December

Ah, my posts are starting to slow down! For that I am sorry-- I was afraid I would someday reach this point, but I really do have lots to say and need to recommit myself to saying it!

Well, I would like to talk a bit about December thus far, but before I do I want to spend a bit of time talking about the end of my November, specifically Thanksgiving!

Obviously there is not a Thanksgiving celebration here in Japan, so while the rest of my fellow Americans were loosening their belts and carving their turkeys, I was busy finishing just another Thursday in my Tokyo life.  Actually, I remember I walked to the nearest KFC to see if they had any mashed potatoes, but alas they didn't! So I really did nothing very out of the ordinary to celebrate the holiday at that time.  However, I am very very lucky to be a part of a study abroad program that remembers it's poor American students during holiday times and was able to celebrate the following Sunday with not only my fellow Japan Study friends, but with all of our host families!  Just about everyone came to Waseda on Sunday afternoon with their host families to share a "Thanksgiving" meal (Turkeys bought from KFC garnished with fried chicken bits and french fries, mashed potatoes comparable to bad school lunch memories -but I really didn't care I was craving mashed potatoes so much at that point!!).  It was so so fun to not only spend time with the whole group (it's amazing to think when we were all undergoing orientation together not even three months ago-- ah so much has changed!!), but also to be able to meet the host families.  It was interesting because some host families have literally been hosting students for upwards of twelve and thirteen years, so some families have ties to one another that do not necessarily correspond with the friendships their homestay students have developed with one another.  My host parents were excited to meet my close friends, and it was really neat to meet the families of my friends as well.  Many of my friends were surprised at how young my host family is- they are in their late 30s, which is a stark contrast to most of the families who are of retiring age or older.  A really really fun event and I am so happy I was able to be a part of it!

Moving on to December-- Things I have been able to do in December in Japan I can't do in Minnesota:
Sleep with my windows open
Walk to school without a coat
Wear shoes without socks
Be worried about sunburn


Haha in summary the temperature here is pretty phenomenal!  The fall leaves have peaked and are finally falling (haha, "fall"!), but the weather as of late has been so mild. I thought I would miss snow and the coziness of Minnesota winter, but, for this year at least, I am thoroughly enjoying the warmer climate!

I had a lot of tests and projects a few weeks ago for midterms, so all is pretty quiet on the school-front here. Which is good as I am busy as of late with tutoring (I promise to write about that experience soon!), ballet circle, outings with my host family and Christmas parties with friends!  I have a Christmas party to go to this weekend plus I was invited to another party with my host dad's co-workers the weekend after. I also got to see Harry Potter in theaters which is actually news worthy as my friend and I waited a few weeks to see it.  In Japan theaters are really expensive (upwards of 18 or 19 dollars), but on the first of every month the ticket prices are reduced to 1000 yen (maybe 12 dollars).  Pretty fun- I haven't been to a movie yet in Japan and it was nice to be able to go a little bit on the cheap!

Ah, the more I keep typing the more I remember I have to write, but as I would like to keep this kind of coherent I will stop here for now.
Happy December!