I just returned from an amazing day trip to Skijam Katsuyama in Fukui. I am beyond tired, but I promise a photo blog later documenting the awesome day. If you ever find yourself in Japan during winter, you can't say no to skiing. The snow is the most perfect snow ever. Tahoe is jealous.

Something strange happens around January when you're a JET. It is just after the long winter break, the weather is getting colder, and everyone is getting over some kind of gaijin epidemic that plagued each JET for at least a day or two. But none of those are the "something strange" to which I am referring.

The "something strange" is that sometimes you have to remind yourself that you are actually  living in Japan. Somehow, somewhere among the months of fumbling for Yen coins, gawking at strange cultural differences, and standing flush-faced at a cash register not understanding the rapid foreign language being fired at you, you quietly and stealthily slip into a comfort zone of assimilation. You don't have to think about it consciously, but there is something in the back of your head that knows: this is home.

Now, this statement might upset those back at my REAL home, in California, when I say this. Because to me, truly, home will always be where my family is. But for right now, this is my home, and not just a place I am visiting.

 You start to see little signs that everyone else has settled into this country we now call home. There are less pictures being posted of Facebook. Fewer albums being created with such awe-struck titles as "OMG, Japan is so weird!" and "Japanamania 2010 woooooo!" Instead there is the sporadic status update like "Getting tired of going to _____, who wants to try something new tonight?" 

You also come to realize that you've discovered shortcuts to get to places. To escape the cold outside, you've managed to navigate through the underground tunnels downtown and never get lost. Instead of taking the well-known path home, you've found a way that gets you there 45 seconds faster. Oh yeah, and you've come to realize that your microwave also doubles as an oven.

People are becoming familiar, too. The woman's face at the Y lights up when you walk in and you are greeted with a "Hello, again! Happy New Year!" And, it takes you a second before you realize she didn't say it in English. The drycleaner doesn't have to ask your name anymore; she just brings your your freshly cleaned and pressed clothes when she sees you approaching the door. The kids you teach once a month at elementary school see you on the bus and go crazy with waving and shouting your name.

There are still days when you long for a certain creature comfort from your REAL home, or you feel a quick pang of homesickness when you realize just how far from your loved ones you really are. But, for the most part, there exists a day-to-day routine that has become second nature. And until you are ready to return to your REAL home, you smile inside knowing that this is where you should be.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have an oven.

I've always suspected there was something up with my microwave. There were just way too many buttons on it to just be a regular microwave. And why was there a metal turntable inside? Yet, even when I really needed an oven to make stuffing and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, I didn't want to be bothered with investigating whether or not I (and others who had suggested it) could have been right.

Until 2 days ago.

I was having dinner at Amanda's house and she was making macaroni pie. IN HER OVEN. That looked remarkably like my microwave. But wait! Hers is also AN OVEN. It's then that I couldn't deny it anymore. My microwave was capable of remarkable things.

Cupcakes. Quiche. Pie. Chicken. Baked potatoes. The possibilities are endless.

I went to the store the next day and bought 2 boxes of cake mix. And you better believe I quickly figured out how to use the oven feature of my microwave oven to produce 2 mildly flavored and mediocre-tasting Japanese cakes.

Now I know how Columbus felt when he "discovered" America.

I'm learning how to decorate cakes! Andy's ladyfriend Sophia is in town, and she is a trained pastry chef. This has been something I've been fascinated with for a few years, ever since I discovered Ace of Cakes and the wonders of the Food Network Challenge. So when Andy said that Sophia would be willing to teach some JETs how to decorate cakes, I got pretty excited!

First, I learned how to ice a cake properly. This is a huge deal, considering the extent of me icing a cake is taking a still-warm cake that is in its original pan, slathering pre-made frosting on it, and covering the whole cake pan in Saran wrap. But here I learned how to take the blade of the pastry knife to smooth out the frosting evenly, first on the top and then on the sides of the cake. Then I learned how to take a warm knife and smooth out any air bubbles and imperfections.

