I have - of late - been the unwilling subject of a cruel and sadistic form of Japanese torture.
They place you in a room with a large table in the centre. They then proceed to fill the table with plates of raw fish, barbequed meat, rice, grapes the size of oranges, watermelon, mushrooms of all description, pickled vegetables, tofu, deep fried prawns, big red crabs and other wonderments. You can not eat them. Not yet. They fill very large tankards with cold fizzy beer and splash sake (rice wine) about the place like it was water. You can not drink. Not yet. The smell of these culinary and alcoholic delights tempt you like the apple tempted Adam but you must wait. You must wait until all the invited guests are present and seated. Then you must listen to speeches in Japanese and return the favor with a speech in English. All the while you eye the feast like a hungry dog. When all is said and done you make a toast "kampai!" and the ingestion of food and liquor begins.Your hunger is banished and your thirst is slaked but it has only just begun. You must continue eating until you are bloated and you must drink until your rosy merriment turns to drunken idiocy. And then they bring out the whisky - and more food. You wish for your hunger and sobriety to return. But there is no hope. They are not satisfied until you are completely maggoted. The room spins, you can't remember your name or where you live. Someone takes you home and maneuvers you into your tiny apartment. You wake soon after dawn and go to school to teach the children of the people you were drinking with last night. Then it happens all over again.
Please help me. I can't keep this up for much longer