Christmas Eve Dinner-The Memories

Top (Left to right)   : Cecylia Staniszewska, Marta Kornelia Śniegocka, Piotr Jan

                              Koza

Above (Left to right): Rishi Chakravarti, Martina Staroňová, Me, and Marta’s

                              mother

Christmas Eve Dinner-What a Christmas!

Ok! Let’s continuing the story!

I came to Cecylia’s room (the dinner took place here), the dinner still not finished yet. I help her and Martina the girl from Slovak to prepare the dinner. It was fun.

After the cook was ready and all the guest came we start the dinner. This dinner was in Poland way so there’s something different. First before we eat, we should take a piece of Hostia (in Polish, and in English it called Host, in Indonesian we said Hosti). After that, we came to each other and took a little piece of our friend’s host and said some wishes for our friend after finish to wishing each other we ate the host. We did that to all of people who had dinner with us. After everybody finished, we start the dinner. We talk to each other while eating. After having a great meal, it’ll be….. Hmmmmm… CAKE time! O_O Yay!!! ^_^v

The cake was delicious. It’s from Martha’s mother. And the last one after we finished the cake. It’s time to give present and… Woops! I didn’t prepare anything. I didn’t know they have a tradition like this (and so did Rishi, an Indian man). But, they said it’s ok if i didn’t prepare it because we are in a different culture. I was very happy that day. I really could feel Christmas in that room.

After having that dinner, I felt I got lots of presents with me, got lots of love from everybody. Beside the chocolate that I received from my friends, I also thought that I had a big present from my parents. They gave me life in Japan so I could met with lots of great people. I also still received sms from Indonesia and it means I still have friends that remember me even I’m not with them.

Every simple little thing really worth very much for me right now.

Christmas Eve Dinner-The Invitation

It was a great Christmas dinner. I thought I will have a crappy X’mas eve because I can’t go anywhere and don’t have friend to celebrate with. But, God said something different to my Christmas.

Let’s start the story!

It was a cold and windy day on December 24th. I went shopping, bought some clothes and food to celebrate Christmas alone (it was my last option that I had). After that, I went to convenience store called Lawson to pay my electricity bill. There, I met my friends from Poland. I asked him, “what will you do tonight, dude?” And he replied, “I’ll make a Christmas dinner tonight with my friend from Poland. And you?” I just said the reality, “I don’t have such a particular things to do tonight”. After that he invites me to come. He said, “Why you don’t join us?” And I asked him, “I would love to. Could I?” He said, “Why not? It’s a good time to celebrate. There’s no door closed for anybody on Christmas. If you don’t have anything to do, just come on our dinner at 8.00 ok? Don’t forget! At 8.00”. I just simply replied, “Sure!”

The story still not finish yet…

What day was yesterday?

Yesterday was the birthday of Japan’s Emperor, Akihito-sama. He’s celebrate his 75th birthday. He also greet the public of Japan on his birthday yesterday.

In the same time, there was a car accident which I didn’t know exactly where it took place because the news was in Japanese. Based on the video I saw on TV, the JR Train hit a white car and there was a victim on that crash. The head of the car was hit the head of the train straightly. I think the car driver can’t be saved because the bleeding was very serious.

OK, still in train accident. An elementary school teacher was hit by train in the train platform at JR Jinnoharu Station, Kitakyushu. She was hit by freight train that pass through this station. The news said that the woman was sick and want to vomit. Unfortunately, a train came and hit her head directly when she vomit. The train driver has did his best, he sounded the horn and applied the brakes. But, it still not help very much. Because of the hit, the woman got a serious head injuries and suffered a lot. She was taken to hospital but died an hour later.

So, I can call yesterday was a day with full of train accident in Japan which is very rare to happen in this country.

Baka Mono!

One thing that I regret most now is I didn’t study Japanese before I came to Japan land. Now, I meet with lots of troubles from day to day. My progress in Japanese is not so good. I can understand a little right now, but it really doesn’t help very much. When you can speak a little, people want you more. Yeah it always happen because this is a non-spoken English country. Of course they don’t want to speak in English. It’s difficult for them as it not their first language. Now, I just want to use my time to study this language more because I really look like a moron when deal with some Japanese. I really can’t understand what they said. In this holiday is my only chance to improve it. Because my friend, which is very international, go for vacation to Tokyo. So, I’ll meet with a lot of people who speak in Japanese not in English even it can makes me more frustrate sometime because of the language barrier that I had create on my own. Hufff….

Ganbarimashoo!

Winter Holiday

Now, in Japan we have a winter break for 2 weeks long. It'll be starting from tomorrow until January 6^th. I really don't have any idea about this holiday. I have planned before but I think it's kind of failed because nobody wants to go. The reason is only one; everybody who stays in apartment in winter holiday doesn't have much money to spend. Yeah it's like me also. I don't have cash now, it's sad and craps!

But ok, I'll make another plan for my crappy holiday. First, I'll do all my assignments and papers. Then, I'll cycle around like usually I do in Japan when I don't have cash to spend on weekend. After that, I'll start to organize all my photos which I took in Japan, maybe make some edit here and there with Photoshop. After that, upload it to face book and Friendster. Then, surfing in the internet to get some new downloads. And if my holiday is really crappy, I'll buy one day pass ticket at Nakamozu station and tour around Osaka once again with that ticket and without any intention to go somewhere. So, I'll call it "wherever your feet want to walk" tour. Hope I can find my favorite spot in that tour and I also hope the weather is not like now. I hope there's a day with more than 10 degree cold. So I won't be freezing. Hope it'll working fine now.

Keep that whole your life and never forget it!

It was another great weekend in Japan. I, once again, met with a great person here.

I was at Kobe, it's a bright sunny day and very cold, this trip was one of my host family's plans. There in Kobe, I met one of their friends from German. Yes, she's the great person I have mentioned before. Her name is Barbara. She is Germany and has been lived in Japan for 28 years long.

We were getting close in a short time. We did hiking together at Kobe Mountain which called Nunobiki area. There's a beautiful herb garden at the top of the mountain. I really enjoyed my time with her. We were talking a lot of things. Then, she told me about New Year ceremony in Japan, after that she asked me "Do you celebrate New Year in special way?" And I gave her answer, "No. Nothing special for New Year but I do have something special in Chinese New Year." And after that, of course she asked me what I usually do on that day. I told her everything I do and my family does on that day. She looks interested in my stories and keeps asking until she found the root of my family. After she knew that, she understood the reason and leaves me a special word. "Please keep that culture whole your life. It's your culture, it's your blood, and it makes you unique. So never forget it, you have to learn that culture more and pass it through generations." I didn't know why, but I felt amazed with her word and reply her suddenly, "Yes. I will."

It's like I have made a promise with her.

After that I felt cherished and happy. Her words like want to say you are interesting because you are different. I really like someone who think to be different is beautiful.

Thanks to you Barbara and of course my host family who met us up.

Kimi no Yume wa nan desu ka?

What's your dream?

That was a question asked by my Japanese friend. I was very surprised that time. Nobody asked me that question before. And when somebody asked me, I have no answer….

Oohh…what a shame! I even can't answer the question about myself. I felt very terrible that time.

Now, I'm thinking "what's my dream? Are there something that I aim for?", and I just realized that I never asked that question to myself. I don't have any target; I don't have any plan even it for myself. I also realized that I never be serious to everything I do because I don't have any specific goal. All my goals were short term goal only. Now, I'm thinking…. What will I do for my own future? What should I do to get it?

I should copy the Japanese that set their future and struggle to get it.

It's another note for me...(Thanks to Atsumi Komatsubara who asked me this question)