I've got another story to tell (revised)

Patience is a virtue that didn’t come easily for me. Growing up as a child it was quite a task to actually wait until Christmas to open Christmas presents. You see, I had this bad habit of seeking out every single one of my gifts under the Christmas tree and then using an X-acto knife to flawlessly cut away the tape so I could unwrap each present enough to examine the contents of the gift and then re-wrap the package to leave it just the way it was before I found it. No matter how many times I successfully escaped being caught it was never easy trying to fake like I didn’t already know I was about to open one of the three dreaded Christmas presents: socks, underwear or undershirts. Perhaps that was my punishment for being naughty.

For many reasons it was nice celebrating Christmas with Koko’s family, but perhaps what I enjoyed the most was being reminded of the excitement that the Holiday Season brings. Suggesting we open one present on Christmas Eve and then after waking up in the morning we could open the rest was a bad idea. The Fujie Family wanted to open all their presents and right away, so we did. This was fun as it reminded me of being a kid and not being able to wait a single second longer to open gifts or when I would lie awake in bed not being able to sleep in anticipation for Christmas morning. Our Christmas Eve Christmas was great fun as everyone enjoyed opening gifts and watching others open their gifts too. I received so many gifts that I had to mail them back to Kagoshima because I couldn't possibly squeeze them into my suitcase. Everyone slept well that evening.

After sleeping until about eleven o’clock on Christmas Day I ran my fingers through my hair, grabbed a bite to eat, and went outside to work in the factory next to the house. We had celebrated our party the night before and besides there was work to be done. All the paid employees were already busily working as Koko’s mom, the owner and manager of the factory, had a deadline approaching. My job was quite simple. I was to take the metal pieces out of the box, apply electrical tape to the back of the metal pieces, and then put them back into the box.

Koko would come in and out of the factory every now and again to check on me and give me a hand, but most of the time I was without company. For four hours I worked continuously to the repetitive clicks and clacks of the machines surrounding me. When the machines were in motion it was difficult to make out the words of Christmas songs being played softly on a radio in the distance. I was the last one to leave the factory. I didn’t want to leave without completing all the boxes. I became really good at applying electrical tape to those metal pieces in the box and to me this was satisfying. Those four hours I felt like a machine, or like I was in a movie, or maybe a machine in a movie. Am I disappointed that I spent my Christmas working in a Japanese factory? Absolutely not – It was just what I needed at the time. Being reminded that in some parts of the world Christmas Day is just another working day of the week was good for my mind. It made me think. While it wasn't much I still felt good about being able to give Koko's mom a hand with her work. Besides I've got another story to tell.

That evening we spent time relaxing around the house, watching TV, and eating too much. We even played Jinga together. Having fun and sharing laughter with one another was just as I remember all the previous Christmas nights being in the States. Thank you to the Fujie Family for taking such great care of me this year and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

*more to come. . .

From tree

From christmas and...

From koko

From cake