Stranger in a not-so-strange land
Just wanted to say a belated Merry Christmas. Since number 2 is being stubborn and not wanting to come out on schedule, I’ve found some extra time on my hands. So I’ve posted some pictures from our holiday season here in Japan.
Dec. 24 – Tamie cooks up a storm in Ebina for Christmas Eve dinner.
Dec. 26 – Boxing Day in Japan has no sales… so we went to a park instead.
This weekend we decided since we can’t head to Ottawa for Christmas due to number 2′s impending arrival, we would try to bring Christmas here. We picked up a small (tiny, really) tree and set it up on Saturday…
Layla actually was ecstatic to have a tree of her own in the house – she decorated it and everything! Now whenever she sees Christmas lights, decorations or trees she points out that they are the same as she’s got at home. I’m really happy that she’s enjoying herself and getting into the spirit of Christmas – she’s already started asking for presents!
Sunday, we made the annual trek down to work the mikan fields to pick oranges, and oranges we did pick. Lots of oranges! It was cold when we got there but after a hard day’s work, and the sun coming out, we were fine by mid-day. Sorry, Mom – if we aren’t making the flight to Ottawa then the oranges aren’t either. =)
My birthday was on a Thursday, a very Thursday work-wise. I came home early to pick up Layla, as I usually do, and we had a nice steak meal with Tamie at home… but once Layla was in bed, I was on one laptop working away while Tamie was on her own doing the same. Not exactly a roaring celebration, although it did go into the night.
Saturday, things went a little better. After some cityhall daycare business (a long post in and of itself), and a nap while Tamie visited the dentist, we ended up heading to Isehara for a family sukiyaki party. Before getting down to business, we took a brief drive out to Akachan-Honpo, the baby store to prepare for #2′s arrival. Funny thing about the store dedicated to baby’s – it’s actually baby play area is smaller than any of the department stores I’ve ever been in. There was enough room for 4, maybe 5 kids.
When we got back to the house, the meat was already being cooked. Mmm… Sukiyaki. Just another reason that Japanese winters are better. Thanks to the in-laws for a great meal and a great time.
Sunday, there was a veggie festival in Ebina that we decided to check out. Unfortunately, it being Sunday, we woke up a bit late. By the time we got there, the area where you could actually buy vegetables was picked clean – there was 3 radishes and a single cauliflower left. It cost all of 80 yen to buy them though. A far cry from the 500 yen we paid for Layla’s cotton candy!
After a short while, the lustre of the festival wore off and we were again looking for something to do – we ended up heading in to Tokyo to check out the Shinjuku Christmas lights. They always put on a decent display and this time was no exception.
The most interesting part of the night was the area they had decorated with PET bottles (plastic drinking bottles). There was one section where they had a camera hooked up and the image was rendered on a wall of PET bottles – it’s hard to describe, and the pictures don’t do it justice, but it was cool. Next time, I’ll have to get a video.
I love going back to Canada for the holidays, hanging out with family and friends, eating until I can’t possibly eat one more bite… except for maybe just one more cookie. What I don’t love is the process of packing cramming the suitcases with more than they can hold and weighing them, repeating as necessary, until either it all fits or we have to pare it down to fit.
Ah well, a small price to pay for the holiday cheers in Ottawa.
Get ready, family. Only one more sleep. Followed by a 2 hour bus ride. Then a 12 hour flight. Then a 2 hour layover. And another 40 minute flight. Yep, it’s like we’re already there. =)
See you soon!
On Friday, Tamie called me while I was going to work to ask if I had any idea why the carbon monoxide detector in our place would be going off. Surprisingly, I had no idea. The building maintenance guy had heard it going off and called Tamie to come and check it out. By the time she got back to the apartment, the alarm was silent and everything seemed normal. As a precaution, she called the gas company and they set up an appointment on the following day to come and investigate. We spent the night at home and Tamie even cooked with our gas stove, so I suspected it was just a false alarm.
Saturday morning, pre-8am, Tamie’s dad came over to wake us up bright and mostly early. He was going to stick around our place for the gas people coming over while we took Layla to her daycare event. Tamie’s mom joined us for the fun, and what fun it turned out to be. We were scrambling to get ready and made it with seconds to spare. As such, we got stuck in the back of the room, hidden behind the two hundred other parents, and the hundred or so tripods set up. I ended up standing so I could actually see, and record, the action.
