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Being away from home for Christmas can stink. This year was my third year (non-consecutively) away from my family during Christmas. It is not my idea of fun. However, having great friends to share it with made it significantly better than the other two Christmas' I spent away from family. On Christmas evening several gaijin friends, my Japanese mom, and myself had a gathering for Christmas dinner. We ate the traditional Japanese main course: Kentucky Fried Chicken (which, by the way, is *not* the usual main course for Christmas dinner in America). I brought strawberry turtle cheesecake. Other traditional items included: jello cake, pumpkin pie, ice cream, rolls, and coleslaw.

  

I went to a 5 Arrows basketball game in Takamatsu. The opponent was Osaka so it was an important game. The 5 Arrows unfortunately didn't win but I still had fun. I really hope to make it to a soccer match in the future. Soccer is my favorite sport to watch. What's your favorite sport? Do you go to professional games?  

Sugar cookies are a popular holiday treat around Christmas time. During Christmas, my family makes many different kinds of sugary goodies and puts a variety on plates. We then take them to neighbors and friends. This helps spread the holiday cheer and is just plain fun! I decided to share this same joy and cheer with my Homestay Club group. They had a lot of fun and the cookies were great!   

It’s so cold now that I have to wear surf booties to keep my feet warm. I went surfing in Portland Oregon during the holiday vacation. It was even colder there than in Japan! I had to borrow a very thick wetsuit to keep warm. The beach where I surfed was so beautiful. It was a small bay with great waves, surrounded by tall pine trees and even little waterfalls. I loved it!  

Last Sunday, my girlfriend, Melissa, prepared a fantastic Costa Rican brunch (breakfast + lunch) with ingredients she brought back from her return home to Costa Rica. We invited a few friends (including Popo from Kanonji School) to my apartment and prepared a few traditional Costa Rican dishes, such as tortilla soup, gallo pinto, and palmito pie. It was so delicious and for most of our guests, it was their first time eating Costa Rican dishes. After the meal, we played a trivia game with Costa Rican facts. My team won so now Melissa knows that I do listen to her sometimes. We had a lot of fun and I can't wait for next time!  

Sometimes we don't have a hearth (the shelf above a fireplace) to hang our stockings on. In Japan, it is difficult to find a fireplace much less a hearth to go with it! So, in Homestay Club we made stockings out of colored card stock, glue, and string. We hung them on the Christmas tree for Santa to fill with goodies. Santa pulled through! On December 22nd, he delivered chocolate to each stocking...even though it wasn't quite Christmas yet. Thanks, Santa!

  

Do you like snow? Kagawa doesn't seem to get much snow. I've seen some snow flurries here but nothing like back home in Indiana. Usually it snows a lot for Christmas, but this year it only snowed for two days when I was home. I don't like being cold. I like that Kagawa has short winters. I can't wait for summer! brrrr  

These are two of my students in Ota School, James and Ryota. I'm very proud of them because even after a long vacation from class, they still remember the last lesson, making this week's lesson fun and easy! They have become so good that they are now speaking to each other in English all class!  

As a Homestay snack, we made marshmallow snowmen s'mores. For those of you who don't know what a s'more is: you roast a marshmallow over a fire then place it on a piece of chocolate. You put both of them between two graham crackers. It is a popular sweet treat in America-especially while camping. This picture shows our snowman as it slowsly melts. We used a microwave this time.

  

Chipotle—I always eat Chipotle when I go home to America! It’s one of my favorite fast food restaurants. I get the biggest sandwich wrap! It’s a fajita burrito with carnitas meat and everything on top of it! Too much food but so yummy! What’s your favorite fast food restaurant?  

Christmas Breakfast. My mom makes cinnamon rolls every year for Christmas morning. My dad is in charge of making the coffee. It’s wonderful to wake up to such yummy smells and food! What did you do for Christmas this year? Did you have a special meal with your family or friends?