クリスマス

It might seem a little early for a Christmas post, but the decorations here have been going up slowly since the day after Halloween. November 1st, all of the ¥100 shops near my dorm switched from Halloween to Christmas decorations for sale and lights have been going up all over the city. Although Christmas isn’t celebrated in Japan the same way it is in the United States, there is a tradition of eating Christmas cake and KFC. The lights make an already vibrant city look even more dazzling.

Since Thursday was Thanksgiving - which, being a strictly American holiday, passed completely unnoticed by retailers and other organizations (we had class, same as ever) - some students arranged Thanksgiving celebrations for ourselves. I went to KFC with some of my friends, figuring that chicken and fries would be an acceptable stand-in for turkey and mashed potatoes, and we stopped at McDonalds later for some apple pie. It’s not the same as being at home with our families, but we did the best we could in the circumstances.

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