Jillian and I showing off our matching Christmas socks from my Mom
Firstly, while Christmas is a big deal here, Jillian insists that Christmas Eve is an even bigger deal, especially for young couples. This is largely because while some places close on Christmas day, (but definitely not nearly all, like in the states) most are open late on Christmas Eve, since it's kind of a date-day. Apparently, lots of married couples reserve hotels for Christmas Eve, as Christmas Day is spent primarily with the family, although really, the really big family holiday is New Year's Eve and Day in Japan.
When Jill and I went to spend the day in Miyazaki City on Christmas Eve, we found that the bus from the train station to the mall was pretty much completely packed... with couples. More specifically, young couples, ranging probably from about sixteen to twenty-two years old. At the restaurant we ate at in the mall, (We had Okonomiyaki... hey, what can I say? I love it!) nearly every booth was also filled by couples going out on what I can only assume was their Christmas Eve Date. It was actually really cute, and reminded me a lot of Valentine's Day in the states. (Which they also have here, as well as White Day, but this was kind of different, I think)
Jillian's Delicious Make-shift Apple Pie
On Christmas Day in Japan, it was technically still Christmas Eve in the states. So the day after Christmas, Jillian used Skype to talk with her family on their Christmas Day. On Christmas day, we opened the plethora presents that Jill's and my families had sent along with me for Jill and Shiva, and Jill and I opened our presents for each other too. Jillian, of course, gave me remarkably cute and thoughtful gifts, including, but not limited to, a Japanese character chart to help me study, and apron and oven mitts for our kitchen, a pretty 1000 piece puzzle, since we never got to finish the puzzle we started at the Rivendell Cabin in Leavenworth, and some really adorable sponges, since she knows how much I dislike boring ones. Jill also wanted Christmas dinner to be really special, so we tried our best to make an apple pie, and kind of put together a hodge-podge feast of fried rice, pasta, chu-hai (sweet, fruit-flavored beer) and miso soup for the two of us and Max, another exchange student from Evergreen who is also a good friend of ours.
Jill and Max enjoying Christmas Dinner in the 4th Floor Common RoomIt was a little strange on Christmas day to be in a place where everything wasn't shut down. The stores were all still mostly open, if on limited hours, and a lot of the people in the International Dormitory didn't have families to go visit, so people were just kind of hanging around like it was any other day. Admittedly, Christmas is a foreign holiday, but was surprises me is how Japan picks and chooses which holidays it chooses to learn about and recognize.
(Warning, this is kind of opinion-y) I realize this is kind of a strong example, but it was an account of an experience that really struck me. Liam, one of the JET English Teachers we met at the airport when I was supposed to return to the states, (more on that later) told us a story about a Jewish JET teacher he knew a few years ago. According to Liam, when it came closer to the winter holidays, his friend asked the principal at the school she was working at if she could teach about her own holiday, Hanukkah. The principal, however, said that it wasn't in the curriculum to teach about anything but Christmas, and refused. She explained that she didn't know anything about Christmas, as she'd never celebrated it before, but the principal insisted that she must know something about Christmas - she's American, after all.
These kinds of stereotypes about Americans kind of irk me, but I guess it's kind of ethnocentric or something for me to expect otherwise. After all, in America, we have some pretty gross generalizations about what Asian people are like, i.e., Japanese people are all really good at math, or whatever. In Japan, it seems to be the assumption that all Americans are, if not al blonde-haired and blue-eyed, pretty much universally white. In my Evergreenish naivete, I'd like to hope that people realize how diverse America's population really is, but when asked where I'm from here and I answer, "America," I can't escape from the follow-up question of, "Oh, but I mean... what's your ethnicity?" or, "Where are your parents from?"
Then again, I often get the same kind of question in the states, too. When someone asks where I'm "from," my usual answer of "Seattle" typically isn't enough for people. I feel like if I were white, and someone were to ask me where I came from, "Seattle" or "America" would definitely be enough, unless I had some sort of accent that would indicate that might be from Australia or Scotland or something.
Bleh. Part of me wants to digress into the whole "coconut" thing, (Brown on the outside, white on the inside) but I was writing about Christmas, or New Year's or something, wasn't I? Way to make it all about me, me!
So! New Year's. Unfortunately, we weren't able to experience the "family" New Year's Jill and I had sort of secretly hoped to get invited to, but we had a really pleasant informal New Year's Eve instead. Typically, New Year's in Japan is kind of a clean-up time, and a lot of non-perishable foods are prepared so that during the next week or so, people can enjoy spending time together without having to worry about cooking so much. Children usually receive otoshidama (pocket money) from their parents and grandparents, which can range from like, fifty to hundreds of dollars. In our Japanese class in Olympia, Hirai-sensei showed us a newscast showing the majority of these kids spending their money on toys and video games, of course.
For Jill and I, Christmas was spent relaxing with Jill's kitten, Shiva, under a warm Kotatsu. New Year's Eve, however, was spent with our friends Max (Evergreen) and Midori, (A graduating senior and Miyadai, and a long-time friend of the various exchange students who have come and gone) in downtown Miyazaki. We did some light shopping, and although we considered it, we didn't purchase any of the man-en New Year's surprise bags. (For 10,000 yen, or roughly $100, you can get a bag full of random Large, Medium, or Small-size clothing with a combined value of $300 - kind of a gamble, since the clothes you may get may not be entirely to your taste, but still interesting!) We'd made a reservation at an Izakaya, a kind of all-you-can-eat-and-drink establishment. The one we went to served shabu-shabu, (A kind of boil-your-own meat and veggie thing) and yakinikku (A kind of grill-your-own meat and veggie thing) Midori and Max went with the former, Jill and I with the latter.
