Well, it’s Boxing Day here. Or, well, it was. It’s really just past midnight, so now it’s the 27th. I am proud to say that I have successfully had my first Christmas away from home. And not a single tear was shed!
I was very lucky to have a few friends left in the country over the holidays. A friend of mine, Mari, ended up in the same situation as myself, an ALT away from the family over Christmas. I, however, was the only one where it was my first time. So, we made plans for her to come down and visit for a few nights (she’s asleep right now – she seemed rather tired today :P), and I’ve been very grateful for that.
On Christmas Eve, we were lucky enough that I had been successful in the Tenimyu lottery. Very long story short – Tenimyu is a series of musicals in Japan based off a popular anime series about a tennis prodigy, his tennis team, and their quest to make it to the nationals. This was the eighteenth (18?!?!?!) show in the series, the match against Shitenhouji at the semifinals. These plays have become VERY popular, and getting tickets is rather difficult. By some Christmas miracle, I was able to get three tickets to the Christmas Eve show. Mari, Adele, and myself went, and it was wonderful. On the final song, the cast often comes into the audience, and we always get extra attention because we’re the lone white girls in a sea of Asians. This night was no exception, and quite a few of the cast that came on our side gave us this surprised grin. I even got to sing into Koharu’s racquet! Which was awesome, because Koharu was so wonderful in the show.
Anyways, after the show, we parted ways with Adele and began to head home. Mari and I were heading into Gaiemmae station, and these two older gentlemen stopped and wished us a merry Christmas. Which we thought was sweet enough. But then they were asking us where we were from and stuff. When I said Canada, one of the men began to sing Oh Canada, and I almost bawled. There were two things that were outstanding about these men. One was that they were rather conversational in English. The other was that they were some kind of professional musicians, in voice. (Secretly, I like to think they might have been vocal staff for Tenimyu. Seriously, how many excuses are there to have two vocal coaches out at Gaiemmae at 10:00 pm on Christmas Eve? Not many.) Anyways, they then asked us if we knew any Christmas carols, and began to sing Silent Night, asking us to sing along. Now, the two men were a tenor and baritone. Mari is an alto, and I am a soprano (but in much need of a heavy vocal workout) so when the four of us began singing, it was in four part harmony. In the middle of Gaiemmae station. On Christmas Eve. It was really beautiful sounding and surreal, and I still can’t believe it happened. Couples were walking by, seeming to find it just as surreal, and over all, there was just this feeling of absolute surprise. We sang a few songs, and then Mari and I had to head back before the trains stopped.
The next day was just as wonderful, in its own special way. I opened my presents (DVDs! Chocolate! Earrings!) and we watched some Stephen Colbert Christmas special, and the muppets. Since the stores were all open, we decided to go out for a bit to get some food. We indulged in the Japanese tradition of fried chicken and cake for Christmas (much thanks to KFC and the magic of advertising for that tradition) and then picked up Adele, who was coming down for Christmas dinner. I had ordered in a turkey breast from this Western style butcher down in Nagoya, which ended up being the size of an INFANT, and cooked it in my eternally amazing slow cooker. It ended up being this garlic and herb MASTERPIECE. There was also mashed potatoes, carrots, gravy and stuffing, and Adele made this amazing trifle for dessert. We also watched my most favourite play ever, Frogs, and then went to do some karaoke at my local place. Over all, it was a very fun evening.
While I did receive some great things for Christmas, the greatest present has honestly been being surrounded by friends, and being reminded that I’m not alone. Spending this week with my friends has kept me from feeling homesick, and the emails from all over have made me feel all warm and special. Plus, now that we’re getting into the birthday season, it makes me so happy to see so many people wanting to spend their New Years with me. It’s a big change to the way I use to spend my birthday. Aka, at home, watching Dick Clark on TV, my parents already asleep and my friends all off god knows where. This year, I’ve really felt loved. And I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate it.
I suppose I should wrap this up here. It’s late, and there’s not much left to say. So I hope you all had a very merry Christmas, and if I don’t write again before, have a happy new year as well.
PS – How do you like the new header? It’s a photo I took last month from the USS George Washington of my first time seeing Mount Fuji!