This afternoon I met a handful of American students who are taking part in a Japanese language immersion course. (I will withhold their university and individual names.) However, the students and I have much in common, so I offered to take them out with some of my other American friends so we could all get to know one another. As is Japanese custom, I invited them out to an IZAKAYA (Japanese restaurant) so we could eat and drink together.

Immediately, all three students looked hesitant, and eventually they informed me that of their 14 person group, "no one really drinks, so an IZAKAYA is not a good idea." (As a somewhat irrelevant side note, but perhaps an important one to understand these students, they did not want to go out Saturday night anyway because of an exam the following week.)  For people in their early 20s, I found this hesitance toward alcohol strange, so I asked them if it was because of religious reasons or something different entirely. I mean, it was not like we were going out to get drunk together! The answer was not readily clear, but I sensed it had something to do with the fact that they never drink in the United States and typically view it in a negative light.

My immediate reaction was to scream out, "Good lord, why on earth did you come to Japan if you won't drink alcohol?! How do you expect to meet people here or build any relationships?!" In fact, the group hangs out primarily with each other, the sole exception being the arranged one-on-one discussion sessions with Japanese students. Why not stay in the United States if you are going to learn a culture and a language out of a textbook anyway?! The point of traveling to countries is to EXPERIENCE them, to BRANCH OUT, and most importantly, to overcome STIGMATIC BRAINWASHING inherent to any country. (Puritans -> Alcohol is bad.)

Anyway, when I relayed this story to several of my Japanese friends, they were even more baffled than I was simply because it is incomprehensible to them that drinking is viewed in a negative light.

This is very similar to Chinese who cannot FOR THE LIFE OF THEM understand why someone is a vegetarian. As rude as it may be, I always break out laughing whenever a friend tells a Chinese restaurant not to put meat in their dish. The Chinese will often respond by saying, "Oh, you are afraid of the health conditions or bird flu. Well, don't worry, the meat is safe and properly cooked!" When the vegetarian continues trying to explain that they "just don't eat meat," the invariable response is always: "But the meat is the best part!"

** As an additional note to what is written above, I am not against people who don't drink - there are very sound logical reasons why excessive alcohol is a bad idea. What I am against are people who, despite being knowledgeable or well-traveled, fail to think for themselves and escape the concepts they were brought up with. If you drink from the fountain of knowledge, drink deep! (Pun intended.) **