Stephanie- Christmas Mochiyori party

Christmas Mochiyori Party

I've finally uploaded all the pictures from the Christmas and New Years holidays, so here are some images to go along with my last post. These are from the Christmas party we had with some neighbors and friends in the community center that is part of the apartment complex we live in. Even though I didn't have a big American style Christmas celebration with lots of family like we usually have in the U.S., it was kind of like we created a big family with neighbors and friends of all ages coming together to celebrate, so it was really nice.

We all helped decorate the community center to make it more festive for the occasion.

We even had a little fiber optic Christmas tree that my host mom borrowed from a friend.

Everyone brought a different dish to share at the mochiyori, or potluck party. I made eggnog
(my first attempt!), which turned out pretty well and was something new for everyone.

My host sister made this cake in the shape of a yule tide log.

Christmas chicken

After dinner, the kids took turns trying to break a makeshift piñata made from rolled up newspaper and tape. It worked though (proof below)!

Ame! (Candy!)

The balloon decorations also doubled as a really great toy.

Comments

Stephanie-こんにちは！Konnichiwa! Hello!

こんにちは！Konnichiwa! Hello! My host sister Asuka and I in 小えど, Japan Hi everyone! My name is Stephanie, but in Japan I've already been given the nickname Su-chan　す－ちゃん (su from Stephanie since the Japanese pronunciation is su-teh-fah-nee, and -chan is added to the end of a name when you are speaking to a younger person or a friend), so you can call me Su-chan! I am one of the five Hippo interns working in the LEX headquarters office in Tokyo this year. In addition to me, from Wisconsin, the intern team is made up of Tino from Mexico, Sakun and Ken Ken from China, and Hiu-chan from Korea. It's great to have such an international group! Before coming to Japan I attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a degree in fine art. During that time I also worked for Wisconsin 4-H International Programs, which is how I first learned about Hippo through the 4-H/Hippo summer and yearlong exchanges. Last summer I had the opportun...

Daniel- Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 「メリークリスマス」　(Daniel) A knock came at the door around eight in the evening, just as we were finishing eating dinner. I yelled out, " IRANAI～～～ ", meaning "we don't need it", pretending that it was some late working door-to-door salesman. My host mom laughed and went to answer the door. She came back carrying a huge USPS box from America. Oops. Just kidding. I need that. I really need that. My parents in the US decided to surprise me for Christmas by mailing me a box of my favorite items from America. They somehow managed to pack a pair of pants, two jars almond butter, five boxes of gum, four giant chucks of halva , and four packages of chocolate. I have no idea how my parents managed to shove all of that stuff into such a small box. But knowing my parents, there is always a way. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to receive my gift. Although my parents told me about the package beforehand, its physical presence was so overwhelming. I fe...

Daniel- I have Guests!

I Have Guests! [訪れていた] (Daniel) After a trip to the Middle East, my sister and her husband decided to return to the US flying over Asia instead of Europe, so that they could stop by in Japan and say "Hi". Y-A-A-A-A-Y. It felt really good to see some family after seven months away. Unfortunately, the two of them could only stay for 3 days, so we were quite busy during that time. The three of us visited obvious famous places like Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, and Akihabara. But I personally enjoyed going to a park where we did the tea ceremony in a tea house on the park's pond. The two of them found it strange that there were no chairs and the process to drink some tea was so formal. I guess I didn't really think about it, I have become so used to traditional tea ceremonies that they don't seem strange to me anymore. I guess I'm becoming a local I also really enjoyed introducing my sister and brother-in-law to my co-work...

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