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Published: November 21st 2009
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Skating Rink
This was the surprise skating rink waiting for me at the mall. Neat eh? Despite a distinct lack of snow, it only takes on short trip to Nagoya to solidify that the Christmas Season has indeed arrived in Japan. You wouldn't know it out in my quiet shanty town, but in the big city there are lights and Christmas trees galore, skating rinks in the shopping mall and Christmas music playing in every other store. It was almost like being back at home - but not quite. One huge difference between Japan and home is that here is about 10 degrees warmer and there is a distinct lack of snow. I have yet to see a drop, in the sky or on the ground.
Despite the lack of snow, I still managed to get a good chunk of my Christmas shopping done. Managed to grab some presents for Sara to help fulfill her wish list and then a few little snacks for the people back home. I actually went shopping for myself for the first time since August which was pretty nice. I had to get a few things before I visit the boy up north next week - like long underwear, warm socks, mittins, etc. Don't need those things down here but Akita
might as well be Canada and they don't have central heating. I don't plan on spending my birthday weekend freezing my tush off so I figured it was best if I went prepared for the cold.
I managed to get a lot of things on sale which was great news for my bank account. There was an adorable pair of soft brown leather boots calling my name (and they fit, too!) so I snapped them up for a mere $29 and managed to get a pair of jeans for $30. Yes, that's right - thank you starvation diet! I can now buy pants in Japan! This has solved many a clothing worry for me.
So I snagged a nice pair of dark denim jeans (that look fabulous with my new boots) and went about the rest of my shopping. Ended up seeing a group theater performance at the Aichi Arts Centre mini theatre. It was really well done! the first play was in Japanese with English subtitles - very dramatic, and had a tragic ending (like many Japanese stories). The second was English with Japanese subtitles. It was called The Red Onii That Cried, or something along those
Ever wonder...
about those rumours that Japanese vending machines will sell smaller bottles for the same price as larger ones? Well, they are true. lines. Well, the Onii did cry and so did the female half of the audience. We were all wiping our faces at the end.
What made the plays extra special was that Lacey and Kyle were part of the production team - Kyle was Assistant Director and Lacey was looking after ticket sales. What a fabulous duo 😊
But Christmas shopping and live theatre have nothing to do with Rakugo... or do they?
Well, Rakugo is a seated Japanese comedy. There is one performer who sits seiza and uses small props like a fan, a cloth or bamboo sticks to create props for his story. The rest is up to him (or her). My school decided to do a special Rakugo presentation and invited us to attend. It was immensely entertaining. Though I didn't understand what was being said for the most part, you didn't really need to know the exact words. Even without knowing them we were still able to appreciate the humour in every sketch.
At one point the Rakugo performer asked us to volunteer to be in a skit so I went up. It was really fun! We did a skit about being
Engrish
"It is informed by a surrounding resident that it makes noise loudly outside the shop the police. Please keep quiet outside the shop."
Apparently they only double checked the last sentence for grammar or comprehension... at a museum. Everyone said I did a really great job - even the Principal! I was pretty happy with how it turned out and definitely loved every minute of it.
Now that I'm actually getting out and experiencing more things I'm really starting to love being here again. And there's still so much more for me to see/do. How am I possibly going to fit it all in?
Headed to Akita in a week for my birthday so will definitely post an update after that.
Talk to you guys soon!
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