Winter Holiday Wrap-Up
It’s 2024! Happy new year!! 🎊🎊🎊
English conversation lessons resumed today, so it’s back to work for me.
I didn’t go back home to the Philippines because it’s always so busy during the Christmas season that I always get so tired and cannot wait to return to Japan. 😆
And so my holidays were much quieter than usual and also much less busy, but I still had a lot of fun. On Christmas day, the priest of my church hosted a Christmas dinner, so I was able to eat turkey.
His family lives in Shiga and they had a wood stove and they warmed up apple cider on it, so their house was really warm and comfy and very Christmas-y.
On January 1, I went to the local shrine for my first prayer of the year, and I went in the evening so it was really quiet and I could spend some time saying my prayer because there was no one waiting behind me.
On January 2, an older friend invited me to her house for lunch and she prepared so much food (apparently it’s typical for people in Kochi to prepare lots of food for guests). It was an impressive spread!
Even though I missed celebrating in person with my family, I actually had a good time in Japan. People invited me to their homes to spend the Christmas or new year with them, so I never felt lonely. It was great reminder that I know many people here who treat me like family. ♡
Still, I can’t wait for spring holiday so I can see my family again and enjoy the noise (so much noise 😆) around the dinner table.