Next, I learned a couple simple piping techniques. I made flowers, leaves, and little decorative star-shaped dots. I may not be the best pastry chef, but I ended up decorating a cute little cake that I was really proud of!
Sure, this may not be a new career path. At the least, I've learned a new hobby whose outcome everyone can enjoy. At the most? I can become a famed self-trained cake decorator and win $10,000 on a Food Network cake challenge! :-)

Well, this is just silly. Are we really expected to hike up this slippery hill every winter morning? Yes, the cold is bad enough, but the tiny mountain is no picnic  to climb in warm weather, so imagine what it must feel like when your lungs are screaming against the cold and you can't feel your toes. And what is with the girls wearing their skirts with no tights to protect their little legs! I watched them huff and puff up the hill with sweat on their brows, but goosebumps on their legs. Did they not read my last entry about Ninja Cold? To get a good idea of how blase the Japanese are about the cold and possibly abunai weather situation, read the following conversation I just had with one of my OTEs:

Yokoi sensei: "Was it hard to come up to school today?"
Me: "Well, it was just really cold."
Yokoi sensei: "You didn't fall?"
Me: "No..." 
Yokoi sensei: "Yes. Because some people slip. Some people don't slip. It is very dangerous."
Me: "So... do they ever close the school because kids can't climb the hill and cars can't drive up?"
Yokoi sensei: Looks thoughtfully at the ceiling... "I think maybe... no. No reason."

Okay! So, time to buy some ice climbing shoes...

It is officially cold in Kobe! I knew it was cold, but when you wake up and see frost on the bushes, it is officially officially cold. And when you are walking to work and realize that the ground is covered in snow despite the sun being out and not a cloud in the sky, you realize it's a special kind of cold. I'd like to call it ninja cold. Why? Because you're just hanging out in your warm heated apartment (as I am apt to do), and you look outside and see the sun is shining, and you hear birds chirping, and you think, "Wow, what a lovely winter morning!" When it looks that beautiful outside when I'm in Oakland, you can bet that even in the middle of winter it means that it actually FEELS beautiful. As in, maybe I can go out in a t-shirt today type of beautiful. But here in Kobe, you go outside and the ninja cold performs a sneak attack on you.

Yesterday the weather appeared as I described above: sunny, clear, bright, cheery, inviting. I thought I'd briefly test the weather by running out to my mailbox, about 20 yards away, in just my pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt. As Vivianne Ward would say: "Big mistake. Big. Huge!" Almost immediately the ninja cold snuck up and took hold of any exposed skin and beat the living crap out of it with its tiny ninja cold fists. In the 20 seconds it took to run to my mailbox, grab my mail, and run back to the warm welcoming arms of my apartment's heater, the ninja cold gouged me with its ninja cold throwing stars. My cheeks were a deep shade of pink and I could stop shivering and trying futiley to rub out the goosebumps. Call me a wuss, but I am just not properly trained to fight off the ninja cold. 

From now on, you will see me fully decked out in Japanwear. This means a fur-lined hooded down jacket, furry ear muffs, a thick scarf, wool tights worn under pants, and boots. I never even bundle up this much when I'm in Tahoe! Ridiculous. But it's the best I can do to combat the ninja cold that can sneak up on you at any moment.
Ninja cold is watching you.

The first few days back in Kobe were rough. I got back on Monday night and went in for work on Tuesday. The students weren't back from their vacation yet, so I knew for the next few days it would be pretty quiet in the staff room. Little did I know it would be SO quiet! I walked in as 3 or 4 teachers were leaving (not to return till the next day), and until 5:30 that evening it was me, Kyouto sensei, Kocho sensei, and the 1st grade science teacher who was doing science-y stuff with coaxial cables.

I really have no idea how I kept myself entertained. I wrote in my journal, read my Kindle, but for the most part... what the heck did I actually do?

When I finally did go home, I realized that none of my friends were back yet. Most were still on their trips to exotic locales.

So here I sit, waiting. I'm not really sure what I'm waiting for. Waiting for friends to come back? Waiting for kids to return to school? Waiting for the next time I go to America? Maybe a little bit of all of the above. 

Hmmm.

