A Different Christmas in 2011

Well, my posting has been slack to say the least. No, I haven't disappeared off the planet. Not quite yet. But I've been finding it harder and harder to dedicate time to blogging. Some might say that's a step in the right direction. And indeed, what with my G+ goings on (just look me up on +Ben Adelaide) I've been struggling to work out what it is that I do, or even what I want out of this so-called social media. And I continue to struggle...

In the meantime, I'll post a few moments from our Christmas this year... a very strange Christmas. Expecting a second child is much easier in many ways, but also quite unusual too. It's also the last time L-kun will be the sole centre of attention too. And yes, it wasn't exactly a Japanese Christmas (whatever that means... for instance, not a single KFC in sight).

In the mean-time, we had a great Christmas this year (full of the usual ups - and downs). It started off with a great little party over at our house.... with four of L-kun's favourite friends (and their mothers of course). A great time was had by all, and T-chan had a great idea to make Candy Christmas Trees which all the children loved to make.

L-kun write his first letter to Santa (that had to be express delivered by the Priority Elf Mail... 1 day before Christmas). 

He was so happy the mail was sent, and his Samurai DX Megazord was on it's way. Even if he did need a little help from Mummy and Daddy. It was great that he'd finally been able to settle on just one thing.

We also popped down to the Torrens River Christmas display at the Brewery (of all places)... It was pretty much the same as last year (which you can check out here). Though - to be honest, this year was somehow lacking something. There were quite large crowds there (and unfortunately a car+pedestrian accident just before we arrived which looked quite serious), but the displays lacked a sense of fun. Part of that could have been an over commercialisation (the Jack-In-The-Box had been replaced by a popping out add for one of the major sponsors... a TV station). Still there were still the basics there... the nativity scene mixing it up with Hey Diddle Diddle... only in Adelaide.

But it was a time to be merry, and to think about Christmas. And poor old Santa had a lot of visiting to do...

L-kun decided to offer a few extra wishes to his letter... the wishing well is always there to lend an ear.

Christmas - as I've mentioned - was an uncharacteristic occasion for us... and we don't tend to have traditional Christmassy dinners. Our menu: stuffed mushrooms, meatloaf, fuji-san-styled potato salad and pilaf. [ok... it wasn't supposed to be Fuji-san!... ]

And to finish it all off... a wonderful tribute to Japanese Christmas cakes from my wonderful (and exhausted) wife, T-chan.  Kawaii!

And for that final, final touch... L-kun insisted that we just had to leave cookies and milk out for Santa. Which of course Santa consumed with appropriate gusto (late at night). 

Now as for whether L-kun's letter was answered... well, that's between him and Santa Let's just say that L-kun will still be writing to Santa next year. If he's not totally NAUGHTY (in which case extra measures may need to be put in place).

So, even though this post is decidedly late (and I'm going to have to change my watermark shortly), I hope you all had a great Christmas. This is a special one, as it will soon be a Christmas for 4, rather than 3. The important thing is to find those things that make the day special for you - and make the most of it. And most important of all. Don't let the stress of Christmas get you down.

Merry (belated) Christmas 2011.

PS - it seems to me that this year has been a strange Christmas season all around, and despite media reports suggesting a good retail year, I just don't buy it (literally). The shops seemed mostly normal or even quieter than normal, and no matter how many late night shopping nights they had, it just seemed to be a very, very un-exciting Christmas shopping season. Australia has had it pretty easy coming through the GFC (mark I and now mark II). I suspect that the second and third order effects are only now beginning to make themselves felt here. It's times like these that the meaning of Christmas, and the importance of family and hope are not forgotten. I hope that your Christmas was a good and safe one... Ben

Adelaide's Aussie Animals... Gorge Wildlife Park

Well... be warned. This post contains gratuitous animal photos... mostly in extreme states of undress. Actually, I think they could be ALL completely naked. So if you find nude animals distasteful, please turn off now. Of course, if you find nude animals quite appealing, then perhaps you should turn off now anyhow (there are sites for that sort of thing, but this isn't one of them).

This post describes one of the smaller zoos that can be found up in the Adelaide Hills... a perennial favourite with children (and adults) of all ages. It's called the Gorge Wildlife Park which is a sort of strange - very Australian - sort of zoo. It's in a place called - somewhat disturbingly - Cudlee Creek (and there's lots of cuddly critters around). It's a fairly long and windy road to get there (see below) and care should be taken driving along this road (it's a favourite for motorcyclists with more cc's than brain cells). Still, it's a very nice drive... The park costs $14 for adults and $8 for children (as of Jan 2010)... and it's recommended that you also purchase some feed for the animials

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And there are a lot of them... and we may as well start with one of my favourites... the good ol' wombat. Which is notoriously nocturnal (and hence you won't get to see much from the natural bulldozers of the bush during the heat of the day).

There are a large number of wallabies (small versions of kangaroos for the non-Aussie-animal-initiates). And some of these are kept in protected areas.

