End of the year Enkai

Went to a party the other night. It was in honor of all of the teachers who are getting transferred at the end of the school year. Japanese school systems are extremely different from the US school system. The school year ends in March and the new year begins in April (the kids only get about 2 weeks off between school years). And the teachers find out on the last day of school whether or not they get to stay at the school they are at. For the most part the principal and school board decide whether or not a teacher is an asset to the school and decides whether or not to keep them. Now, if the teacher is great, they can stay at the school for up to 10 years…but at 10 years, they are guaranteed to get a transfer. I guess the idea, is that it keeps everyone fresh and open to new ideas and places. But I find it rather stressful, since all the teachers are a nervous wreck in the month leading up to the announcements.

But, I’ve digressed…the enkai…so I show up at this party (a rather long drawn out, thing where I virtually drink alcohol alone and make up conversations in my head …being the only non-Japanese speaker, I find that people tend to practice their English on me, but then ignore me for more in-depth conversations…honestly, who can blame them.) And believe me, I try to get out of all of these parties…but I have found not only are they a nuisance but also a requirement…(as a side note: I am now in the process of trying to skip another party. But, I have recently learned that the board of education has made it their business to make sure I attend. I even got a call from the superintendent of schools telling me, that if my excuse for not attending is personal and not directly related to official business, then I better cancel my other plans and go to the party….More proof that the board of education does not have enough to keep them busy.)
So, the food arrives…and it is plate after plate after plate of seafood. All of which has a face. There was the baby octopus with the cute head, that I was suppose to crunch on. The shrimp with the black eyes and antennae, which I watched my neighbor slowly suck on and swallow. And finally, the bowl of fish soup with a whole fish inside it, along with the whole fish centerpiece where one was required to pull individual slices of sashimi off of. When I lived in the States I never ate anything on a bone, with skin, and especially with a face. I know this is terribly gauche, but I kind of like processed food, I don’t have to think about how it was once alive. But since moving to Japan, I have had to learn to eat stuff with bones and skin…And I can do it with minimal difficulty….but eating the stuff with faces…man that is just gross, I cannot get past it.