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Purin_kun
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Name: James
Country: Japan
Metro: Osaka
Birthday: 6/24/1981
Gender: Male
Interests: Politics, Computers.
Expertise: Japanese isn't bad, but it's far from perfect; no poking fun.
Occupation: Elementary School EFL Teacher
Industry: Education
Message: message me
Member Since:
6/26/2003
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Happy Thanksgiving!
 
I am happy to report that I had my first decent Thanksgiving tonight since coming to Japan in August 2003. In previous years, I had work during the day (last year, at night as well), but this year, Thanksgiving coincided with the Japanese Thanksgiving! There is actually no Thanksgiving tradition here, but it did give me the day off.
To be honest, Thanksgiving makes me much more homesick than any other holiday. Christmas, New Years, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Valentine's Day are all celebrated in some way here, and I can pick up eggs and fireworks at a convenience store 5 minutes walk from my apartment, so DIY Easter and Fourth of July celebrations are possible as well.
In my heart, however, Thanksgiving is tied to family much more than the other holidays, which makes it impossible to have the perfect Thanksgiving as long as I'm in Japan. I can't pay the airfare for the 20 or so family members my parents host every year, and Grandma doesn't fly anyway. Two years ago, I made cardboard cutouts of the brothers and a few other relatives and sat them around the table in Kami-cho for Chicken Namba, Umeboshi, Kabocha, and Mashed Potatoes, but it just wasn't the same. In fact, when I floated the idea of doing it again this year to Natsuko, she said that it sounded downright creepy! I guess that just goes to show that we still have some cultural barriers to break down. Maybe next year, if I'm still here, we can get some of those robots that Honda is working on.
Anyways, even a small Thanksgiving in Japan is a tall order. Procuring a turkey is possible, but it is expensive and there are only two stores in this region that have them (that I am aware of, anyway). Plus, ovens are a rarity in Japan, and there was no way I could host a dinner in my shoebox apartment even if I had one. So, Natsuko and I scoured event listings and settled on the turkey dinner offered at this place. We went with friends and had a great time. There was turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie! Sorry if this doesn't sound as exotic as I'm trying to make it!
 Natsuko and Laura with food.
Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Hopefully I'll be back again in a few weeks to make it TWO whole entries for 2006.
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| HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!
 
Weekend before last, Natsuko and I went to Ikeda City for Zack and
Helen's Halloween Party, where we made jack-o-lanterns. Though
you can't tell from the pictures, the pumpkins are small green
Japanese ones, not the North American oranges, which will run you at
least $20 a piece here.
In the close up shot, the pumpkin on the left is Natsuko's, and the one
on the right is mine. This was her first-ever attempt at a
jack-o-lantern! Hers was voted "Cutest" of the group, while I
won for "Most Handicapped."
I was just happy mine came out better than the jack-o-lantern Art and I
made back in 2003, when we hosted a pumpkin carving in Kami-cho. Poor Jack had a painfully extreme
cleft palate!
Some post-event plastic surgery fixed him right up though! You never did see a pumpkin with a bigger smile.
Art, Eriko, and Ray:
Goodbye and Good Luck!
Wednesday, Arthur and Eriko are moving to Ottawa, where Art's family
lives. To review for all the folks back in the states, since I
never post anymore, Eriko was my supervisor when I first arrived in
Kami-cho on JET. Eriko had just married Art, a former JET, just a
few weeks before. Art was the senpai (senior/mentor) for me and
all the other area JETs when I lived in Hyogo Prefecture. I have
missed our political discussions (right-wing Canadians are really
hard to come by in Japan), lifting time at the Nishiwaki gym, and
Art's...boisterous cultural insensitivity since I moved to Osaka, and
it is sad to think that he won't be around when I visit Kami-cho this
weekend.
Art and Eriko, you will be missed, and I wish the both of you and little Ray (not pictured) the best of
luck in Canada.
Supposedly, they won't be back to visit for two
years. Will I still be here then?!?
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| UNFUFILLED PROMISES
Start updating again? Well, that didn't happen. In the meantime, I have moved to the big city, OSAKA, and started a new job. My apartment is incredible and visitors are always welcome. I'm now under an hour from Kansai International Airport by public transportation, for those of you in the US. Very convenient. Come on over!
Also, I will be home in the US from August 9th-25th. I will send out emails, since I don't think anyone reads this anymore. Let me know when you will be around. I may be in Avalon (shore town in southern NJ) with family August 13th-19th, which puts me closer to DC. Visitors are welcome there too.
Time to email... It's late, I'm at an internet cafe, and need to get home to sleep.
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| I'M NOT DEAD YET!
***BIG NEWS***
So, I know, I know, I suck. No real updates in over a year.
In my defense, I have been very busy. So, what's new? Well,
I'm still in Kami-cho, still at the same job, though come August I will
move to Osaka, a major city about 2.5 hours away. This will allow
me to lead a more active social life and let me see more of some
important people. For those of you who haven't talked to me
recently, last summer I met a wonderful girl named Natsuko, and we've
been together ever since. Some people asked me for pictures of
her, but I was less than forthcoming. Finally though, I have some
good ones of us to share with all of you! Have a look! Click to
enlarge.
So, those are some pretty sweet pictures of us with Natsuko's cousin's
baby, huh? A few more pics to tide you over until the next update.
PS - It's not certain, but I may be back home for a week or two in early August.
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| HAPPY ENGLISH
‘æ‚P˜b
NOW UP FOR DOWNLOAD!
RIGHT CLICK -> HERE <- AND SELECT "SAVE AS" TO DOWNLOAD!
*Please save the file to disk before watching!*
The file is the first episode of my cable access tv show! I talked about it back in December. Sorry I haven't been updating; hopefully this is the first of many new updates! The picture is my school in Spring, it has nothing to do with the video. I'll take this episode down next week and put up the second one! | | |
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