Layla did a great job in her performance, obviously not shy to be on stage. Luckily she didn’t end up headbutting anyone with her performance, although I think she did whip herself in the face once or twice. At the end of the event, she was pretty excited and clearly quite pleased with how things turned out. Tamie, as is becoming usual, was so proud she cried.
After the event, we took Layla to a local waffle shop for a fruit covered waffle. She, instead, went after the yogurt that came with Tamie’s soup and sandwich. It wasn’t until after the yogurt was done that she looked at the blueberries, strawberries and bananas that covered the ice-cream topped waffle. I tried to eat my lunch quickly so I might get a sniff of that fruit, but alas, I was too late.
Once lunch was finished, we headed to Isehara to meet up with Tamie’s dad again. Layla seemed tired, probably from going to bed late, getting up early and dancing up a storm. She tried to sleep on me as I held her on the train… unfortunately for her, it was only a ten minute ride and we were in the car with grandpa in no time. He drove us up into the mountains to meet the rest of the family for a day of picking oranges. We cleaned one of the two trees assigned to the family, Layla proudly picking (and eating) several oranges herself. Tamie scooted up the tree to pick oranges off the central top and I, being the tallest, got the dubious honour of picking the oranges that she couldn’t reach around the edges. Teamwork – it’s a wonderful thing.
We were invited for sukiyaki at the grandparents’ house, and never one to turn down a good meal, I quickly said yes. We went back to the house to drop off the oranges and take a bit of a rest. Poor Layla fell asleep in the car, just before we pulled into the driveway. We were planning on going shopping and debated just leaving her in the car to sleep but thought better of it. As soon as I unbuckled her seatbelt, though, her eyes popped open and she was wide awake again. We went inside for some tea and potato chips that Layla found. While eating them, the poor kid told me to come with her and nap on the couch. It was pretty funny… “Take a nap! Take a nap! Please! On the couch!” she pleaded.
I put the exhausted kid down on her futon, the place she usually naps, and she almost fell asleep. When baa-baa suggested buying some cake, she popped up like a jack-in-the-box. She tried to get us all to go for cake, but we told her we were taking the car and going shopping. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she weighed the options. Cake or shopping. Tough choices at such a young age. In the end, she decided to come with us as we headed out to try to do some Christmas/clothes shopping.
We headed to the shopping centre with the biggest baby store to try and find some clothes for Layla. On the way, the poor kid fought the urge to fall asleep, losing the battle just as we pulled up to the store. We sat in the parking lot for a couple minutes as she sawed logs in the back seat. After ten minutes, I picked her up and carried her into the store. When she saw we were shopping, she immediately woke up and got her second (or, more precisely, fourteenth) wind.
As we entered the baby store, Layla wanted to head to the toy department right away but we cut her off and told her after the clothes shopping. It wasn’t until recently that we noticed that all of her pants seem to end just under her knee and her gut sticks out from under her shirt. She’s already a big kid, but wearing clothes that are too small just emphasize the fact that she’s a might bit bigger than the other kids in her age group. We ended up buying her a couple different pairs of pants and shirts, as there was a good sale on. We only lost track of her once in the store, when she disappeared to find the toy section she’d been pleading with us to see.
After buying a completely new wardrobe for the little princess, we went next door to Toys R Us to see if there was anything interesting for Christmas presents. It was no surprise that Layla didn’t just find one thing interesting – she found everything interesting. From the stuffed animals in the first corner of the store to the cars and trucks in the middle and the candies and drinks at the cash register. If it were up to her, she’d have every toy in the place. Luckily, it’s not up to her and we left with cash in our wallets and room in the car.
Before heading back home for dinner, we stopped to get groceries and, more importantly, meat. At the meat store, Layla found a package with Thomas the Tank Engine on it – she had no idea what was inside but knew that she wanted it. It turned out to be a package of sausages, which she was more than happy to chow down on.
Back in Isehara, we had a nice meal with the family, and I think everyone ate too much. I know I did. After supper, Hamster and Baa-baa wanted to take Layla to see the Christmas lights on one particular house in the neighbourhood. I went along, camera in hand, to see the sight. It was quite a sight, indeed. Even in Canada, it would stick out. Layla loved it.
