I have a few days to catch up on.

I got to Christmas Day lunch before. For Christmas dinner we got a bento box. It was pretty good. Filled with tons of cold goodies- rice, fish, chicken, salad, beans- lots of different things. I have had one every night since. They always taste so good and fresh. The one for dinner last night had a yummy big piece of salmon. To be honest, I would rather have the box for lunch and something hot for dinner, but they are good nonetheless. The cook is busy preparing food for the guests so it is easier to just give us a ready made meal. And according to the lid only 500 calories. Bonus!

The bar was dead on Christmas night. It was a bit sad how Christmas was such a non-event here. After work us Gaigins got a drink each out of the vending machine called Shochu. It cost 200 yen, was 6% and tasted like lemon and soda water. I drank half the can and started to feel light headed. I finished the can and felt hammered. Yes on just the one can. In my defence, we are very very high up here. I was tired. My nose keeps bleeding. Excuses excuses. Perhaps I am now a lightweight. Everything was funny to me. For some reason we were all so excited for some Russian guests to arrive. Im not sure why. Well I know why I was excited - I secretly hoped the Moscow State Circus were coming to put on a Winter Spectacle. They arrived at about 11pm, by which point we were all completely hyper. When they came in I had to hold back the urge to shout, "Welcome Comrades". They didn't goose step in or do gymnastics. They looked pretty normal and tired. I was sorely disappointed.

On Boxing Day I was very brave and went out snowboarding again. After last times disastrous attempt I vowed never again but I live on a beautiful snowy mountain and I don't want to not do something just because I am too frightened. Ollie is a good teacher and even though he was clearly dying to get up the hill and board himself he spent ages at the bottom shouting encouraging things while I continuously fall over. I learned how to fall on my bottom and the principle of steering but not how to put it into practice. It hasn't snowed for days now so the snow that is lying is really compact. Everytime I fell it was like landing on concrete. I think I broke my bum. I didn't want to push myself too far though. Baby steps seem the smartest path to avoid total self destruction. Once the agony become impossible to ignore, we decided to take the ski lift up the hill to look at the view. Ollie would snowboard down and I would take the ski lift. The view was staggering. It was a clear day and we could see for miles and miles. Then they wouldn't let me take the lift back down. I tried being polite, flippant, upset, hurt, angry, petulant, stubborn, bossy but they would not budge. I have no idea why I couldn't go down on the lift. I had to pick up my board and walk down the intermediate slope with thousands of skiers and boarders racing down. Some bits were really steep and I had to go down on my bum. I tried to go down sitting on the board but it picked up so much speed it threw me off and nearly fell off a cliff. It was a tad embarrassing but the walk actually felt great. Very invigorating. Ollie apologised a million times for taking me up there I told him not to worry but played on it enough to get a free coffee out of him.

When I got back I had lunch and went in the onsen. It hurt to sit down :( My poor bruised bum. The onsen is a bit of a cure all. I always get showered when it is super quite so I never see anyone in there. When I went in that afternoon there was another lady in there - This is OK...don't look at her. Wash your hair...la la la. In the onsen. Count to ten. - Well didn't she bloody start talking to me in Japanese when I got out. Nightmare. Laugh laugh bow bow *cry inside* smile smile run. Also, I noticed a weird fact. Since day one I have used the same shower. I think there are about 20 showers but I like this one. Well I noticed that I have been using the only black shower while all the rest are white. Symbolic of my isolation? Expressing my differences? Coincidence?

Work was really quiet again that night. Two of the Russian men came in. "Oh get the vodka ready" I guffawed. They had whiskey and coke. One of them looked pretty Russian. They were not very friendly. "Speak English more slower" one of them said to me. Then they complained about the size of the measures. I don't know why, our drinks are lethal. They split one drink into two glasses. Could it be that everything I know about Russian people is a stereotype fed by the media? I mean these guys didn't even have cats with them and didn't seem in too much of a hurry to take over the World.

Today Ollie and I went sledging! It was so much fun. I haven't looked it up yet but the Japanese word for sledge seems to be "sorry". The sad pile of sledges do look apologetically pathetic in a room full of snowboards. I have to go to bed now but I will finish off today tomorrow.

xx

I am so excited to have not one but two mandarins!
My first sighting of fruit since I have been here

This is my funny face. I do it to Dan constantly. The look is representative of "bursting with love". Sometimes when The Boss is talking talking talking to me in Japanese I think about doing it just to see his reaction. I also think about popping in a "meow" but I haven't. Yet.


This is my hand wash. The best thing about isolation was the very clean yet creepy badger hands. Apparently the badger is considered a lovable drunken buffoon in Japan. Im not sure why. I just think of them and wise and kind.


I found these massive boxes of purple Poki Stick. I didn't buy them because they were expensive and I tend to hate the flavor purple. The picture doesn't do them justice, they are huge.


