tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8676935904188068867.post3580858178065057790..comments2012-11-05T23:23:21.336-06:00Comments on The Adventurer: Enkai? Konpai!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635178043257951603noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8676935904188068867.post-90095791198398334472012-08-22T18:25:54.360-05:002012-08-22T18:25:54.360-05:00I think crazy is definitely a tradition here. As f...I think crazy is definitely a tradition here. As far as my predecessor, I definitely wouldn't say that. As far as I can tell all of the teachers and students absolutely loved her. I have some HUGE shoes to fill. Everyone I work with in the office seems to have really liked her too. <br /><br />That being said, drinking is a pretty big deal in Japan and the whole thing kind of reminds me when I pledged a frat (fun fact, yours truly was/is a frat brother [Alpha Phi Omega was coed]) my freshman year). I didn't drink at that point in my life because the few people I knew that did drink didn't seem to make good life choices, so I strived to be as dissimilar from them as possible. <br /><br />There is a LOT of pressure here to drink (and drink a lot for that matter) and I do think that people that don't are viewed as "weird" even if the reason is that you are allergic to alcohol. In the stores, they sell alcohol free "beer" (definitely not beer). It, in my opinion, is one of the worst tasting things a person could ever choose to ingest, but people here drink it when they can't drink so that they at least look like they're taking part. I sometimes feel like I need to bust out one of those peer pressure videos that we were forced to watch in middle school. I think it has a lot to do with the collective mentality that people seem to have here. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04635178043257951603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8676935904188068867.post-64639495663709559852012-08-22T13:27:56.491-05:002012-08-22T13:27:56.491-05:00I've only read one account of an enkai before ...I've only read one account of an enkai before and I thought, "They aren't all like that, are they?" This is only the second recalling of it that I've read, but I guess they ARE all like that, haha. <br /><br />It sounds like you've already made a better impression than the previous ALT. That'll make working there easier I bet. Zach Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10197312885179375441noreply@blogger.com