Otherwise nothing. No gifts, no cards. Occasionally we wish each other a Happy Valentine's Day, but that's really just as the mood strikes us.
I already posted on Valentine's day customs in Japan, and as far as I can tell those have held true. I didn't get to definitely verify the customs this year, though, because Valentine's Day falls both after the semester ends AND on a Sunday this year. Not only that, but Thursday was a holiday, so I took Friday off too and made a nice long weekend for myself. I was super disconnected from cultural activities (other than long lines for chocolate at the stores). I did drop by work for a few minutes on Friday and was presented a box of sweets from two of my students. She had made them for all the English teachers to share, but there was only one other English teacher in on Friday and she didn't want any of the treats. I was planning to leave them in the refrigerator until Monday, but my colleague convinced me to just take them home and enjoy them before they got stale. They were quite good. There were two homemade chocolates (like super melty center of a really good chocolate truffle, wrapped in saran and sealed with a pink pig sticker). A slice of chocolate cake and a half dozen chocolate and vanilla swirl short bread cookies. It was all delicious. I feel guilty for not sharing more at work. It was a very sweet gift.This Valentine's Day, Russell and I plan to stay home and play video games, cook curry, do laundry, and generally not move much. We are looking forward to it. I did buy Russell a box of chocolates as a tip-of-the-hat to our current home. Plus, I fully intend to help with their consumption. I guess Valentine's Day isn't that bad.
For anyone out there still reading this blog, Happy Valentine's Day. If you are in Corvallis, have a slice of pizza for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment