Drinking With Coworkers ( 7 )

When I was growing up, I learnt that girls generally preferred guys about 10 centimeters taller than themselves. I also learnt that guys (including me) preferred girls who were shorter than us, likewise, about 10 centimeters shorter. In primary school, I was short and lightly built. I was thankful that there were always 2 or 3 boys in my classes shorter than me.
Most girls were as short as, or a little shorter than me. From 12-14 years old, all the girls grew breasts and put on weight around their hips. Most of them became heavier (and posssibly stronger) than me. There were only a few girls who were atleast 10cm shorter than me. I liked those girls and thought they were cute, but they were also popular amongst the boys. Ofcourse there are a lot of other important qualities besides height and weight but I wished I was 6 feet tall so that there were more short girls. From all the girls I've dated none have been taller than me, (I guess they think I'm too short) and none have been more than 10 centimeters shorter (They always seem too popular amongst the boys).
Coming to Japan turned me into a taller than average male. Suddenly, there were 10 times as many short and cute girls and chances to date them. During my first few months in Japan, I made several female friends, all of them less than 50kgs and shorter than 160cms. I met each of them about twice a month for lunch or for dinner. I learnt some Japanese language and different things about Japan from each of them.
After a few months I found the friendships had developed and the possibility of dating one of the girls became bigger and bigger, but which one? One day, I had the chance to meet a girl who I really liked but I had a plan to meet another good friend. I was undecided as to whether to stay withmy original plan or to cancel my plans and meet the other female friend.
I told her that my workmates were having a party and I was thinking about going. She told me that it was my responsibility to go and socialize with my coworkers. `Your job and your company is important and going drinking with coworkers is an important part of that.` Anyway, I was able to cancel and change my plans much easier than I'd expected.
Japanese people often drink with their coworkers, and many have a responsibility to go whether they want to or not. Koibitos and spouses never join them but understand the importance. It shows loyalty to the company and builds a team spirit with other workers.
I enjoy drinking with my coworkers and, because I’m gaijin, I enjoy being able to say no to them and go home.
Once or twice I've wanted to go out drinking with a female friend or some girl chasing buddies and I knew my girlfriend (at the time) wouldn't like it. I used the sentenee `I'm going drinking with coworkers` and I met no resistance at all. If I were in a different country or used different words I'd probably end up having to explain all the details of my night to my girlfriend and possibly find myself in an argument about a boyfriend's responsibilities.

Tokyo Trains ( 6 )

After six months of working in Shinjuku, I still hadn’t ever checked a train timetable. As usual, I finished work at 9pm and rushed to the station. The crowds around Shinjuku Station reminded me of the crowds outside a stadium just after an international sporting event. I’ve read that an average of about 4 million people pass through Shinjuku by train each day. That’s more people than the population of New Zealand.
The river of people coming up the stairs from the platform was taking up 3/4s of the stairs so I knew a train had arrived. As I approached the bottom of the stairs, I saw the train about 10-15 meters away. I saw that everyone had squeezed onto the train and some others were running alongside the train waiting to decide which door to try to push into. I heard the bell to signal the doors would close. It would’ve taken at least 10 seconds for me to cross through the stream of people to get to the closest door so I accepted that I’d have to wait for the next train.
In one door 2 men could only get a foot into the train so the doors reopened. The station attendant helped, by pushing the 2 men into the train. I occasionally meet people with bandaged hands or fingers who tell me they had got caught in train doors. As the doors closed a second time, I watched again to see who got stuck and what they would do. This time no body parts, only a man’s briefcase. All the doors reopened about 10 centimeters for about 2 seconds, and he pulled his briefcase into the train.
The electronic sign indicated that the next train would arrive in 6 minutes. I could count on a 97% chance that the train would arrive within the minute. Like clockwork, the train arrived on the minute and I boarded, carefully selecting my preferred position to be squashed in. The 8 people sitting in front of me all had their chins dropped to their chests and eyes closed. Only the deep sleepers would start to dribble or struggle to keep their heads from falling to the side. The majority, I guess, were relaxing their eyes and avoiding having to interact with anyone else.
In most cities, I’d be worried about being pick pocketed or cornered and mugged, but in Tokyo I feel safe enough to relax and ignore everyone around me. Sinking into what I could describe as a kind of meditation. I found valuable thinking time and travel time seemed to past faster.
On this particular day, I wondered if I should be thankful for the considerate people around me and the safety of this big city, or I should curse the crowds and the stress that came with them.