Ladies' enkai

The female teachers had an enkai tonight. In Japan, the school year ends in March and begins in April. During this period, teachers also get transferred between schools within the prefecture. Teachers typically stay between 4-8 years at a school.

We have very few female teachers in our school (very sexist reason being that my school is regarded as a highly academic school, so many male teachers are posted here). Out of the 40+ teachers, there are only about 7 full-time female teachers, the others are part-time teachers who teach subjects like calligraphy, home economics, music, etc. So this enkai was to reward ourselves for a hard year's work (hah!) and to bid farewell to the female teachers who are leaving the school.

We had a great feast! There were scallops, oysters, some grilled fish coated with a thick layer of salt (have to break the layer of salt before you can get to the fish!), sashimi salad, sushi, roast chicken, pasta, pizza, and dessert was sakura (cherry blossom) ice-cream. Sakuras are starting to bloom in Japan, so many places are coming up with all kinds of sakura-flavoured food.

Check out the humongous scallop (on the grill)!

And oh, since I knew that I'd be drinking at the enkai, I cycled to the restaurant...only to be told that it was against the law to ride a bicycle after you've drank alcohol (?!!). I cycled home fine anyway...either my bike-riding skills have improved greatly or my drinking abilities have...or both. :)

Anyways, I'm off to Hiroshima, Kyoto and Kanazawa for the next 1.5 weeks during my spring vacation. My parents, aunt and uncle are visiting and we're gonna see cherry blossoms! YAY! Take care and check back for photos of my trip in a couple of weeks!