Yummy yummy koala snacks. I am enjoying these right now with a coffee. In a can. From a vending machine. The coffee is good but very sweet.

Christmas day has been lame-o. No presents, no cuddles, no Dan, no turkey. Lots of snow though. Here I am taking a Christmas walk without my eyeballs in.


Hmmmm...which way???


Vandalizing the resort


As I mentioned breakfast was gross today. Well..the lunch. Oh my god. Cold mushy veg and noodles COVERED in this gelatin glue stuff. I can not put in words how disgusting it was. I took half a mouthful. And the smell. Like a really gross, dirty sea. We had to eat it in our room. I had a mild temper tantrum "What the fuck is this shit? Im not eating this crap. Is this prison??? IS IT? IS IT? WELL?". Poor Ronya. 10 minutes later I was watching Love Actually and sobbing. Hormonal much? She must have guessed by now that I am crazy. Love Actually is such a good Christmas film. I love the clips at the airport.

I bought myself pizza from our newly opened Ciao! Pizza Kitchen. It was bloody yummy. Spot the Pepsi Nex. They were playing my absolute favorite album Paul McCartney Back in the USA Live. Geez he doesn't half write enough songs about love and being away from those you love and bloody Christmas. I started blubbing again. I managed to make my Christmas meal last an hour.


My dinner guest, Catto


Pooh San


It is almost time for dinner and then work. I really really hope there are some people in the bar. It is so boring with no people and no atmosphere. I would LOVE a little Christmas tipple myself!

It is Christmas today but I have to share a funny story about work yesterday.

In the bar they have an IPod Shuffle attached to the speakers. We had to listen to the same 4 songs again and again and again. So last night I brought my shuffle and plugged it in. It had pretty old music on it and I hadn't listened to it but I figured it would be mainly The Beatles and Britney. The music on it turned out to be fine and it was a nice change to listen to something different. Half way through the evening and The Boss comes in to the bar and tells us "to go outside for Christmas". He walks into the bar and at that exact moment "Baby Got Back" came on. We were standing outside and he was trying to turn it off but he ended up putting it on full volume LOL. The whole hotel must have been able to hear "I like big butts and I can not lie, you other brothers can't deny" because it was seriously that loud. I thought I was going to fall over laughing. He took AGES to come out of the bar and obviously had no idea what was so funny.

We went downstairs and had a little staff get together. Ollie and I were allowed to have a slice of pizza before we had to go back to work. The bar was dead again. We served 4 drinks and they were all to staff. We are expecting some Russians today so I hope they would like some Christmas drinks otherwise it is going to be another boring evening. The Boss had a guest with him. He looked very wise! He told me I should have an Onsen every day to make me beautiful and then when I go home my boyfriend will think "Wow Japanese", because of course "Japan Number 1". Oh thank you wise one.

I discovered our tiny little hotel has a karaoke room!!!!! I can't believe I didn't know it was there before. I can't wait to have a go - "little in the middle but she got much back". They really love their public humiliation here. All the TV shows I have seen seem to be about making a fool of yourself. They have these shows about Japanese English which is basically Japanese people trying to talk English and then being laughed at by an audience when they make a mistake. They often have Beatles music playing in the background. They are weird.

Christmas breakfast for us this morning was fish soup, rice, noodles and mushroom tempura. I was in a huff as I wanted pancakes. And presents. I am going to watch Love Actually and cry like I always do at this film.

Merry Christmas xx

The weather is absolutely beautiful today. Ronya and I took a walk. It looks like Lapland.


The view from our room





Our room from the outside. We are the bottom left.








Is that you Santa Claus??


(Sorry if this crashes anyones computer. I have no idea how to do cuts anymore)

are the apartments behind magic kingdom really as bad as everyone seems to say that they are? im graduating school next semester and looking to move down to florida. i work @ the 7 seas resorts (poly/grand), so the location is pretty perfect. but it seems like people have quite negative things to say about all of them - buena vista place, alexandria parc vue...are people exaggerating, or are they really THAT terrible?? and if they are, what would be a comparative option?

Here is the sad looking Christmas tree in the lobby. It changes colour at night and becomes a little more tolerant on the eyes. When I wake up in the morning there will be lots of presents for me and Pooh (or not).



Our lobby has a ton of Manga and books you can help yourself to. The only Enlish books they have are Patricia Cornwell and Emily Bronte. Think I will stick to the Manga..

It is Christmas eve. Kind of feels just like another day.

