Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

12/24/2004, About Christmas in Japan and my plans

About Christmas In Japan

Christmas is not celebrated nearly as much as in the United States.  In general, it is neither a family, universal, or dominating commercial holiday.  Walking around Japan, there are lots of observances of Christmas all over.  I've been to a German Christmas market, seen Christmas lights in Aioi and in Osaka, attended a Christmas party, and bought/sent Christmas cards.  But, it's not the big shopping rush like in the United States.  Families really don't buy Christmas presents for each other.  In Japan, Christmas is a day for sweethearts to go out for a very fancy dinner and stay in a fancy hotel.  Sometimes guys buy lavish presents on top of that.  I've heard guys can end up spending ¥50,000 (≈$500) and up on their ladies on Christmas.  Yikes!  Families who do celebrate Christmas at home don't have a big feast.  Instead they make (or buy) a Christmas cake, which is a cake covered in white whipped cream and topped with strawberries.  Sometimes they have fried chicken for dinner, I guess because they perceive a strong American connection with both Christmas and fried chicken.  I don't know.

I've also noticed an odd relationship with Santa Claus in Japan.  You rarely see men dressed as Santa Claus.  However, young women/girls frequently wear Santa costumes or Santa hats.  It's cute, but also a little crude if you think about it.  It's almost like Santa Claus has become a sex symbol in Japan.  I even saw one teenager wearing a Santa costume with a red mini skirt.  Another time, I walked past a beauty salon in Aioi.  All the hair stylists (all female and reasonably attractive) were wearing these Santa costumes that were very form fitting for a woman's body.  They weren't tight, but they emphasized an hour-glass shaped body about the wearer.  It's really weird.

My plans

Tomorrow (Christmas Day), I will go out for a nice dinner with Akemi.  She has to work during the day so we can only spend the evening together.  During the day, I'll find a present for her.  (I'm American, so it only seems natural to buy her a present, regardless of whether she expects it or not.) I also plan to attend a "Jazzy Christmas" concert of high school students in Kobe at 2:00 PM.  After our dinner, in the evening, we may try to find some music or just go find some festive Christmas-spirited area to walk around.  I'm taking my presents over to Akemi's to open with her.

My mom and my uncle Jeff sent me many Christmas presents.  My mom in particular sent lots of stuff.  I know I'll like it all.  More importantly, it's touching that they're so concerned with taking good care of me during the holidays.  I just took this picture so I could remember.  This isn't everything, but you get the idea.  I've also gotten some beautiful cards and letters from my friends Chika (in Japan) and Wally (in Maine).

School is out from 12/24/2004 to 1/10/2005.  I don't automatically get all of that time off.  Actually, all Japanese people get about 5 days off around New Years.  New Years is the big holiday here.  They send gifts and lots of cards.  But, they still don't buy the lavish gifts that Americans do for Christmas.

Anyway, I'll stay with Akemi in Osaka from 12/24/2004 to 12/27/2004.  On the 27th at 11:30 AM, we leave for Malaysia.  We'll be in Malaysia from 12/27/2004 to 1/4/2005.  Our return flight leaves Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 11:55 PM (Malaysia time).  We get back to Kansai Airport in Japan at 7:05 AM (Japan time) the morning of 1/5/2005.  I wanted to make it a longer trip, but Akemi couldn't get much vacation time other than the 5 (or so) day break she gets for New Years.  But, I'll take some vacation time after our trip.  Hopefully, I'll be able to visit the island of Shikoku or the Tokyo area.  I haven't decided.  I may not return home until 1/10/2005, the day before I have to return to school.

We don't have specific plans for what to do in Malaysia.  It's crazy, but Akemi really doesn't care to make plans before we get there.  It was my idea to make reservations for our first night's stay.  And, I have lightly advocating making a loose plan of where to go.  This is the opposite of what you'd expect, culturally speaking.  Usually, Japanese people insist on making very exact plans about everything while Americans tend to take it easy a little more.

How I'm Feeling Lately

While I'm rattling on with no pictures, I'll add a little snapshot of how I'm feeling lately.  Daily life, teaching, school - it's all feeling pretty routine lately.  Waking up and going to work no longer feels like an adventure.  It's just waking up and going to work.  I teach 18 hours a week, although I officially work 35 hours a week.  I'm physically at school for about 40 hours a week.  So, there's plenty of free time to do email, work on programming projects, study Japanese, work on this web site, practice piano, or whatever I want.  They really don't care what I do with that time as long as I'm at school.  But, I'm really thinking about the future.  I very much want to go to grad school and do a Ph.D. in Computer Science.  I need to study for the GRE.  The next application deadline is December 2005.  (I missed this year.) I need to decide if I'm going to stay here another year or not.  Can I study for the GRE effectively here?  (Taking the GRE in Japan is no problem.) And, Akemi.  Akemi and I are having an awesome time together.  I really, really enjoy the time I spend with her.  We've been dating about 2.5 months so far.  So, I may end up spending another year here.  But, my head is full of decisions and thoughts of the future.  Another thing is that I really miss doing programming and analytical thinking every day.  Teaching English is not so challenging, at least not in the same way.  Lately, I've been reviewing my college calculus, just for fun, to make sure my brain doesn't rot away too quickly.  All the while, I really enjoy talking to people back home and exchanging emails.  I've had many long conversations with my mom, my uncle Jeff, my former conversation partner Fumi, and others.  These relationships are developing through the long distance.  It's really great.  So, that's where I'm at right now.

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