Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Enkai...
...is a drinking party! We celebrated the departure of one substitute English teachers and the arrival of another. We went to a Chinese restaurant with some good food and, of course, good beer!
Enkais are generally pretty wild since once Japanese people drink, they really break out of their stoic shell. But it's too bad, all the English teachers at our school are older. The average age of teachers at Miki SHS is in the mid-40s. So even though I suggested the standard after-party, no one wanted to go.
Oh well, I guess we did have school the next morning. Also, in the countryside, where you have to drive to get anywhere, and with the zero tolerance on drinking and driving, there aren't many options.
Enkais are good fun though. It's nice to be able to socialize with coworkers on a more casual level. Making sure everyone's glass is full of beer is proper etiquette, so that's pretty fun, being the beer Nazi. And of course, your own glass will always be topped off, so if you don't want to drink, just leave your glass full.
