Japanese 'Bonenkai"

At the end of the year, most of the Japanese companies host the end of the year party called Bonenkai. It is all about getting away from the stressful work and relaxing. Those liberated employees drink and joke around over funny events or something nothing that happened that year.
Well, the end of year party for our company happened a little earlier. I can say that we had pre-the end of the year party, and it happened in one of the conference rooms at the office. Preparation started around 4 p.m., and pne of the co-workers started to stuff the fridge with bunch of Sapporo.
I was not sure of what was going to happen until two hours later, after our supervisors left the office, a couple of colleagues were making splashing sounds with opening beer cans. I was in total shock. I never thought nor heard that employees would party at their work place.
However, before I knew it, I became the loudest and craziest happy camper. People see me that I am a quiet and diligent, and I do so because I am not still used to how to act like and as Japanese as I used to. I have lived in the States for the last five years, and I seem to have lost the "Japaneseness." So, everyone thought that I was going crazy and losing my sanity when I revealed my true identity with a couple of tasty and sweet Sapporo.
To my co-workers, my act might have looked funny, but, for sure I felt great, feeling accepted for who I am, knowing that it might last only for the next couple of hours until the party ends, but we talked and joked around, which I never had done before.
However, this pre-end of the year party made me realize that they will accept me and I should accept them for who they are and who I am even if we know that we all have different attitudes, notions and perspectives from each other.
From the party, where everyone sincerely worried that I lost my mind, I learned that if I change, they will change too.