すみません。。。 HAPPY 2006!!!

It's been a while...
I sit here feeling shame more than anything; not one blasted excuse for taking 2 months to update this blog. Pure slackness. Anyway that's all in the past isn't it?! This is a time for new beginnings, forgiveness for past faults and embracement of new and improved future (so put away the pitchfork, sickle and flambeaux and I'll promise to write more often... ignore that my fingers are crossed behind as well)

Anywho... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2006 is here and there is still so much about 2005 that I am still overwhelmed by and trying to figure out. And of course there is still so much that I have to show you all about beautiful Japan. For the while me just start at where I am right now and later on I'll do like the best movies do and give flash-backs of good times gone.

My first Japanese Christmas was quite quiet. As we all know, here is not like the Christian founded western world. So even here in Nagasaki, one of the cities with the most Christians in Japan, didn't have much spirit at all. The most I saw was a week of Christmas activity in the seasonally adorned Nagasaki Train Station (music bands, dance groups, giveaways that kinda thing) and a flood in the malls on Christmas eve, of Japanese people who, even the day before, didn't even seem to know when Christmas was. (actually when I asked the question in the last week of class it was met most with silence and well and of course with the chatter of those students who are not even remotely interested in English let alone 'Kurisumasu'). And being the Japanese man I am (no comments necessary) I almost forgot that a holiday was coming up.

Welcome to the working world Allan, as well. For the first time in my life as well, there was no beautiful holiday leading up to Christmas day until sometime after New Year's Day. Only wonderful Japanese efficiency working right up to the 28th of December (I don't think it's healthy to shock a person like that... oh gorm! at lest give a black man a 3 days nah...steups). Anyways those days (23rd-28th Dec) at school were great actually. Did a lot of sport activity with student clubs (like volleyball, kendo and of course track & field). Even went for my first bit of ice skating (mad fun... and of course, I'm a natural). Christmas day I spent the day with Sandy (other Trini here... we apparently are the only ones that haven't left the country for the holidays. The other Trinis: Brigid is in Australia, Lesleann is in England, and Abby is Cambodia... boy do I sound boring to be in Japan). We had lunch at a Japanese restaurant and watched some movies.

Which is more or less the same we did today on New Year's Day. We were supposed to go hiking to watch the year's first sunrise with a small hiking group, but missed the alarm and got up late. (Don't worry at 12am Japan time after a call from my mommy:-D, I took a walk and said some prayers for all you back home. I was expecting more calls since I distinctly remember mailing my number to everyone... Jus' watch allyuh go see. Doh ask what yuh know! doh worry yuh go see!). Anyways we cooked up a storm since that is what the Japanese do for the new year; I called one of my teachers last night and she said she was in the kitchen for the past 3 days and had about 2 hrs before the "Oshougatsu" feast was finished. And travelling from the city back home yesterday almost everyone on the tram was carrying bags of food. So why be the foreigner, eh? Buy food man!
We cooked Kyushu White Chicken (my specialty), macaroni pie (Sandy's baby), boiled provisions (collaboration), fresh salad (joint effort), sushi (we bought), fried chicken (we reheated), and fried shrimp (we recooked). It was beautiful and we couldn't eat all but it always feels good to be stuffed.

Anyway as usual I'm rambling about nothing. Hope you all had a great season and I wish you all the best for 2006．Laterz
明けましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。またね.

P.S. from now I think I will write shorter blogs... easier for you to read, easier for me to write regularly. Well call that resolution I guess. Not sure how well it will stand but I'll try.　がんばります。