris insanely jealous, are unrelated to Christmas, but they're so goshdarn cute that they warranted a posting.)