I had a party every day this last weekend; there was a lab-sponsored drinking occasion on Friday, two impromptu parties in the international house on Saturday, and the big International Festival on Sunday.
Friday evening, around 6pm, about 30 of us from the lab went to this little establishment in the entertainment district of Sendai. The general name for this type of place is an izakaya. Most textbooks will translate it as "a Japanese bar," but that phrase brings up images of a dark, smoke-filled room with a jukebox in the corner and bottles of alcohol along one wall. This place was more like a restaurant. With low tables. Where you have to take your shoes off.
So the large throng of people filed into our own room, where the tables were set with all kinds of treats, from sashimi to beans to chicken to french fries, and dominating it all was a sort of stew pot in the center with vegetables and pork in a miso broth. And of course, as soon as we sat down the waitstaff brought in several bottles of beer. The idea is that you're supposed to pour for other people, and thankfully I figured that part out rather quickly.
Soon after sitting down, they wanted me to do a self-introduction. A bit nervously, I stood up, said my name, rank, and serial number, and proceeded to sit down, figuring I was done. But instead, the prof told me to stand up again, and the whole group gave me the 4th degree... how long had I been in Japan, how long would I be in Japan, where was I from, what are my hobbies, what kind of women do I like, how about the secretary sitting next to you, etc. Eventually, they finished, and I was able to sit down and enjoy the meal with my colleagues.
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Of course, not being content to do anything halfway, the waitstaff didn't stop at beer, but proceeded to bring in every alcoholic beverage in their arsenal, including something called an Ichigo Sour (which was quite sweet), a Calpis Sour (made from a local soft drink) and of course, large amounts of sake. Needless to say, everyone was feeling quite comfortable with each other by the end of the night. Including the secretary. But oh no, we didn't stop there.
When the group dispersed, half of us decided to go to yet another bar for something called "Nomihodai." This translates to "All you can drink."
Are you getting the impression that drinking is a big cultural event?
Thankfully, the bar we went to wanted us to wait 20 minutes before starting our timed alcoholic marathon, so instead we went to a different bar, and had other drinks, and some snackish foods. By the time we finished, it was about 1:30am.
Fast forward to Saturday evening where an impromptu party starts over a card game called Mao. (Unfortunately, no one can be told what the rules of Mao are. It's kinda like The Matrix in that respect.) We have the common room reserved until 11pm, and thanks to my previous experience with Japanese alcoholic beverages, I'm able to pick out a very decent bottle of sake. It also happens to be a very large bottle of sake. 1.5 liters, to be specific. Everyone else chips in some, and by the end we have the bottle of sake, several beers, a cheap horrible bottle of wine, and even a bottle of single-malt Glenfiddich. At the appointed time, we broke up the rather pathetic party, and I trudged upstairs, carrying my bottle of sake, to see if I could get some sleep.
But what do you know, but there was another impromptu party on the 4th floor, right in front of my door. Seeing that there was no realistic expectation of being able to sleep, I decided instead to join the gathering! And there was much rejoicing!
Sunday morning I woke up with a bit of a headache, and then remembered that there was supposed to be an International Festival or something in the courtyard outside the main building.
They had food from every country you could imagine. I tried out some Indian curry, some potato-thingies from Sri Lanka, and some damn good dessert from Tonga. Then I wandered around and took photos of the event.
Afterwards there was a huge dance party in the lobby of the House. I talked to a young woman who wants to practice English with me. She's apparently a brain surgeon, and she was wearing FMP boots (those of you who know what those are, more power to ya... I'm not going to try to explain!)
Quite a lot of stuff for just 3 days, I think.
