Moving forward

I'm terrible at resolutions.  I'm all gung-ho about them in the beginning, then, at about May or so, I lose steam and forget about them all together.

But that doesn't stop me from setting some goals for myself anyway.

I bought this Daruma doll at the Hokkaido shrine on New Year's day.  You paint one eye, and make a goal or wish for yourself.  When you've accomplished the goal, you can paint the other eye.  I figured this will be a nice reminder to keep at it this year.  So here's what's up for 2012;

• BE MORE ADVENTUROUS

I've always veered on the side of caution my whole life.  This year, I want to take more chances, and step out of my comfort zone a bit.  Does that mean I'll be jumping out of a plane this year?  Heck no, but it does mean that I'm gonna speak more Japanese, more hiking, be more active, and maybe even take up skiing lessons.  

• MORE QUALITY TIME WITH MY MAN

Nathan and I have been married for 13 years, so it's easy to get into a routine, even when living overseas.  We're making it a priority to have at least one date a month - just a special time for the two of us where we can connect with each other.  This is actually starting today: Nathan booked us a room at a spa in Jozankei where we're gonna get massages, soak in hot springs, and just hang out with each other.  A great way to start the year, I'd say!

• LEARN TO PLAY MY UKELELE

It's about time I learned an instrument, and I've always like the ukelele, ever since I used to play around with my mom's as a kid.  I can't wait to be able to play old songs from the 1930s!

Well, there you have it.  Here's to a great new year!!

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

There's no doubt that Japan is a country rich in traditions, and one of the best times to see these traditions in action is The New Year.  This year, we were lucky to have several of our Japanese friends invite us into their homes to celebrate New Year with their friends and family.

On New Year's Eve, we went to my Japanese teacher's house, where we ate tons of yummy food and watched the New Year's music shows on TV.  Midnight came, we said "Happy New Year!" to each other, but that was as much partying as we saw that night.  We woke up the next morning to meet a friend who had invited us to to the Hatsumoude (the first shrine visit of the new year) with him and his friends.

The Hokkaido Shrine (the largest in Sapporo) was packed with people!  We eventually made our way to the entrance, where we threw a coin at the entrance of the shrine to wish for good luck.  Next, we each bought an omikuji, a small paper fortune, and tied it to special areas in the shrine for them to come true.

My omikuji.  Apparently I have little fortune, I'm going to have success in business this year, and I'm going to find something that I've lost.

Ethan has the most good luck out of us all, and his fortune also said that he'll get a girlfriend this year.  Awwwwww!!!!

Ethan tying his omikuji with the others.

Next, we bought an emi, a small wooden plaque to write our wish on for the new year.

Can you tell which emi is ours?

After our shrine visit, Kazunari's friend was kind enough to invite us to her house to eat lunch with her and her family.

Food eaten during the new year is called Osechi.  We ate lots of sashimi, crab, and other seafood and vegetables.  We spent several hours just talking and eating.  Her family was delightful, and we all managed to have a great time despite my struggling Japanese ability.

Ethan found a friend in the family who played guitar, and they spent most of the afternoon playing various songs.  He even learned some Jimi Hendrix songs.

Later that evening, we were off to meet another family who we'd become friends with and to partake in more eating and drinking.  They had two small boys who found us particularly interesting, until the food came out, then they tore into the chicken and departed to play games.  The grandfather of the house was particularly interesting, and when we started bringing out 800 year old tea cups and old gun replicas, I knew that this was a man that I wanted to get to know.  He took a special interest in Ethan, since Ethan told him he was interested in Japanese history.  That's when all the pictures came out: WWII pics of Japanese zeros, pictures he'd taken in Kyoto, each with a story he loved telling (he'd been taking English classes and was eager to practice his English with us.  By the end of the night, he'd given us a Japanese lithograph that was over 100 years old.  I would've taken pictures of all this, but I'd had so much to eat and drink by then that taking pictures was the last thing on my mind.

One thing we've missed by living in Japan during the holidays is that connection of family you always feel this time of year.  So it was so nice for these families to take into their lives for this brief moment and really make us feel like we were a part of their family.  And I think that's what traditions are all about - not only a way to connect with your family, but a way to connect with other people.   I think all three of us can agree that yesterday was one of the best days we've spent in Japan thus far.  Here's to many more of those days to come in 2012!

Hello 2011!!!

A new year in a new country, man, I never thought I'd ever say that! The boys and I had a pretty low-key New Years Eve celebration. We played Just Dance, and had a Studio Ghibli movie marathon until midnight. New Year's morning we slept in pretty late, so much so that we missed breakfast, so we decided to go backwards and eat lunch and then breakfast for dinner, it was just a backwards kind of day. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house, since most stores are shut down for the day. New Year's Day is an important holiday for Japanese, and certain foods and drink are taken throughout the day. Children are also given money, just like during Chinese New Year (but don't tell Ethan!) We started feeling a little cabin-feverish today, so after getting groceries, we headed out to the Hokkaido Shinto Shrine. It's traditional for Japanese to pay a visit to their shrine during one of the first three days of the new year, so we thought it'd be interesting the check it out.

The entrance to the shrine had this huge rope with paper hanging down. This means this is a holy place to the Japanese.

Me and Ethan in front of the Shrine. People were lining up in front of the doors of the shrine, throwing a 5 yen coin at the entrance, and then saying a prayer. There was also something going on inside, but I'm not sure what it was.

In the pine trees surrounding the shrine, people had tied what I believe are their wishes or prayers for the new year on the branches.

This was another smaller shrine on the grounds. There weren't as many people here, I wonder what it's for exactly?

After that we walked around Odori Park and looked at the Christmas lights in the park one last time before they take them down. It's still pretty snowy and icy around, with lots of big snow hills from the plows. Ethan couldn't help but check one out next to our apartment.

So I guess this is the part of the blog where I should be reflective and talk about what a great year 2010 was, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, it was a great year, with lots of HUGE changes. I mean, we moved to another country, for goodness sake! It's hard to believe that we've been here now for 5 months, and just to let everyone know, I've re-contracted for another year, so we'll be staying 2 years in Sapporo!! I just couldn't help it, after talking with Nathan, we decided that this first year in Japan has just gone too fast, and we're settling in so well. There's so many more things we want to experience, and another year just seemed like the right thing to do. There's no doubt that the last 5 months have been some of the best times of my life, and I think this year is going to be even better.

I'm not one for resolutions, because I never keep them. But I do have some GOALS for myself in 2011:

• Have a conversation in Japanese
• Get back in touch with my crafty side, like start knitting again.
• Set aside time to connect with Ethan and Nathan. More hugs all around!!
• Set up a garden in the summer on my balcony

I don't think these goals will be too hard to accomplish! So goodbye 2010, nice knowing ya, and can't wait to see what 2011 has in store!