Jill flipping some kind of meat on our grill-thing
Jill, Midori, Max and I. (Conveniently for me, my gigantic screwdriver has obscured my goofy smile. Jillian, however, has unfortunately fallen victim to Japanese red-eye. Luckily, the cure is only ju-yen at the local conbini)
(Warning, this is kind of opinion-y) I realize this is kind of a strong example, but it was an account of an experience that really struck me. Liam, one of the JET English Teachers we met at the airport when I was supposed to return to the states, (more on that later) told us a story about a Jewish JET teacher he knew a few years ago. According to Liam, when it came closer to the winter holidays, his friend asked the principal at the school she was working at if she could teach about her own holiday, Hanukkah. The principal, however, said that it wasn't in the curriculum to teach about anything but Christmas, and refused. She explained that she didn't know anything about Christmas, as she'd never celebrated it before, but the principal insisted that she must know something about Christmas - she's American, after all.
These kinds of stereotypes about Americans kind of irk me, but I guess it's kind of ethnocentric or something for me to expect otherwise. After all, in America, we have some pretty gross generalizations about what Asian people are like, i.e., Japanese people are all really good at math, or whatever. In Japan, it seems to be the assumption that all Americans are, if not al blonde-haired and blue-eyed, pretty much universally white. In my Evergreenish naivete, I'd like to hope that people realize how diverse America's population really is, but when asked where I'm from here and I answer, "America," I can't escape from the follow-up question of, "Oh, but I mean... what's your ethnicity?" or, "Where are your parents from?"
Then again, I often get the same kind of question in the states, too. When someone asks where I'm "from," my usual answer of "Seattle" typically isn't enough for people. I feel like if I were white, and someone were to ask me where I came from, "Seattle" or "America" would definitely be enough, unless I had some sort of accent that would indicate that might be from Australia or Scotland or something.
Bleh. Part of me wants to digress into the whole "coconut" thing, (Brown on the outside, white on the inside) but I was writing about Christmas, or New Year's or something, wasn't I? Way to make it all about me, me!
So! New Year's. Unfortunately, we weren't able to experience the "family" New Year's Jill and I had sort of secretly hoped to get invited to, but we had a really pleasant informal New Year's Eve instead. Typically, New Year's in Japan is kind of a clean-up time, and a lot of non-perishable foods are prepared so that during the next week or so, people can enjoy spending time together without having to worry about cooking so much. Children usually receive otoshidama (pocket money) from their parents and grandparents, which can range from like, fifty to hundreds of dollars. In our Japanese class in Olympia, Hirai-sensei showed us a newscast showing the majority of these kids spending their money on toys and video games, of course.
For Jill and I, Christmas was spent relaxing with Jill's kitten, Shiva, under a warm Kotatsu. New Year's Eve, however, was spent with our friends Max (Evergreen) and Midori, (A graduating senior and Miyadai, and a long-time friend of the various exchange students who have come and gone) in downtown Miyazaki. We did some light shopping, and although we considered it, we didn't purchase any of the man-en New Year's surprise bags. (For 10,000 yen, or roughly $100, you can get a bag full of random Large, Medium, or Small-size clothing with a combined value of $300 - kind of a gamble, since the clothes you may get may not be entirely to your taste, but still interesting!) We'd made a reservation at an Izakaya, a kind of all-you-can-eat-and-drink establishment. The one we went to served shabu-shabu, (A kind of boil-your-own meat and veggie thing) and yakinikku (A kind of grill-your-own meat and veggie thing) Midori and Max went with the former, Jill and I with the latter.
Jill flipping some kind of meat on our grill-thing
Lucky for me, Jill was much more attentive about when we would put things on the grill than I was. Conveniently, the majority of the meat is sliced fairly thinly so that they cook quickly. Because it was all-you-can-eat, (For ninety minutes) Max and I were intent on eating as much as possible, although Midori emphasized that we should focus more on enjoying what we were eating, rather than stuffing it all down. Between the grilled beef, pork, chicken, onions, lettuce and carrots, screw drivers, peach and apple chu-hai, and melon-soda + ice cream + sake mixes, I was definitely more than satisfied by the time our ninety minutes were up. (They don't kick you our or anything after your time is up, it just means that anything you order after that time will cost extra)
Jill, Midori, Max and I. (Conveniently for me, my gigantic screwdriver has obscured my goofy smile. Jillian, however, has unfortunately fallen victim to Japanese red-eye. Luckily, the cure is only ju-yen at the local conbini)So, New Year's was fun! It also, however, reminded me that my time in Japan was short. In only four more days, I was supposed to board a plane bound for San Fransisco. Stuff happens, though, and then after that, like, other stuff happens.
Next time - Kaori and Kazue, and the return to Kansai!
Next time - Kaori and Kazue, and the return to Kansai!
No comments:
Post a Comment