No... I haven't lost my English language yet. (I wish.) In Japan, they say "Happy Christmas," "Happy Merry Christmas," but never "Merry Christmas." In fact, people run to me to shake my hand on the day of my Birthday (as oppose to a hug).
I haven't been writing, therefore, I'm a bit behind. Well, it has become increasingly difficult to contact people back home. Hell, I only check my email account weekly, as oppose to the hourly visit to Hotmail when I'm in school.
Anyway, lots of things had happened since I last wrote.
Birthday: I was sick the weekend of my birthday. I had nausea. As Cori has mentioned in her blog, it ended up with our friend, Andrew, translating some really private questions. i.e. When was your last period? Apparently, during my little "lost in translations" with the pharmacist, she thought I was pregnant.
Home Visit: I visited a home of a Japanese person. It was fun. I ended up watching a soccer match for the Asia Cup (or whatever). Never, ever speak of soccer with a Japanese soccer craze and 2 Koreans! They memorized the entire bracket for World Cup 2006.
Presentation: Claudia (German), Cori (Canadian), and Kai (German) converted to Austrians and spoke about beer, while I stood next to a Marylander, and spoke about American parties. We stressed about it for a few weeks, put a slide show together, 2 pages for the program, etc. As if public speaking isn't hard enough already, we had to do it in Japanese in front of an auditorium of people. First, it was stressful to think of our culture, because we have none! At last, the presentation turned out well with topics such as foam party, jelly wrestling, ice luge, jello shots, etc. We had a unique culture after all~
Desy's Birthday: I went to Karaoke for my first time in Japan. It was extremely disappointing. New York is not a place known for its karaoke, yet, we definitely have better equiptment, etc. than the one I went to here. I was fooled by everyone's "free drinks, free food" comment. By "food", they meant a broken cotton candy machine and ice cream. Back home, we get fried chicken and fries! "Free drinks" meant tea and coffee. Alcohol drinks costed extra.
Harajuku, Tokyo: I had one of my weir,d only-child act again. I went all the way to Tokyo by myself. What did I do? I ate McDonald's! My original plan to look for a X'mas present for Rob has failed.
Makuhari: I am remember why I have always liked to shop by myself. I was done with the whole outlet and mall in less than an hour. I was never the type of shopper who circle each store 7x before moving on to the next store. It was an experience thought. Of all stores, they have Billabong! You'd think they have Gap or something, but no. In fact, there are no Apple Bee's in the entire Japan, but they have Outback Steakhouse. How strange.
In Japan, as oppose to the popular Christmas party at home there are the forget-the-year parties. I couldn't help but laugh when I had first learned about it. Technically, they are parties to forget all the negative things that had happened throughout the year. Honestly, what's the point? The year's already ending...
Clean up, Clean up, Everybody, Everywhere! I walk out, and I hear vaccuum cleaners. It seems that everyone is cleaning up for visitors and what-not. We have a 2-week winter vacation; everyone seems to be going some where. As for me, Rob's arriving in less than 3 hours! Woohoo. We plan to go to Disney Sea and other tourist attractions in Tokyo.
My Canadian friend, Cori, got hit by a car while she was on the bike. I can't stress how dangerous it is here to ride a bicycle. I have flew off my bike twice. Once, I landed safely on two feet. The second time, I landed on my right arm. When we sat together for Katya's "farewell lunch," we all seem to have our own near-death experiences with our bicycles.
We are all so home sick that we get excited about a pack of Extra gum from home. I miss home food! *frown*
At last, I thought it'd go away... but my identity seems to be more and more confusing as time passes. This, Asian-American, holding a British passport, but never visited to UK would like to say... HAPPY CHRISTMAS and Happy Hanukkah!
