We officially went to our first “work-related drinking party” Wednesday night. It was presented to us as “Genghis Khan Night,” in honor of the lamb hot pot eater (among other less cheerful things). Lamb hot pot -- many images were coming to mind pre-party. The ones that didn’t however, were the massive pitchers of beer that got passed around between the Japanese teachers of English and us (the ALTs). The beer flowed like waterfalls. This is the Japanese way. Not feeling well, I managed to escape with a polite drink, at the toast. Ryan was not so lucky. As a man, he is almost obligated to drink and accept when more beer is poured for him. And not five minutes went by that a pitcher wasn’t being brought around and generously refilling Ryan’s cup. As for me, when I declined a second round, I was only asked if there was “something wrong with me...?” Ryan would have suffered much more harshly, along the lines of, “maybe he is not a man...”
The good part about all of this is that it only lasts for 2 hours, 6-8 PM. At 8 PM , everyone gets up and walks out. Often, they go to a second “party of the night,” but are not required to do so...we snuck out as soon as it was over. The prepayment for “Genghis Khan” was about $32 each. So we made sure to get the most of the salad bar -- and veggies and meat that we cooked ourselves over a grill at our table.
The best part of the evening was when my boss got up to introduce the new Assistant Language Teachers (and one spouse) and temporarily forgot Ryan’s name. Mr. Okuyama-san really adores Ryan -- he has done so much to help him and always includes him in everything so it was no insult -- just a sudden case of stage fright. Anyway, he was right in front of us so motioned for Ryan to stand, and when he began to say his name he forgot it in mid-sentence. It came out: “This is...This is her...This is the...What should I say?...THIS IS THE GUY!” Everyone laughed and cheered and Ryan was honored by such a long introduction -- especially since he has never been referred to as: “The Guy!” We all had a good laugh over it.
The next day at the office, Mr. Okuyama-san was very concerned that he had offended Ryan and asked if “guy” is a rude term. I assured him that it is perfectly fine and very normal to be introduced in such a way. He felt much better =) So that was our “Nomi-hodai” or “Drink as much as you can in two hours” party. Hopefully, there won’t be another for awhile -- it’s a drag to pay $64 for beer you really don’t feel like drinking and meat you really don’t feel like cooking! All and all, though, it was a nice evening with some good conversation with my fellow ALTs and we were home by 8:15 -- in bed by 9!