the holiday season

So while trying to survive this week`s safe-ride style bus drivers and writing pages about how badly i miss western food, ive been forced to think alot about spending the holidays in japan. the christmas decorations have come much earlier here because no one`s celebrating thanksgiving. it looks the same as christmas in america for the most part...theyre even building a huge christmas tree in front of the civic center (i was there for an international cultural festival saturday; it was dissappointing that i was the only non-asian person at the event but it was still a lot of fun...there was even live music), maybe even a north pole and santa for the kids.

but i cant help wishing i were going to boston and nyc next week with my favorite cute coworker who was all excited about practicing his english on me and asking me a zillion question about tourist sites-i didnt mind at all :) he`s going to the MRS conference next week in boston and then another conference in d.c. via ny where he plans to stop at some famous jazz clubs. i love traditions and family and all the holiday cheer and drama and food and snow. plus i`ve only missed thanksgiving once, and ive always been home for christmas. plus i absolutely love broadway shows during the holiday season, and ive seen the nutcracker in philly or boston pretty much every year for the past 8 years now. but ive been trying to convince myself that celebrating the holiday season in japan is a once in a lifetime experience and i shouldnt be searching for cheap flights home...i mean how many westerners can say that they celebrated the new year in tokyo clubs (14 hrs early too!) and prayed at shinto shrines and buddhist temples and then visited the emperor in his palace on new year`s day? and who could forget the new christmas cake tradition? but im still tempted to give up all that for my family`s traditional 7ft+ tall christmas tree shopping and candied yams and going to church with the `chreasters`. there`s no comparison; even a trip to hokkaido and beijing would be a distant second.

as much as i love family traditions though, i love traveling and new adventures just as much so im preparing for the holidays in japan. to add some western touches, im buying an artificial christmas tree for my apartment and im on the lookout for things like eggnog and candy canes. i plan on spending the new years in tokyo with the mit tokyo group to do all those traditional things mentioned above and christmas with hitachi people unless i can find a not too expensive trip to kyushuu, hokkaido or beijing/shanghai, especially if it includes a ship ride. we have a 4-day weekend for christmas and then 3 work days (personal holidays?) and then another 6 days off to bring in the new year, so i could spend chrismas on the beaches of a kyushuu island or skiing up in hokkaido and then head back to tokyo for new years eve. hmmm...except for the missed turkey dinner, maybe it wont be so bad afterall.