why I enkai

So last night I had my official, if not slightly belated, welcome “enkai” (work party). I have to say I was a bit nervous about it. The only other enkai I had been to was the one I had my first night in Aomori City with all the English teachers. It was extremely low key at a “French” restaurant, more of a gathering than a party. This one was was a little bit scary to me for two reasons. First, I was told last minute that I would be the only female attending. All the teachers who were coming were men. For some reason, the female teachers were all unable to attend. Secondly, the party was to be held at an expensive sushi restaurant, meaning I would be eating an array of raw fish and other sea creatures. While I have eaten sushi, I usually stick to tuna and salmon.

I arrived at the enkai to discover that Saito sensei, an English teacher who has always been extremely kind and helpful to me, would be attending to replace my supervisor as translator for the night. And he was the only person whom I knew well at the party. So that made me feel more comfortable.

But my nervousness was to be unfounded. My party with raw fish and seven male teachers was a wonderful experience. I’ve heard that enkais are important in order to build rapport with your coworkers. Nothing could be more true. I found myself opening up to them and them opening up to me, even though only a couple of them could actually speak English! My neighbor, Babba sensei, told me he will teach me Japanese everyday in exchange for me teaching him English. When I told him my dad owned a vending machine business, he joked by asking me if I was produced by a vending machine. Jin sensei, who has always seemed nice but who I never talked very much with, said he wants to visit my apartment with his wife and meet my husband. I found myself explaining what a casserole is and how much I miss having a dryer and central heating. I was rallied for the staff bowling competition to be held next week. I made jokes and was genuinely laughed at! All with only one beer in me. It’s amazing how one dinner has changed my whole perspective about how I fit in with the other teachers at Nishiko.

This is not to say that anyone has been anything but kind to me. But there is a big difference between your coworkers being nice to you and your coworkers  bonding with you. This is what seems to be the importance of enkais, a Japanese tradition I found strange when I read about it. After relating at a party, I think I will find it more easy to relate to my coworkers at school, especially as enkais continue to occur throughout the school year.

To top it off, I tried many things I would probably never try on my own. The menu included squid, octopus, snails, sashimi, sushi, fish and mushroom soup, and something I was told was a very expensive sea shell creature which I have yet to identify. The only thing I passed on was a sushi I was told was a type of shell. I was afraid I wouldn’t get it down if I had to chew it too long… I liked almost evertihng and learned that fried octopus is absolutely delicious, something I never thought I would hear myself say.

~Melissa

~ by amfenrick on September 30, 2009.