Steve-Sensei Saves The Orphans...

...well, that's not entirely true. But I did spend saturday afternoon playing with them, and it was great fun! We went to an orphanage just out to the east of Okayama City, and gave out presents. Then (as shown above), my back was slowly destroyed but a succession of piggy-back rides around the room we were in. At first I happily talked in Japanese, showing off my knowledge of "hikoki" (aeroplane) and "doko e ikimasu ka" (where do you want to go). A long time later, the cries of "achi" (over there) were greeted by stoic expressions of pain and weariness as I ferried orphans to and fro. Despite the early pain it was a great afternoon, which ended in the mass unwrapping of presents- mostly radio-controlled cars, and two radio-controlled helicopters!! There was one girl, (pictured), who got a big pink cuddly pig as her present, and I thought it would be funny if I pretended to try to steal it. She thought it was funny too, but even funnier apparently was then kicking, hitting and biting me, as well as chasing me around the room.

At 4pm the fun ended, and I headed to a plush hotel near Okayama station for Shonan koko's Bonenkai ("celebrate ending of year by drinking lots" party). Enkai's, as I have previously touched upon in this blog, are many things, but one thing that matters above all others is the presence and consumption of vast quantities of alcohol. After the kanpai was said (kanpai's being far more symbolic and honorific than "cheers" in the West), everyone got drunk very quickly. There were speeches (including my own, in Japanese...get me!), and a raffle, in which I won a ceramic pig, woohoo! Takemoto-sensei won a Nintendo Shiny Handheld Games Thingy. Food (excellant rare beef, sashimi, spaghetti, and many other things) was accompanied by biru (beer) and sake, and after the enkai ended me and some other sensei launched off to what has to be the plushest bar in Okayama. What a treat! Dom Perignon was consumed, and we were close to ordering the fine and expensive Johnny Walker Blue. Our drinking was limited in the end to Guinness, Gin and Tonic, Beer, Wine and finished off by three kinds of Absinthe, accompanied by chicken delicacies and five kinds of fine European cheese.

Drunk and tired, we stumbled onto the train home to Kojima. The proudest moment of the night was holding several conversations almost entirely in Japanese, and feeling I finally almost deserve the praise Nihonjin sensei usually heap upon us gaijin and our efforts to learn the language. Enkai's are funny things, but its a great chance to chat with teachers, and (as expected) many who don't normally speak with me came up to me and talked "enthusiastically". One of the things I really like is the tradition of never filling your own drink. Instead, you always fill those around you, which results in everyone helping to get everyone else more and more drunk. I was told a lot of suprising and interesting stuff that night, which I dare not repeat!

Today has been mostly pain. I went to my friend Meghan's choir concert in Kurashiki which was nice; a selection of songs including Mozart and a Christmas medley! It made me very festive, and I walked back through Kurashiki's Bikan historical area feeling cheery. Then I went to Jupiter in Okayama Station, a foreign food shop, and bought brie, cheddar and lindt (so much for saving money, again).

More Photos of Me and Orphans Will Follow Soon.