Festivus for the rest of us.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

We`ve had a few snowfalls in Sendai now and the holiday lights are up and are beautiful here. It`s a weird feeling being half way around the world and knowing that you won`t be spending Christmas with your family; but it has to happen sometime in your life, so why not get it over with early, eh?

I have 4 more days of work at GEOS and then I have 13 days off for the Christmas and New Year holidays. I`m planning to go to Tokyo from the 23rd to the 26th to meet a couple of friends and do some sight seeing; but other than that, I don`t have any major plans. Read, spend time with friends (drink of course) and explore Sendai. I`m looking forward to it :)

Last Sunday, the 11th, was the GEOS Christmas party. 80 staff and students got together at a hall and we had a good time eating, drinking, singing and exchanging presents. Many of us then went to a 2nd party at another restaurant, and then more of us went to a 3rd and a 4th party for karaoke. I made it to them all and I enjoyed every minute of it. I also got to meet a lot of new people at the parties, including a couple of people who gave me their emails and now I`m writing to them in Japanese and they are practicing their English with me :)

Other than the party, nothing majorly out of the ordinary has happened since my last posting. Daytime highs here are still above zero degrees celsius, but I`m sure they`ll drop below zero next month. I`ve been on a couple of dates with some girls, but I`m not in a position to declare anything yet about me love life. So I`m still single. C`est la vie, eh?

Anyway, Season`s Greetings, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to everyone that I know back home. I miss you all and I hope that your holidays are enjoyable. I`ll probably post something up in a couple of weeks after my trip to Tokyo. And I`m sorry that I can`t post any pictures.....I still haven`t bothered to get the internet installed in my apartment. I just keep using my cell phone`s internet options and this internet cafe (it`s free, so I can`t complain).
Take care!!!!!
Brian