Holiday Wrap-Up

Hope everyone had fun during the holidays! I did. Which is good, because I thought that I might get depressed being away from my family and such. But, my dorm mates and I kept busy enough to keep the homesickness at bay! I'm really blessed for the good friends I have been able to make here in Japan.

On Christmas Eve, the girls and I decided to head back to Roppongi for the Christmas market. We thought it would put us right in the Christmas mood! The market itself was rather small, but there was tons of good food! The market is hosted by the German consulate (or something) and so there was a distinct European flair about the market. There were only about twelve booths, but the decorations on each one were beautiful!

I didn't buy any Christmas decorations because I was afraid that they wouldn't make the trip back to the U.S. very well. But, I did have lots of yummy food. I had a curry hot dog, which was very delicious. Along with a really tasty cup of hot chocolate. And then I had to go back and get a pretzel. Which was warm and soft and just what I wanted to wrap up the day with!!

 

Overall, it was a very productive day and I was happy to spend it with friends.

Christmas itself was pretty low key. We did a really quick White Elephant exchange, in which I got a mug and hot chocolate mix, and then kind of just stayed in the lounge on our computers until the evening. However, other people in the apartment decided to commandeer the lounge for a Christmas party. So, I decided to hide out in my room until a few friends and I decided to go to Ikebukuro to go game center hopping. In which I spent too much money on the crane games. But! I did end up getting a giant stuffed cat. Though I'm not entirely sure how I am going to be getting it back to the states... 

After we game hoped, the girls I was with wanted to go to the anime store near by. I haven't really watched or read anime in a very long time, but I was surprised by how many of the character goods I recognized. The anime store is huge, an entire department store, eight floors, that is devoted to anime and manga. We didn't stay too long (I think we only explored six of the floors) before we decided to go to a restaurant for Christmas dinner. There is an Italian chain here in Japan that one of the girls wanted to try, so I had a pizza for Christmas dinner. I was surprised by how tasty it was! I very well might go again! 

And that was the end of Christmas celebrations! Now its time to start preparing to go back to school and make some New Year's plans. Because, New Year's is the big holiday here in Japan. And it is celebrated much differently than in the states. I'll keep you all updated!