Japanese Christmas dinner = Kentucky Fried Chicken?!

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So that's Christmas for another year. Although, in Japan, 'Christmas' was very unlike the Christmas back home. My host sister went to school to study (yes, school, on Christmas day), my host parents were working. I was like, what a bunch of Grinches! But fair enough, Christmas just isn't a big deal here. They do have some Christmas customs though - apparently eating KFC is one of these. On Christmas Eve, we drove past a KFC takeout place, and there was a line so long that it went out of the shop and all the way onto the street. So I wasn't completely surprised when, for tea tonight, there was a familiar looking red and white box containing pieces of 'original recipe' chicken on the table. Merry Christmas, indeed.
After tea we had a very beautifully decorated German Christmas cake, which, before eating, we all said 'itadakimasu!' Talk about a multi-cultural Christmas - American takeout, German cake, and Japanese set phrases. Weird...

The other day we went to stay overnight at my host sister's grandmother's house. That was... interesting. And scary. The house was very traditional, and I felt kind of like an intruder. I disgraced myself by wearing my slippers on the special tatami mats, which is a big NO. Luckily, I realised right away, and was able to quickly kick them off, and shriek apologies at anyone who would listen. I just got laughed at, so I think I was forgiven. We went to a shrine, which was very beautiful, although the effect was slightly ruined by the Coca Cola vending machines that were everywhere. It's kind of a contradiction, you're looking at a statue of a special buddha or samurai or whoever，and then right beside is a tacky, western 'enjoy Coca-Cola' sign.


I will now go and have my shower, which I do enjoy. It's like a sauna room; it's really hot, and the shower thingy is much lower than a normal shower - it's designed so you can detach it. And there's a big mirror, which is a strange room to have it in, I suppose - but it's quite cool because it's a very good place to practise Asian poses - peace signs, cheesy grins... yes.

I have just spent the last 10 minutes writing out the lyrics of 'Umbrella' by Rihanna for my host mother and sister, who want to practise it in English for Karaoke. GAH. There are only so many times you can write out 'Ella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh' without going insane. I think my host sister is doing a 'neat copy' at the moment, so apparently my handwriting doesn't agree with her. Ah well.

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Comments

[Monica]

Merry Christmas, Siobhan! The ridiculous time-change makes me kind of late, but I hope that's ok. It's kind of sad to hear of the vast commercialization. Is your host family planning on taking you to a rural, and hopefully less-touched area sometime during your stay? Ah well, I guess that kind of thing can't really be blocked out completely.

[Beckie]

KFC Christmas
Hamish had KFC for christmas too. EWWW Umbrella. I thought you would've seen the back of that in Japan. Guess not.

[Kim]

Mmm, KFC. But what a weird custom, LOL! I suppose it could be a bit difficult to get through a turkey or a ham with chopsticks. Traditional with like, the really thin walls and sliding doors? That;s awesome, I'd have loved to've seen it. =D We have a big mirror in our bathroom, I love it! Once you get used to it and you use a bathroom without one, it's a bit disappointing. That song...catchy, but I still don't know if I like it. I think it's a bit crap, on the whole. But so catchy!