December 2005
24 Dec 2005
Time flies. We've been here for almost one year now, and it feels like we arrived yesterday. December is the month of parties back home, but here it's different. Yes, the shops are decorated for Christmas, but the atmosphere is missing. Lenette goes crazy in the 100 yen shop, one of the few shops that sells Christmas decorations, we are celebrating Christmas with our friends the Preustings.
We're lucky that a couple of Japanese colleagues visited Holland. They brought two traditional Christmas breads. One we chared with our colleagues, and the other one made our Christmas lunch at home complete.
In the afternoon we visit Huis ten Bosch. A piece of Holland in Japan, and beautifully decorated in the Christmas style. We make a little boat tour through the canals, which takes us through Amsterdam and Utrecht, within 5 minutes. It's a miracle.
Because Christmas is not an official holiday, we go back to work on Boxing Day. Our vacation starts on 29, December, with a rice cake making party with our colleagues. Boiled rice is put in a big bowl. With huge hammers we beat it to a big sticky ball. Of this we roll small cookies and eat them with sesame powder or a soy based sauce. To make the party complete we had an oyster barbeque. Not traditional, but it was delicious. The party was held outside, so we were very lucky with the sunny weather. Since there was no wind, we didn't need jackets. It was like spring weather..
The next day we left for Ishigaki, one of the Okinawa islands, to the sun. At least, that's what we thought. For a while it looked like we wouldn't be able to land on Ishigaki, because of the bad weather. Luckily that didn't happen, but it did rain cats and dogs when we arrived.
The next days, things looked a lot better with the sun out, and only a few clouds in the sky.
That's how it stayed the rest of the vacation. On the last day it even got to be 25 degrees!
Ishigaki is a small island, but there was lots to see. With our bus pass we visited most of the island. New Years eve was like any other evening. We had to pay close attention to the clock, otherwise we would've missed the new year. No fireworks, no partying people on the street. We made our own party, without fireworks but with champagne!
A 10 minute boat trip takes u to Taketome. That's where we spent our first day in the new year. An island with beautiful beaches and a cozy little village, which we explore in a ox cart.
The next day it is time to go home again. We make a final walk along the beach. Very tempting to stay longer....
We're lucky that a couple of Japanese colleagues visited Holland. They brought two traditional Christmas breads. One we chared with our colleagues, and the other one made our Christmas lunch at home complete.
In the afternoon we visit Huis ten Bosch. A piece of Holland in Japan, and beautifully decorated in the Christmas style. We make a little boat tour through the canals, which takes us through Amsterdam and Utrecht, within 5 minutes. It's a miracle.
Because Christmas is not an official holiday, we go back to work on Boxing Day. Our vacation starts on 29, December, with a rice cake making party with our colleagues. Boiled rice is put in a big bowl. With huge hammers we beat it to a big sticky ball. Of this we roll small cookies and eat them with sesame powder or a soy based sauce. To make the party complete we had an oyster barbeque. Not traditional, but it was delicious. The party was held outside, so we were very lucky with the sunny weather. Since there was no wind, we didn't need jackets. It was like spring weather..
The next day we left for Ishigaki, one of the Okinawa islands, to the sun. At least, that's what we thought. For a while it looked like we wouldn't be able to land on Ishigaki, because of the bad weather. Luckily that didn't happen, but it did rain cats and dogs when we arrived.
The next days, things looked a lot better with the sun out, and only a few clouds in the sky.
That's how it stayed the rest of the vacation. On the last day it even got to be 25 degrees!
Ishigaki is a small island, but there was lots to see. With our bus pass we visited most of the island. New Years eve was like any other evening. We had to pay close attention to the clock, otherwise we would've missed the new year. No fireworks, no partying people on the street. We made our own party, without fireworks but with champagne!
A 10 minute boat trip takes u to Taketome. That's where we spent our first day in the new year. An island with beautiful beaches and a cozy little village, which we explore in a ox cart.
The next day it is time to go home again. We make a final walk along the beach. Very tempting to stay longer....