superlongpostaboutmyfirstday

My first day at Junior High School in Japan started miserably. Since my car insurance kicked in at midnight last night, I decided to drive my private car for the first time to the board of education where I would switch to my work vehicle. However, my predecessor left the fuel tank totally empty.

So I began the 10-minute walk to the BOE, over encumbered with teaching props, books, papers, prizes, my laptop, my indoor shoes and outdoor athletic shoes and clothes in case I was invited to play any sports. I was amply prepared, to say the least. And then it began to downpour. Luckily, my preparations included a fold-up umbrella which minimized the soak. Not to mention the heat (あついね) - so by the time I got the BOE I was drenched in a mix of rain and my own sweat. 

I was nervous to drive, not having driven in Japan for about a week and a half, but the solitude and predictability calmed my nerves, enough to temporarily forget about my upcoming self-introduction speech, meeting the staff, students, and being in the classroom.

I switched cars and made it to the junior high early. At 8:05am sharp we started a meeting at our pod of eight desks. At 8:10am sharp, everyone stood up, said "おはよございます," and we started the morning meeting, which consisted of people speaking in Japanese popcorn-style around the room.

At 8:25am, the principal ushered me into the gym where all ~200 students sat perfectly aligned in rows. I wish I would have taken a picture from the stage, but Japan's stoic ceremonial nature deterred me. I sat in a chair, in front of a microphone, and as the principal approached the stage, students were at the ready. They bowed to him for a good 5 seconds. I think I need to bow much longer to people of higher status than myself. 

I gave my self-introduction and the head English teacher translated along. After I finished,  I was reminded why I want to be a teacher, and why I want to be in Japan. One student, much less nervous than myself, walked up on the stage. He took the microphone off the stand, faced me, and introduced himself in Japanese (I could understand a little). Then, in English, he introduced himself. Facing me, with the entire student body in my view, he said most genuinely and kindly, "Please ask us if you have any questions. We are happy to have you here." I barely kept it together. So cute. Such good English.

In the hallway not long after that, a boisterous group of about 5 boys started attempting to talk to me in English. Not far away, a group girls giggled in a corner, watching closely. After a bit of confusion, I determined that they wanted to play soccer with me after lunch - students have a short break around 1:05pm. I agreed, but I had not been informed of a locker room in which to change, my clothes and outdoor athletic shoes were still out in the car, and I didn't know where the field was or how to get out to the courtyard to play. I figured, I would let it be and maybe play another day. 

I was invited to sit in on a few English classes to observe, and was thankful that my self-introduction lessons  begin tomorrow so I could get a feel for things. Not long into the class, some student shouted to the sensei in Japanese, and he translated a question for me to answer, "Have you heard of Happy Tree Friends?" Later in class, a boy in the back of the room stealthily held up his notebook, on which he had written some sentences in English in big enough letters that I could read, "Do you know The Annoying Orange?" Later, a student yelled, "SENSEI, Do you know 'We Will Rock You?" I said yes. "Will you sing it?" I sang the chorus, kind of embarrassed, and the class clapped. Then, out of nowhere, they started yelling, "SENSEI!" again, and before I knew it, they had the beat going. stomp, stomp, clap, stomp, stomp, clap...and then the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) started singing Queen!: "Buddy you're a boy Playin' in the street gonna make a big man some day You got mud on your face big disgrace Kickin' your can all over the place" - That really happened.

After class, I hung out in the front of the room and a huge group formed around me. "Excuse me, do you have any brothers or sisters? Does your sister live in San Francisco? Does your sister speak Japanese? Do you have a car?" I can hardly wait for all of the first-year students to give me their self-introductions tomorrow. It makes me a lot less nervous to get up in front of them and speak my native language, hiding behind props. The kids make this job so worthwhile.

During passing time, I walked around the halls a bit. People said, "kids will stare at you," and I was like, "yeah, sure" - but MAN did they stare! Imagine walking down the halls of your junior high school. Now imagine doing it naked. Those kids stared. They giggled. They pointed. They gasped when they didn't see me coming and turned around and there I was. I might start sneaking up on them... But they also said, "HELLO!" and asked, "HOW ARE YOU TODAY?" and though they were gawking, they were also funny and always helpful. 

After lunch, I heard some commotion at the door behind me. Those same boys who wanted to play soccer with me earlier had come to find me. "Sensei, soccer!" I tugged my skirt and I said, "I can't play in this..." "Changi," they ordered, so I went out to my car to get my clothes, changed in the bathroom (later I was shown where the locker room is), and one of the kids ushered me outside. 

We made 2 teams of 3, no goalies. Our team was far superior, passing triangles (the equivalent of running circles) around the other team. One teacher came out to watch us, perhaps the gym teacher. We high-fived when we scored, and the students tried their best to communicate with me, mostly saying, "Defense," or  "Shoot sensei!" and I had a terrific time. I looked back up at the school and since we were the only 6 outside, the windows were lined with students and teachers watching us. 

Upon my return to the staff room, the Japanese teacher complimented my outside of the foot kicks. Another teacher said that I looked like Abby Wambach. And there was more than one instance of, "じょうず." (skilled) Being foolish breaks down barriers. 

Most of the rest of the day was trying to find some cracks in the language barrier with my coworkers. Some of my Japanese shined through, and from the other side I saw some glimmers of English. In the staff room, the secretary who sits behind me asked me, "What is that?" as she pointed to my vapur water bottle on my desk. " みずです. Water," I replied. She thought it was body lotion! Then she asked, "What is your favorite color?" and I realized that her question was prompted by the fact that both my water bottle and laptop are orange. "Orange," I said. "Ah, orangi," she replied. Her favorite color is purple. 

Overall, there were breakthroughs, inspirations, and things I would have done differently if I could, but I would say my first day was a success!