I wanted to take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas to everyone. So Merry Christmas. It may be a bit early but I wish you all a wonderful winter holiday.
I am still here in Japan with a few days left until I depart for India. My flight leaves on the 25th actually, with a 10 hour stop over in Hong Kong. That means I’ll be spending most of Christmas in Hong Kong. I’ll be with my good friend Dan. The two of us hope to find a nice restaurant where we can enjoy a somewhat Christmasy meal. I’m thinking Peking Duck. It sure would beat the fried chicken Japanese people get from KFC this time of year. But even if we can’t find a place that’s worthwhile I still expect to have a splendid feast on the 24th. I’ll be hosting a Christmas Eve Dinner at my house. I’m not so sure how many people will come but it should be a festive affair.
To add to the Christmas feel the snows came early this year. We had a 24 hour period of snowfall over the weekend that has yet to melt away. It first started on Friday before lunch, and the students saw it coming down while in class. They all ran up to the window and shouted with joy. The home room teacher had to remind them that it was still English time to get them to sit back down. However, 45 minutes later, after they finished eating lunch, the kids shuffled outside and played with more energy than usual. I joined in for a game of cops and robbers.
Anyhow, I’m over the snow now. It is nice to look at but to live with it is a pain. My biggest complaint is having to clear the windshield of my car every morning. And even if there is no snow it still frosts over. The weather here is simply that cold. Maybe I sound like a wuss complaining about frost but that is how I am having been raised in Southern California. Anywhere I go and spend a great length of time the weather will be awful by comparison.
I can't tell you how much I miss the mild winters in San Diego. I always have. It would make no difference if I spent one hundred winters here, my feelings would never change. The cold is not for me. I suffer immensely during this time of year. And that is why I am leaving to go somewhere warmer. I only wish my respite was more than two weeks. Upon returning to Japan it will be January, the coldest of all months. Oh how I dread working the third and final semester. My schools have practically no heating. It is so bad that I never take off my jacket. And even then I am shivering. The students look at me and ask why I am so cold. I tell them it is because I am not used to Japanese weather. Then they ask me how many layers of clothing I am wearing. I tell them six. They laugh. Most of them only have on a T-shirt and pull over. I don’t know how they survive like that.
