...which brings the cockroach count up to four. I swear, though, I'm a bit of a ninja with the old box and sheet of paper. All four harmlessly evacuated from the premises, hopefully with some of that roach poison stuff on their lips that they can then hopefully spread the stuff around. Gosh, I'm so proud of myself.
But that's not what you came here to read, I'll wager. No, because this week was my first proper week of work, with real lessons that I really planned myself and everything. A quick rundown of the stuff you've missed: Monday, Wednesday and onwards were all at Junior High, where Tuesday was at Elementary, and for the record I wasn't supposed to have any lessons on the Monday but happened to anyway.
So Monday saw me with class 1-2, which have fast become one of my favourites. Before we got there, I mentioned to my OTE that I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, and he said to me, "Don't worry. Class 1-2 are very... lively. We have a very... special boy in this class." And boy, was he special. But no, there was seriously no need for me to have been nervous about a single thing. First years are very similar to Elementaries in terms of fondness for activity (see later), and are more than happy to humour you by saying that the picture in your hand is clearly of a cat, unlike certain 3rd year classes I could care to mention (see much later). As I found out, it's often good to go for a Dragon Quest-inspired finale, where you pull out your big guns one after another so they don't have time to rest. This means playing that clip from Break Out by JAM Project, mentioning I like anime songs, listing my three favourite animes, then pulling out my DS complete with pictures of girlfriend, then an Xbox controller, and then finishing the whole thing off with a guessing game about my favourite video game which ends in a Pokemon-hat flourish. I had kids standing up in their seats because they couldn't think of better ways to express their growing excitement (or, as one kid remarked in his homework, "Tension up up!").
A good day, then. But my week was just getting started. Elementary school was the next day, and meant a renewal of nerves that morning. But, once again, they were unnecessary. Elementary school kids here in Japan are God's greatest creation. The cuteness I was expecting, but what I wasn't expecting was a level of bull-headed enthusiasm that I don't think I could match on the mother of all sugar rushes. They were shy at first, as was to be expected, but as soon as it became clear that their school was my destination I was instantly one of them. It didn't matter that I forgot the way to the staffroom, I practically had my hand grabbed and pulled all the way there without me even saying a word. Now, Elementary timetables are a little funny. Rather than a massive break after lunch like what I got at that age, each class has a 10 or 20 minute break in the middle which, if you're under the age of 10, is enough for a whole dodgeball tournament. My four lessons that day were with 6th year students, the top end of the school, and as would be a running theme through the schools here each class had its own little quirks, little nuances. Though I received overwhelmingly positive responses from every class, 1 and 3 were the top end. I was mobbed at the end of my class by 3, all eager to see the montage of puri-kura on my DS or quiz me about my favourite Pokemon and lovelife. In the other, question time devolved into a match to see who could name the most obscure anime they could think of and still have me know what it was. The kid who asked about Gundam, who happened to be wearing a tshirt with a Z'Gok on it, did a little dance when I said Gundam was one of my favourites. And then this one kid, himself wearing a Monster Hunter tshirt, he was an absolute legend. When Nakamura-sensei asked if I was an otaku, and I replied that I probably was by Western standards, he insisted on running to the front to give me a double high-five, shouting a victory cry the whole time. He even added a cheeky "Too bad, sensei!" to his homeroom teacher when it became clear I had a girlfriend. In breaks I was dragged (not unwillingly) into various games that each left me exhausted, and any attempt at sorting my files in the staffroom had kids knocking on the door with polite requests for my company in various classrooms (or in one case, "Peter, come on!"). Lunch was with another class, a fifth year one, who jumped for joy at the sight of my Pokemon lunchbox, and last class was with teeny-weeny 2nd years, practicing the very basics of self-introductions. This last class, it turned out, attended the nursery school by my busstop after their time at Elementary, presumably to wait for parents, and were not so much thrilled as shocked that I was present outside of school. I had a good chat with those guys waiting for the bus. And that was my day. Ex-flipping-ceptional.
Back to Junior High now, with Wednesday being 3rd year day. These guys are just as much enthusiastic, I think, but they have it hidden deep below their foolish too-cool-for-school images. I fail to believe that they don't know what a dog is, for example. Still, three successful lessons plus some useful advice from my OTE. Thursday was 2nd year day, and as expected those guys are a mixed bag. I got a lot of shy guys, but also some entertaining troublemakers ("Which girl sensei at Junior High do you like the most?"). Also, watching the question time routine of pass the ball around during the music and the poor soul holding it when the music stops must ask me a question, was pretty hilarious. AND I'm pleased to find that my soccer and basketball abilities are roughly the same as the 2nd years, making for some fun lunchtimes. Today was an odd one, though, as I started off with my Nakayoshi class. Nakayoshi, for those who haven't read my explanation in an earlier post, is the class for special needs students, and I have to say that other than a much more casual approach to student-teacher interaction, and this one girl who had a throat infection that day so spoke like Darth Vader, I couldn't find a thing wrong with any of them. They were exceptionally friendly, very much willing to take part, and though underconfident about their English very willing to try.
And that's about it. Next week will be real lessons, not just my long-winded self-introduction, which will need real preparation. Also fast approaching is the Sports Day, which has been practiced down to the last second so far in specialised lessons this week, with no sign of stopping. Also, double Elementary school!
Thanks for reading.
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