I had my first shift last night. If it was anything to go by I have the best job in the whole hotel. The bar is open 7pm until 11ish. Ollie takes the orders, makes the drinks, washes the glasses. I wipe the tables and chat to the guests. I spent the majority of my shift playing darts with an elderly Japanese couple. I think this is the gist of being a hostess. I just smile and laugh. Im the face of the operation lol. The boss gave us a ton of instructions last night. I didn't understand any of them. Ah ignorance really is bliss. I find him an interesting little man. He never looks at me. Because I don't speak Japanese I am invisible to him. He laughs in my face sometimes. My Japanese is much better than he thinks. When I am put under pressure I really struggle to say things. He will say something and want me to repeat it but he will say it like 5 times in a row really fast so I don't get a chance to take it in. He also has such nervous mannerisms. I think as far as Japanese bosses go he is pretty good though and he is not too strict. Last night we had 5 patrons in our bar and then our co-workers came down for a drink. It seems pretty chilled. I am nervous for what will happen when it is busy or when Ollie is not there. I seem to be working like 4 hours a day. I am going to make NO money. The Japanese don't tip. Hopefully the Westerners who come in will be oblivious to this and tip us. Maybe I will make a sign. Or a tip jar. We are waiting for 15 Russian guests, some German's, some Australians. It should be good fun when they get here.

My omellette was too oniony this morning.

The cook just got me out of bed to tell me to close the door after I go to the toilet lol. Oh dear.

Ive still got a little sniffle so the leper treatment is continuing. Who knew people could be so nuts about colds???! I am not wearing my mask anymore. It is so weird feeling on my face. I have been overdosing on vitamin C and just taking it easy until it goes away. Hopefully by tomorrow it will be gone. I have the runniest nose and I am in a country where blowing your nose is considered the height of bad manners. This is possibly an example of irony.

I am working my way through a Japanese language course that Dan got me. I did an hour yesterday and it was so helpful. My problem is my memory. I really struggle to get the words to stick into my head. I understand them and I can say them then 5 mintures later it is gone. The course works on the principle that to understand is to remember. It uses a lot of mental images which I find really work. There is no homework or writing down to do. Ollie said my vocabulary had tripled over night :) Im going to do an hour a day and then hopefully move on to the advanced course.

In general I am feeling much better. I allowed myself to be in a bad mood yesterday morning then I had a good rest of the day. It is a relief to get my first day at work over and done with. I am working with a really lovely group of people and I am starting to feel more accepted by the Japanese staff. As my Japanese improves so does my confidence. I am looking forward to Christmas and especially New Year. It will be interesting to see how or if they celebrate.

x

Finally my quarantine period is over. I went down for breakfast today. I was in a stomping, huffy mood. Being locked in my room has broken my spirit. The other gaijins asked if I was feeling better, "FEELING BETTER? FEELING BETTER? I HAD A RUNNY NOSE. IT'S A WONDER I LASTED THE NIGHT". I did not say that. "Much better, thank you", I politely said. I have not showered in a long time and had a couple of very sweaty nights. I probably smell like a sewer. It's a good thing they even spoke to me (BTW I managed to brush my teeth in my room and spat it out the window). I had to wear my stupid surgeons mask. If I had of been at home I would have done a gag with the chopsticks and *stat*, but I did not do it here.

Argh...ive just dropped my tissues on the floor. My stupid bunk bed is all open around the outside so everything falls off my bed. I have to go down my ladders, then something else falls so I have to go back again. Sigh. Stupid design.

After breakfast I came straight back to go. Like a prisoner who runs away, realises they have no where to go and gets back into their cage. I start work tonight which will either be a good or a bad thing. Im going to allow myself to be in a bad mood until 2pm, then I will be in a cheery festive mood.

Had my temperature checked again. It is now at 37C. According to Google this is completely normal temperature. Proof Im fine, non? "Carrier carrier". I have to stay in my room all day again. I asked if I could please take a shower or brush my teeth. They said no with a crossing of the arms. This is ridiculous now. Im bored out of my mind. I spent so much money to come here and all I am getting to see is the view from my top bunk.

Santa if you are listening....all I would really really like for Christmas is an En Suite Bathroom. Please.

As my temperature has gone down I was rewarded with some breakfast. Miso soup (good), tea (good), cold rice, a spoonful of cold egg/veg mix and a spoonful of cold mashed potato :( Not exactly my first choice for room service.

To cheer myself up here is some picture of snacks

Sweet or savoury? Why choose


These are little bites of heaven


Apple or red chilli flavour? Also spotted but not photographed was a blue kit kat. Not just the wrapper the actual bar. It was soda flavour.


This was a yummy scrummy piece of swiss roll. Stuck to it was what I thought was a hand wipe. How convenient, I thought, I am a tad sticky. It turned out to be a pack of silica, like you get in shoes. Gross. As Dan said, these swiss rolls will out live the human race.


Location appropriate snack. They look like they are going to explode because of the altitude. They taste exactly like Wotsits.


Thirsty? Have a bottle of sweat

I feel like I am in the start of some Japanese horror movie. "Arrrrggggghhhhh...stay away from the sick gaijin" "Um....Im not sick" "That is what you would say if you had...THE FEVER".

So I survived my night of being quarantined. I couldn't brush my teeth last night which is gross after all the sweeties I consumed yesterday. I have been waiting for my breakfast to come for 2 hours now. I have no phone so I am thinking about putting a sign out of my window, "Please feed the Gaijin". I am starving. I have only been in my room since dinner time and it is now 8.30am but just the thought of being QUARANTINED is giving me cabin fever.

I have just had my temperature taken again and *shock horror* it was normal. So I don't have to go to the doctor just yet. I have to stay in bed for now and they will check again at noon. If I had a fever I would know about it. They maybe think I am some Western Ox:" A fever pah. I laugh in the face of fever. Flu to me is as insignificant as a grain of rice. You can call me Braveheart. Grrrrr".

Im pretty bored. I would like a shower or to brush my teeth. I can barely remember what the world looks like beyond these bedroom walls.

I have been quarantined :(
I have a runny nose, a tickly cough, feel a bit tired but due to a language barrier I have been told to stay in my room until I get taken to the doctors tomorrow. Um....Im not sick. My bosses took my temperature and it was a teeny tiny bit high so they decided that I must be a carrier of the flu bug. But I don't feel sick. No fever, no sickness, no loss of appetite. My roommate has to move out and I am not allowed to leave my room or talk to anybody. "I feel fine" I said a million times. If I had the flu I would bloody well know it. I am not paying to go to the doctors tomorrow when there is nothing bloody wrong with me.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Cuddles please. Japan why do you taunt me so????????????

I had a bad day today. The weather was absolutely beautiful day, clear blue skies, not snowing. From my bedroom window you can actually see all the mountains around. It is the first day I have seen that. I was so excited to get back out and board again since the conditions were ideal. An Aussie joined us yesterday so we are now 4 gaijin. We all went out after lunch. We got on the ski lift and everything looked so pretty like a postcard. I got on my board went speeding down the hill and fell bad. I got back up and fell harder this time. I didn't like the loss of control. It was like a car crash. And I hurt. I smacked my head on the ground and the snow was not pillowy soft today. I tried one more time, crashed again, took my board off and climbed back up to the ski lift to come back down. I cried my eyes out the whole way. Every seat was full coming up and I was the only one going down. I got back to the hotel put my gear away, handed in my pass and went back to my room crying the whole time. I got into bed and my boss came to my door. She wanted to ask me if I had flu. Apparently one of the guys here has some mutant strain of flu and they are worried we will all get it and infect the guests. I mimed I was tired but it was so obvious I had been crying. She would not look at me. The Japanese hide their emotions and she made me feel so ashamed. I got back to bed and skipped dinner. When my roommate came back I ended up spilling my heart out to her. I told her I was frustrated at not being able to communicate, not knowing what was going on and the lack of freedom and privacy. Just saying the words made me feel better and she was really supportive. It is a big culture shock and she says she felt exactly the same when she first arrived in Japan. My headache has finally gone and I had a bag of crisps and cookies to make up for the dinner. Apparently they had bony fish again so I think I maybe had the better meal! I had a good MSN chat with Dan and he made me feel better too. He sent over a Japanese language course so hopefully that will build my confidence a little bit. I knew it would be hard and I was emotionally prepared for that. I will have to take each day as it comes and I am determined to make tomorrow a better day. I still haven't started work yet and I think that is why I am getting a bit crazy. If I was busy I would feel much better.

I know I talk a lot about food but it is seriously all I seem to do. For breakfast this morning We had an egg with a teeny, tiny hot dog sausage. Very Western hehe. I can't remember if I wrote it but yesterday I had curry and we got to eat it with a SPOON. YEEEEESSSSSSSS. I was so happy! I wanted to keep the spoon. I get sick of using chopsticks and having people laugh at me for using them wrong. I have been using a knife and fork for 24 years, cut me some slack.

They love vending machines in Japan. Nothing weird in these ones though. Just hot and cold drinks, beer (next to the bar???), ice cream and noddles. The hot coffee comes in a can and they have Green Tea Haagen Daz. Not tried it yet but I imagine it is yum. Coca-Cola really does own the World.

Do you need to have your ID with you to use the 30, 40, or %50 off dining certificates in the WDW Holiday coupon book? I ask because I'm going with my family, but I think we're going to split up. If they try to use the coupons without me, will they be able to?
Thanks!

My bedroom. Basic but pretty cosy. I know the boys have 4 in their room with more to come so I am very pleased it is just me and Ranya.




The bar I will be working in




A poster of a monkey. I love how he looks like he is wearing a furry snow suit!