During the winter vacation I went to IKEA in Aichi prefecture. I love IKEA. Even though it’s a furniture store it feels more like a theme park to me. Exploring all the rooms and reading the names of all the furniture in Swedish is always a good time. The part of going to IKEA that I missed the most was eating at the restaurant there. I definitely recommend going to IKEA and getting some swedish meatballs. They’re delicious!

明日は大晦日

みんなの家にはおせちの入ったお重がありますか。

毎年おせちを食べるのが楽しみです。

海外にいるとお正月でもおせちを食べることができませんものね。

Japanese Osechi-ryori 

are traditional dishes eaten on New Years’s Day.

Each dish has meaning,  and is part of celebrating the New Year

and helps usher in good health and prosperity for the family for the year.

伝統的な料理であり、家族の健康や繁栄を願うなんてすてきですね。

味わって食べたいと思います。

みんなはどのおせちが好きですか。

I don’t get homesick often, but every year around the holidays I do.  Christmas is such a nostalgic holiday, and I miss the warmth of spending it with my family in America.  Since it’s a lot of work to go home for the holidays every year, I do my best to have as American a Christmas as possible.  My wife and kids were able to experience our family Christmas in Chicago last year, so they really love having that kind of Christmas here in Japan.  

However, I am not a big fan of the New Year celebrations in the US.  I think that Japanese New Year is so much better, and I feel lucky that I am able to experience that every year with my Japanese family.  

Since we’re able to experience the best parts of each holiday, the season is so enjoyable for my family and me.  I hope that you all had a wonder holiday and I wish you a very happy and healthy year in 2024.  See you next year!

やっぱり日本人だから大晦日から元日、正月の雰囲気は好きです。そんなに信心深い人間ではないのですが。海外で正月を過ごしたことがあるのですが、インドネシアでは、1月1日もなんか平日と同じように、みんな仕事に行って、学校に通っている様子が見られました。ぜんぜん正月が来たという感じにはなりませんでした。アメリカでは、花火がドンドンと上がってお祭りのようでした。新年は心が洗われるようで、自分をリセットできるいい機会です。みなさんよいお年を！

Hey y’all! It’s the day after Christmas and I’ve officially eaten myself into oblivion. I don’t think I could ever eat again. There were just… so many mashed potatoes and bread AND butter. I may have won the battle of not throwing it all back up form over eating but I definitely didn’t win the war… 

I hope all of y’all had a wonderful Christmas! 

see y’all in class! 

this is a visual representation of how I feel today.