The best thing about celebrating Christmas in a country that doesn't count it as a holiday is that all the shops are open. I think I have gone out every night for the past couple of nights and partied. Dinner party with my host family, karaoke, and clubbing. The later two had me up all night untill we could take the first train back. Heh.

Yesterday the international students all got together and had a potluck dinner. When I made my dish only 10 people had signed up, so when I looked at the list later I got worried that I would not have enough because the list had trippled. But there was plenty of food so it wasn't a problem. One of my peers was a bit frazzled because no one knew e v e r y t h i n g that was going on. I want to say this: just because there is not one person leading the whole event does not mean things are out of control. Even though there were several things/ideas going on that the 'organizers' didn't know about didn't make it any less difficult or crazy. The most important part is to have fun. Please remember that.

While we are all thinking about food I want to highly recommend that if you go abroad to buy some cookbooks in that country. Sure you can buy 'Japanese' cookbooks in America, but maybe you noticed that they are mostly sushi dishes. I bought two already here and the food is so different than what are in the cookbooks in America. I haven't made every dish yet because translating the receipes are time consuming. Not only does it help with learning the language but you can try local dishes that will be cheaper than buying imported produce like we are used to.

Posted by Mandy Ackley at 5:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recently I took a trip to Osaka with one of my friends. There were two things I heard about it before I got there; the people were friendly and that the shopping was really great. I have decieded that neither are good reasons to go. I thought the people were ruder and pushier than those in Nagoya and that the shopping was the same as other places I have been in Japan. So I would not recommend going somewhere with the expectation to go shopping. I had intended to buy a whole new outfit and the only clothing I bought was a scarf (only because it was very cold).

On the other hand I don't think it's too terrible to go somewhere not knowning before hand what you want to see. At the shinkansen station there was a tourist center which was very helpful. We found out about a Christmas market that was really fun, especially since Japan doesn't celebrate Christmas like we do in America. But when I do go to Tokyo I know exactly some things I must do there.

I think the best place in Osaka was Osaka Castle. It was amazingly beautiful! I was really happy that the history museum on the inside had an English translation of everything. I read them all trying to remember as much as I could about the history. Understanding why the castle is significant makes me appreciate it more. The museum in Nagoya Castle does not have much English and therefore I found it rather boring. Learning = interesting.

Posted by Mandy Ackley at 4:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)