This is my first Christmas away from home, and it's kind of weird. All the stores are full of Christmas decorations and carols are playing, but that's it. Tomorrow's going to be an ordinary Monday... It's been quite difficult to feel like it actually really is Christmas now.
Yesterday I went to a Brazilian Christmas party. Ate so well. Oh god. So many delicious things. I'd love to have the recipe of each and every thing, especially of the desserts, but everything else too. Or better yet, someone to make them for me on a regular basis, because I'd be sure to mess them up. (And the smashed potato & meat thing was so very similar to perunasoselaatikko that it reminded me of home. xD More cheesy, though, so it was even better, I guess.)
Today I went to an onsen with some friends. It was lovely, quite different from Kurama onsen which is the only place where I'd been before. There were three very small baths, just big enough for four persons (and we were exactly four). But it was so nice and quiet. Atmospheric. This was Ohara onsen, some half an hour bus trip from where we live. It was up in the hills in this rather small place, and there was a fifteen minute walk from the bus stop on really small roads. I love the area. It was rainy, but it just seemed to fit the atmosphere there. I couldn't, of course, take pics inside of the actual onsen, but here's the place (photo by Marina):
Note the little piece of snow in front of the entrance on the left! Snow!
And a photo of the main bath (obviously not from this time of the year):
And us on our way there... it wasn't quite as dark yet as it seems on this pic.
So, I had Christmas onsen instead of Christmas sauna, and as for my Christmas dinner... well, there was pork in it, anyway. And it was tasty.
And tomorrow it's ordinary Monday, as I said, with ordinary Japanese classes... but at least we are going to have one week vacation for the New Year.
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