Andrew's First Enkai

Hello all! First off: I uploaded a picture of my shinkansen lunch and put it in the post before this one. Check it out ^^

Also, behold my first photos of my new home city, taken from my hotel room window on the fifth floor:

We have one additional half-day of orientation here in Kyoto before I meet my daily supervisor and continue on to my new apartment tomorrow. Last night we all went out for our first enkai, or work-colleague drinking party. For 3500 yen, or about $35 each we got unlimited drinks and a vast collection of Japanese bar food. The only thing I did not try were the little deep-fried fish that looked up at me from their plate. I don't think I'm quite to the point where I can eat fish heads, though I did eat some cubes of processed root vegetable that tasted like hot-dog jello. As for the drink, it is worth noting that it's possible to attend a drinking party without drinking alcohol. I drank Coke and orange juice instead and no one seemed to mind.

This being a welcome party of sorts, we were joined by four members of the board of education. Miyajima sensei said that they were self conscious of their English and they sat at their own table a little ways away. Occasionally Miyajima sensei would usher a couple of us over to introduce ourselves and make conversation, which is the point in the party that I found myself explaining the London Eye Ferris Wheel in halting Japanese to the board of education. “It's a big circle,” I explained, “That people ride on!” this was accompanied by complicated gestures of finger-people ascending into the air.

More to come soon!

-Andrew