random

122108 sun 12pm

weekend! first one since i came to koriyama where i have nooo plans. but this one’s a three-day weekend cuz everyone gets the 23rd off for the emperor’s birthday. (yes we get the 23rd off but not christmas.) haha, what am i supposed to do for three days?? i think that if the weather’s good i might just bike around koriyama either tomorrow or tuesday. i already cleaned my apartment this morning (including washing my bedsheets and vacuuming!), yay!

i’m gonna get takoyaki for lunch (i can’t waiiit!), but i’ll go in about an hour. til then, i have some things i wanted to write about.

1. christmas.
so they actually do celebrate christmas here. it’s on a much smaller scale. most people work on christmas day, but there are all these christmas parties throughout the month. i hear that a person can go to like two every weekend! close friends and family give presents to each other. and most of my kids get one or two presents from their parents. :)

and i actually do hear familiar christmas music in the streets, at the mall, etc. so i’ve actually been in the christmas mood! and it helped that all of my children’s classes this week had lessons about christmas! yay! so i hung up the christmas posters i drew onto my classroom walls. i had the kids play pin-the-star-on-the-tree (using english directions). i sang quite cheerfully when i played the christmas song for each lesson (“deck the halls” for the older kids. “we wish you a merry christmas” and “the 12 days of christmas” for the youngest ones). and i’ve even given them chocolatey snacks as a christmas treat! :)

oh my gosh... i made dance moves for “the 12 days of christmas” and one of the classes was sooooooooo cuuuute!!! they were three girls of about five years old: misaki, haruna, and mana. first of all they are probably my cutest and most well-behaved kids. and second, they were in SUCH deep concentration to follow all my moves!!! it was the MOST adorable thing i’ve ever seen here!! oh my gosh, my heart melted, i just wanted to hug them alllll!!! :D

2. japanese workers.
the japanese are probably the hardest-working people i’ve ever encountered!! i’ve talked to some my adult students about work. one has said that he works seven days a week. one said that he works 15 hours every day (!) for his 5-day week. and two have said that because of the recent failing economy, they’ve been forced to “volunteer” for their companies for some days.. working without pay. and they’re fine with it! loyalty to their employers and dedication to their work are that strong.

gosh. and the high school kids are probably just as overworked. they have school, extra classes outside of school (such as english class), and extra-curricular activities (a 14-year-old student of mine practices tennis for five hours every saturday). and they’re expected to study study study most of their waking hours. (i guess i had the same schedule when i was in high school.. but it seems that they’re even more intense here.)

3. garbage.
i think japan is such an AWESOME country just for its waste disposal process! everything is separated! everyone needs to separate their garbage according to the categories of: burnable, unburnable, plastic bottles, and glass/cans/jars. so in effect, they’re recycling. so great! there are different pick-up days for each batch every week. and everyone really abides by it! i heard that in some parts of japan, people have to write their names with their garbage... and the sanitary workers have to check them. and if someone’s garbage isn’t properly sorted, the workers return the garbage to the person. hahaha! i think that’s hilarious. but so great!

funny how i’m going from garbage to food. but i gotta go. sooooo hungry. sooooo craving takoyaki! going now!

[edit 11pm]
it was a really beautiful day today, it felt like spring. so after takoyaki (which was amazing. i tried the one topped with egg this time) and walking around the mall for a bit, i actually went biking around the city. for like an hour. there were lots of people out and about. such a pleasant experience! :)

i went back to my apartment eventually... i had found a christmas tree box this morning in the hallway closet when i took out the vacuum. and i checked it out... and there was indeed a tiny christmas tree!!! AND i also found christmas ornaments in a bag!! (most likely belonged to paul, the previous teacher.) sooo... i set it up!! while listening to the few christmas songs i have. it felt kinda bittersweet. aww. :) but yay! i have a christmas tree! it’s so pretty! gold, silver, blue and green ornaments. with a silver wire star at the top. and there’s a short (but sufficient) line of green battery-operated lights also! it’s in the dining room floor right now. i'm just happy to have a christmas tree! i’m definitely in the christmas spirit! :)