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.