All of the animals however are allowed to be fed by the visitors... indeed they sell food at the park entrance (but I assume you can bring your own as well). The food is a bit odd - a choice of milk-coffee biscuits or peanuts. Hmmm... not the first thing that I would think of when I imagine their natural diet. The park insists that these things are treats and do not affect their natural diet. However... with the amount of biscuits and peanuts that were being handed out, it's hard to see how they wouldn't be affected.

We didn't really feed the animals much... but that didn't stop us taking the opportunity to take lots of photos with the animals. Many of the animals (especially kangaroos and wallabies) are roaming free, and are happy to have a pat (and/or a feed). L-kun was happy to oblige.

For those that know that kangaroos have a pouch, you might be quite surprised just how big the joey's (baby kangaroos) can grow and still get a free ride.

And sometimes they hardly know up from down (here the joey's gone in head first, with it's big hind legs sticking out). Somehow they can find room in there to turn themselves around. Children... always causing a fuss.

And no sooner have they left the home, and they're looking to come back again.

Actually Gorge Wildlife Park is also famous for it's large number of albino kangaroos. Now, personally, I'm not sure that this is such a great claim to fame. Not a fan of the albino kangaroos. Especially the ones the make you think you're seeing double.

There's also a lot of birdlife in and around the park. Now this is what I call a nest! I didn't know that ibis were so communal. Or that they apparently shared some genetic throwback to otters/beavers...

(ok... I made up that bit about the genetic throwback).

They even have a whole heap of emus... Australia's version of the ostrich. When they're small, they look sooo cute.

And here's what they look like mature... well, this isn't the best photo, sorry. You might have to use your imagination a bit here. They're about 5-6 foot tall (at least), and and they have a very inquisitive nature (and a very aggressive beak as well, at times). They tend not to accept no as an answer.

And just in case you're wondering what an ostrich is (for comparison)... the park also has them as well.

I have to say that ostriches are like the avian alpaca to me. Quite cute, but if you look into their eyes for too long, you might find yourself going stark raving mad.

Of course one of the real favourites in the park are the koalas. No that's not koala bear - they have no relationship with bears at all, but unfortunately the old-fashioned name still goes around.

And whilst you might be thinking "Awwww - ain't he a cute little fella", then you might be in for a surprise if you have a close encounter with one out in the bush. Those claws of theirs are great for climbing trees, but they also make pretty good gouging instruments as well.

With that warning... the park actually does do koala holding. Hmmm - I know that this is a great thing for visitors (to get their photo holding a koala), but I do wonder how this all goes with the animals health (that and the diet of milk coffee biscuits and peanuts... I wonder if they also knock back a beer or two of an evening). Well, anyway, sometimes you need to put aside your inner qualms and just go with the flow. Brave T-chan stood up to the plate for this photo-op. Funny how L-kun doesn't look too relaxed. Perhaps his mind is still on the whole claw thing. Supposedly however, the thing to worry about koalas are not their claws (which were a bit too hard for T-chan's liking)... but rather the risk of urination down the front. Luckily these koalas were well de-juiced before hand. T-chan's getting clucky.

And here's some maternal instinct of another kind.... emphasizing that being a mother can drive you batty. (apologies for the bad puns... it's a curse).

And here's some more gratuitous bird photos...a falcon (I think)

And somethings that I took for birds - and living - but which I'm not entirely sure (as they didn't move a muscle in over 2 minutes). Whatever they were, they could do with some social skills. Actually, if there's one complaint that I have is that the signage in the park leaves a lot to be desired. There's a lot here that you just don't know what it is.

And it wouldn't be an Aussie wildlife park without it's very own Kookaburra.

And camel....er.... that's not that Australian. Is it? Well, no camels are not native to Australia... but they did play an important role in the early history of the country when they were used as "trains"... carting supplies around the countryside (and the deserts in particular). Indeed they were even used to cart pianos (or at least pianolas around the country as well). Australia owes a lot to these beautiful beasts of burden.

And here are some peanuts as proof of our appreciation.

Speaking of the outback... the dingo is an iconic image of outback Australia... however, you won't see too many native dingoes around Adelaide. Indeed in a feat of engineering brilliance (or stupidity) Australia constructed it's own great wall of china in the form of a 5,500 km long dingo fence in the 1880's that was meant to keep them out of the fertile south eastern part of the country - including most of South Australia. Apparently it was at least partially successful.

Of course another of the our northern fauna friends that we'd definitely like to keep out of the southern states are the crocodiles. However... that is not what these fine fellows are. They're actually American Alligators. Couldn't you tell the difference...and if you really wanted to know you can check out here.

For myself, I'm not sure I'd be taking the time out to investigate. Actually I have to say that we had quite a scare here.... when we found that the fence that overlooks the alligator enclosure is definitely scalable by a 3 yo. Be careful. I'm sure these guys are well fed (and docile) but would anyone risk it. Mark this up as negative number two about the park. 

Whilst it's a parents responsibility to look out for their children, there are some things that are better taken with extra precaution. A fence that can't be climbed by children would be one of those precautions.  Hmmm... you know - changing the topic slightly... I'm not sure I'd want anything made from this fella's skin. That looks like some sort of ancient mountain nursery.

