Old Saint Kim-Nick
...written on 2000-12-22, @ 10:32:56
Tales of Kim's Life in Japan
Fri December 22, 2000
Yesterday I played Santa Claus. This was a first for me. Manami had a Santa Claus suit, red top with white cuffs at the sleeves, red pants, a red cap with a white headband and ball at the tip, black belt and a white beard.
She and Yasuyo were to be teaching the 3-9 year olds about Christmas and when they got to the part about calling for Santa, I was to come in and ho-ho-ho my way about. No problem, right?
Ok, so I heard the little cuties scream "SANTA" at the top of their lungs and I appeared in the doorway all jolly and ho-ho-ing. Well, I have a sore throat and had been coughing earlier in the day and just upon my entrance, it felt like I had inhaled a fake whisker so I started coughing again while trying to hold it in, but it quickly escalated into a humongous hacking attack. My face got all red, tears were streaming down wetting my fake whiskers and as I hurriedly left the room I heard Manami say "Bye, bye Santa". I ran to the bathroom where I coughed up a lung. After I composed myself, I went back to the class, helped them make reindeer, played "pin the nose on Rudolph" and passed out the presents. I did this for the next class as well. I will also make four other Santa Kim-Claus appearances today and tomorrow. Today however, my voice is just squeaks, so maybe I will play the Christmas mouse instead.
Japanese children are brought up believing in Santa Claus and they experience the same joys in anticipation of Christmas and the same let down feelings upon finding out that Santa isn't who they thought he was. They are not instructed in the religious significance of Christmas. All the stores now are decorated for Christmas and holiday music can be heard everywhere.
I just received a package from my Dad and Elaine, so I'm not really missing Christmas at all being in Japan. Of course I am missing the family get togethers, but me and my new family of English teachers, Chad and Ivan, are getting together on Christmas Day at my apt to watch a Christmas video. Maybe I will make some Christmas tacos! I don't have an oven and just one gas burner, so repasts must be quick and simple and preferably one dish-pot-pan meals. Dad & Elaine sent me some taco seasoning, but it occurs to me now that I should have asked for taco shells as well. Oops.
Hey, while I was typing this there was a knock on my door. It was the mailman with my bank card! Hallelujah, reconnected to the money machine at last! I heard the mailman clomp away down the stairs as I sat down to finish this entry and then I heard another knock at the door. It was a delivery man with Dad and Elaine's package. He asked me to put my hanko stamp on the delivery papers. In Japan, it is common to use "hankos" as your legal mark/stamp/signature. A hanko is usually a wooden or plastic imprint of your name in kanji or kana. You then ink this stamp and apply it to the official papers. I have two hankos. One was made 15 years ago for me by a friend of mine. He chose the kanji to represent my name (Kimu) as "Come Dream". Kanji can have many different meanings and pronounciations depending on what other kanji it is combined with. "Ki" can mean tree, wood, heart, mind, feeling, caring concern, and "Mu" has many meanings too. My newer hanko is in katakana and is the one I use for official documents. It is in my bank passbook for example.At first I thought this was odd, I mean, using a stamp as a signature, wouldn't it be easy to lose or to copy? Chad lost his first hanko and had to get another one, but his old hanko stamp was on his bank book and when he used his new hanko, the bank spotted the difference, so there must be some method to the madness. I guess the hankos help people to read the names easier as well. Kanji are made with so many little strokes and dashes that if you have bad penmanship, well . . . better to use a hanko, neh?