My holiday season started to hum like a nuclear reactor when I went to the 10th annual Acid Mothers Temple year-end blowout at a small club in Nagoya called Tokuzo. This year AMT melted faces and hearts with Afrirampo and Yoshida Tatsuya from the Ruins. Once the dust settled from that sonic explosion, things started to become a little less radioactive.
The following day I held a Christmas party for all my private students with the help of Fumio & Toshiko Soga and Rowena, a new JET teacher who lives nearby. We gave the kids an opportunity to goof off, play games, eat snacks, open presents, and pop lots and lots of balloons.
Check out this short video set to a tune by AMT here: Atomic Christmas Balloons
The week leading up to my return to America for the holidays, I was too excited to teach an actual English lesson, and it had occurred to me that Japanese people didn't really understand the gift giving spirit of Christmas. To them it's just a fun day for little kids to get presents from a fat man in a red suit.
I tried my best to explain to my students that Christmas is more about giving than receiving, and they should give presents to the people they care about. We spent the rest of the week making Christmas cards, playing bingo, and I gave them all a bunch of chocolate. All in all I think they enjoyed trying on the various antlers and afro wigs I picked up from the local ¥100 Shop.
Check out all photos here: Christmas Photo Album
