bounenkai 1

First bounenkai out of the way! It was a big, lively one of 38 members and was held at an izakaya which we had booked for the party a month or so in advance. The fun  began at 8:00 after our English discussion, and went straight on through the night, past last-train time, and into the next morning. For the party, The bounenkai's official cut-off time was 10:00, but seriously, in who's twisted world is two hours of drinking and partying enough? A lot of the members stayed until much later, reluctantly excusing themselves from the party  to catch their last train. I briefly considered catching my last train as well, but the fun was on, I was with good company, it was my first bounenkai of the year, and I HATE rushing for my last train (Really, the excuses were endless). So I ended up sticking around till the first train with a handful of members who, like me, didn't want the partying to end with midnight. We wrapped things up with an hour and a half of surprisingly energetic singing at karaoke! And by then, believe me, I was exhausted! That's 10 hours of partying straight with no breaks in between! No more, thanks! I had quite enough!

And oh, damn! I definitely drank too much. It's Japanese etiquette to pour each other's alcohol, and also to make sure that each other's glasses are full or that they have enough to drink. The student sitting directly in front of me was a very polite man, and made sure that my cup was always full. This was very nice of him, but it also made it difficult for me to estimate exactly how much I was drinking and at what rate. But I do remember exactly what I was getting drunk on: lot's of beer, umeshu nihonshu, and sake! It was the perfect recipe for a smashing hangover! Thankfully, I had my head screwed on properly that night, and I was very conscious of the need to keep my drinking at a moderate pace at a year-end party with students. I also didn't do or say anything embarassing, and was able to keep a good conversation up with the members that were sitting at the same table as me, despite feeling the affects of alcohol quite strongly. I'm very proud of myself! Well done! Oh, and love the fact that my face doesn't change color when I drink! Yay!

But despite drinking too much, and the long night, and feeling exhausted the next day with a horrible hangover, I had so much fun and don't regret a thing! Looking forward to the next one, on the 13th!