I love Japan. There are few things I would put on my Japan "sh*t list," and every day feels like a new adventure here. However, there was no way I was going to spend the holidays away from my family and friends. I have never had to do that before! That's not to say that I wouldn't have been able to handle it. But, I haven't been this far away from home for this long before, and to be honest the lack of Christmas spirit in Japan was starting to bum me out.

So, I hopped a first class flight over the pond and spend 16 wonderful days at home!

The trip started with another night bus ride to Tokyo. This one was less exciting than the last one I took, since not only did I have to sit next to someone this time, but knowing there was no Dan waiting for me right on the other side was a bit of a bummer! The ride itself was uneventful, and I woke up to see the Disney Tokyo parking lot with very sleepy eyes. That was another bummer. Being so close to Disneyland and knowing I wasn't going to be going inside! I took a 1 hours bus to Narita from there, and that is when awesomeness started.

The check-in counter didn't open until 10:00, so I wandered the airport aimlessly. I was pretty hungry, since I had been subsisting off rice, potatoes, and Filipino corn nuts ever since I'd lost my wallet a week and a half before. I debated spending some of my last precious yen on a real hot meal, but couldn't stomach (no pun intended) paying double the price for a potentially crappy meal I could get outside the airport. Little did I know that I would not have any want for food for the next 2 weeks!

I checked in successfully and made my way to the Admirals Club. Right away my spirits were lifted when I saw the huge Christmas tree all lit up and decorated, and I was greeted in English by the wonderful ladies at the counter. I was practically home already! I looked for a cozy place to sit. There was no shortage of comfy leather couches, lounge chairs, swivel chairs, ottomans... I settled for a little leather armchair that was somewhat far away from everyone else. I was starting to get thirsty, and I thought I spotted a place for drinks as I came in, so made a mental note to go get some water when I was all cozy and settled in my seat. I saw that a woman and her daughter were also eating something, so I thought, "Hmmm, maybe they have some free nuts or something I can eat." I don't know why I waited as long as I did (almost an hour!) before I got up to explore the rest of the huge Admirals club. 

I felt like I found the lost city of Atlantis! Sushi, sandwiches, cheese, crackers, fruit, cereal, pastries, juice bar, and the piece de resistance: all you can drink nama biiru! I quickly stocked up on cheese and sandwiches, but held off on the beer until later and instead grabbed a giant water and some juice. 

I think I snacked and drank nonstop for literally 5 hours. My once-empty belly was slowly inflating again. I also watched four or five episodes of Dexter (a show that I watched from its first to last episode within 3 weeks). I was about 2 hours into my Dexter-and-finger-sandwich binge when they called me on the loudspeaker. When I went to the counter, I got more happy news: instead of having to go all the way to Chicago, having a layover for 3 hours, and going back to San Francisco, they were re-routing me through LAX! I'd be getting home 8 hours earlier! Oh happy day! In celebration, I decided it was time to start hitting the nama biiru. I didn't want to be wasted, but I ended up drinking three glasses before boarding.

Once on the plane I managed to feel even more excitement than I did in the Admirals Club. After being led to my little first class pod, I did some exploring. I had a seat that fully reclined into a bed! I had Bose noise cancelling headphones! I had a down duvet cover! I had a travel kit with eyeshades, wool socks, and Burt's Bees products! There was a menu outlining the 4 dinner choices! I had unlimited movies!

I was like a little child pushing all the buttons and smiling like an idiot to myself. They offered me a glass of champagne an I giddily accepted (and I don't even like champagne). Then I continued the binge eating and drinking with a rapid succession of hummus and pita before takeoff, smoked salmon appetizer, grilled chicken salad, macadamia nut crusted chicken with sweet potatoes, and an ice cream sundae all accompanied by sake, wine, and tea. By the time all of that had somehow crammed into my belly, I was drunk and insanely full and ready for some sleep. I'd already watched Salt and (I'm blanking on the other movie I watched), and then I put on Going the Distance, which I'd seen before, reclined my seat to the bed position, and fell into a deep sleep.
I was awakened by a gentle nudge and my flight attendant. I pulled off my headphones and turned my head towards her, realizing at that point I was a wee bit hungover. 

"Ms. Reyes, would you like your breakfast now?"