Speaking of all things vicious and nasty - the Tasmanian Devil. Ok - I admit that he doesn't look that vicious now. But they have a well-earned reputation amonst Australian carnivores. Then again, we don't actually have that many carnivores in Australia. They tend to make a very loud (and slightly scary) sound when they communicate with each other - sort of like. HOW YA DOIN' - DO YOU WANT ME TO BITE YOUR 'EAD OFF?!?! But in a high-pitched but gutteral kinda way. Right now however, he's getting ready for a snooze - he'll be counting wombats in his dream shortly...

Unfortunately the Devil population (unfortunate name really) is being decimated by a virus-borne facial cancer. Literally the entire population is being threatened by this horrible disease.

Random photo of monkey. No - we do not have any native monkeys in Australia either.

Finally - we end the tour (which is only a fraction of the animals available) with some more wallabies. The afternoon was rapidly turning into evening, and we had a bbq to go home to. So cleaning off the last of our peanuts... we made our own tracks for home after a very enjoyable 3 hours in the Gorge Wildlife Park. I'd defnitely recommend it as a cheap, fun place to go... especially for children. It's close interactivity with the animals makes it a special place to visit... but don't expect to see zoo-keepers or helpful signs. On the last sunday of the month they also do an "unleashed" activity where they bring some of the animals out of their environments to socialise more closely with the animals. Hope that doesn't include the alligators.

This guy looks like he's already had a few cold ones... and as summer approaches in full-strength here in Adelaide, that's not such a bad idea. Hope you all have a good weekend, wherever you are.

Note the Differences - Christmas Time

Actually... Christmas is actually a big event in Japan, but not necessarily for the reasons that you might think. Firstly, Japan has a very small proportion of Christian followers (<1% by most reckoning... but that's still over 1 million people in total). Secondly, Christianity has seen many purges from the country over the centuries, and has to some extent persisted by not being overt in nature. Finally, as is often the way in Japan, the external trappings of Western Christianity have to a large extent been subverted for commercial and social enrichment (e.g. faux church white weddings).

It is the image of Christmas that is most appealing... and can you blame them? It is an image that the West has developed (and commercialised) for centuries... culminating in the Coca-Cola Santa folk-lore image of the 1930's. When we look at Christmas in Japan, it's like looking through a secular mirror of what our own Christmas is becoming, if not become. Yet, there's more to Christmas in Japan than the trees, decorations, Santa and presents...

Christmas in Japan is first and foremost a time of romance... and to be without a date on Christmas Eve is to have suffered one of the great social evils. Well - it might not be that bad, but it's close for the youth of Japan. In fact it's second only to Valentine's Day in terms of romantic overtures and commercialisation. This goes especially for single women...

The other odd thing about Christmas that is often talked about is the Japanese pseudo-tradition of eating KFC for Christmas dinner - and supposedly many Japanese pre-order months in advance to avoid disappointment. The odd thing was that when staying in Japan for Christmas with T-chan's family, we also had KFC (which I thought a little odd at the time), but they just assumed that this was their family thing to do. I've read that up to 1/3 of Japanese families partake of this tradition. KFC first came to Japan in 1970, yet, by 1974 the tradition of  "Christmas Chicken" had supposedly started in one of the first restaurants (in Aoyama).

Nowadays the dominance of KFC, thanks to it's Santa-like Colonel Saunders is unassailable (for now).

The other tradition is of course the Christmas Cake. Unlike the traditional fruit-cake/pudidngs that often adorn our tables in the Australia, the Japanese Christmas Cake is an extravagant affair... well, then again, most cakes are in Japan. The cakes themselves are often just sponge cakes, with strawberry and cream toppings. Sadly, single women in Japan always get it hard - and traditionally when they reached over 25 years of age and were still single, they were referred to as "Christmas Cakes"... which like their real counter-parts must be heavily discounted from the 25th in order to sell. Thankfully those days are gone (are they T-chan?)

And the other thing that is becoming more popular in Japan is the Western Santa Claus... such as our cold Sapporo friend here, photographed in Odori Kouen in very cold conditions)

Actually, Santa's with real beards are becoming especially popular these days, and many foreigners will earn a tidy sum coming to Japan to be the department store Santa. And they can be the most unlikely people.. ever heard of Santa living in Okinawa?

In the West, Christmas is generally associated with spending time with the family, and yet this is traditionally associated with New Years in Japan... but I'll post more about that shortly. The important thing for our family is however that Christmas is almost always a reminder of separation for us. No matter which way it turns out, either my wife or I will be missing our family over Christmas. And this is a common thing for many people sharing international weddings. Of course, whilst T-chan has no Japanese family here in Australia, she is part of a broader family of fellow emigré that spend their Christmas here in Australia with their partner's families.

Over this Christmas break, think back to your own traditions and the way you have spent the time leading up to and including the day. For most of us, a large amount of time is spent worrying about presents to buy, looking for presents to buy, or wondering how we might be able to pay for the presents we've just bought... let alone what presents we will ourselves get. It's good to take some time out from that rat-race and reflect on what Christmas (even from a secular point of view) means to our modern international societies.

So, as the Japanese say "Merii Kurisumasu", or メリークリスマス! And if you have your own Japanese Christmas traditions to add to the list, please drop me a line or send a comment.