Friday:
Friday morning we skyped home a bit before rolling out of bed. We had to prepare for our party, and by doing so we needed to go to the 100 yen store to get a few things. It’s in Taragi, which is too far to walk, but I wanted to see how long it would take by bike. It felt so good to be back on a bicycle. I haven’t ridden a bike since July, and it was great! The bike is built for a Japanese person, so it’s a little too small for me, and I kind of feel like an ape on a tricycle, but I’m happy to have a bike! I rode to the store, and it only took me about fifteen minutes to get there. Granted, my butt hurt once I dismounted, and my hands were frozen but bottom line: I have a bike, and I love it!!! I got paper cups and plates at the store, but for the life of me I couldn’t find paper towels, so I rode back to Yunomae and stopped at the super market for some.
Our party was fabulous! I was a bit concerned that we wouldn’t be able to cram ten people into our tiny little house, but we did! Everyone got very close and cozy. We already had pizza toppings cut and dough prepared, so when friends arrived with cheese, we made some and threw them in the oven. A sad thing about Japanese houses is that they are wired very differently than American houses. For example, we have only a few plug ins and many appliances, so generally we have a power strip feeding off a power strip feeding off a power strip plugged into the wall. Fire hazard?….nah! We also only have one breaker box, so if we have too many appliances on at one time, that thing is going to go. It went three different times. Our little breaker just couldn’t take the pressure of our heater, oven, and two lights on. We had to make priorities. The oven continued. We turned off the heater and turned on the kotatsu, (a traditional Japanese heater. It looks like a coffee table, but the underneath side is a heater. The top of the table comes off, and you drape a fire-proof blanket over it and place the top back on. By sticking your legs under it, you give your body the illusion of being warm.) and turned off the light in the kitchen. That’s right, we used the dim light from the living room to make pizzas in the kitchen. Oh, Japan!
Everyone said that they had a great time. We ate, drank, and were merry! When we finally had our fill of pizza, we moved onto dessert. Amanda had made chocolate mousse and blueberry muffins, and they were fantastic! Once the oven was off, we were able to turn the heater on again and became very cozy. Unfortunately, the party ended a little early since Mary’s boyfriend wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t realize it, but it was the 2nd annual Reed Christmas party! We also had one last year, and I think it’s a tradition that we will continue to keep.
Saturday
I wanted to make Christmas Eve breakfast, so I used the leftover ingredients from the pizza toppings to make omelettes. We spent the morning lying around and the afternoon cleaning up after the party. Despite the fact that we used paper plates and cups, we still had an entire sink full of dirty dishes, and since we made pizzas in the dark, the kitchen floor was covered in dropped pizza toppings, so I had to sweep. I thought about going for another bike ride, but it was just way too cold outside, and it’s just too easy to stay snuggled under the kotatsu. I want to live under there! (Once again, I’ll say how much I can NOT wait for spring!)
We drove to Hitoyoshi that night for Christmas Eve Mass. It started snowing on our way there, which was special since it was Christmas. Don’t get too excited. It didn’t stick or anything. It was just enough that we could see it in the headlights. We actually have a funny story about Mass. We live in Japan, meaning that we always take our shoes off and put on slippers before entering a building. It’s a routine that we have gotten accustomed to. When we went to church on Saturday night, we did just that. When we went inside, of course we stuck out like sore thumbs. One of the church ladies that speaks English gave us a print out that had the readings and some of the Mass parts in English so that we could follow along. I guess it’s universal no matter where you go that Christmas Mass will be packed. That was the most people I’ve seen in that church. When Mass was over, we were invited no less than five times to a little reception in the monastery. Since everyone basically leaves at the same time, there’s always a little crowding in the foyer to put shoes on and get out. I quickly went to my shoes and stood outside waiting on Ian. It was taking longer than normal, so I peeked my head around the doorway and asked him what the deal was. He said, “Melissa, I can’t find my shoes.” I asked, “What do you mean you can’t find your shoes?” He said, “They’re not here.” I thought it was funny, so I laughed. Apparently that was NOT the reaction I should have given. He didn’t find it so funny. I told him to get out of the way of the others, let them find their shoes, and then I’d help him. I thought that maybe someone accidentally moved them. Once most of the people cleared, I went back inside confident that Ian had just overlooked them. We looked in all of the shoe cubbies, under the steps, and even went to the second entrance of church just IN CASE someone for some reason moved them there. There was a slight oh-my-gosh-what-are-we-going-to-do moment of panic. We honestly didn’t understand how someone had taken Ian’s shoes. Asian feet are tiny! How would some guy have mixed that up? I asked a passing woman about it. While my Japanese skills aren’t THAT great, I was able to point at Ian’s socked feet and explain that the shoes weren’t there. She immediately went around the church yard asking other Japanese men if they accidentally took the foreigner’s shoes. A few guys returned showing us the shoes that they had on their feet. Clearly they were their own. (Ian doesn’t exactly wear a size 4.) At about this time, Fr. Mike (who is from Ireland) rounded the corner and said “I think I grabbed the wrong shoes” as he carried in Ian’s. We all had a good laugh about that.
After Mass, we went to the reception. It was basically a bunch of older people laughing and talking. We got a bag of goodies and two oranges. Everyone wanted to talk to us, but our language skills just aren’t up to par, especially for old man slur. 
We stayed for about thirty minutes before leaving. Both of us were hungry, so we called David, who lives in Hitoyoshi, to see if he wanted to eat with us. We went to a café that is more like a classy diner and has great hamburgers. Our Christmas Eve meal was a burger and fries! Yay for new traditions! After dinner, David invited us back to his apartment. He is also going to Osaka for New Year’s, so he helped us book an overnight bus. We’re all going on the same bus. I feel MUCH more secure about that. I’m sure Ian and I would have been able to fumble our way around and eventually find the right bus, but it’ll be 1,000 times easier with someone who can read and understand Japanese! I was telling Ian that I’m a little nervous about traveling alone in Japan. I’ve been to places like Portugal, Italy, and France where I didn’t understand the language, but I could always manage because (for the most part) they use the same alphabet as English, and those languages are all somewhat similar to Spanish. Japanese is COMPLETLEY different, and we’re both COMPLETELY illiterate in it. 
I’m going to stop here to avoid making this blog so long, but the next one will be about Christmas, so continue reading!
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