First day of school! (Elementary)

Wow! I am so mentally exhausted and intrigued by today that "wow" is pretty much the best word to describe my thoughts.

Today was my first day working the new job in the Japanese public school system and my first time teaching in the Japanese public school system. Ive taught before in a private language school but the public system a totally different experience.

I am working as an assistant language teacher but am under a special type of contract called the "Haken" which means unlike a lot of ALTS who deal with their dispatch company directly and not the school, I on the other hand am considered a staff member of the school by everyone there. This can be both good and bad, and which it will be the most of has yet to be decided. Regardless it is the job I have.

So the first thing that I notice is that the kids are like super curious about me, and I mean SUPER curious. It was so funny to be walking through the halls and have so many kids staring at me and expressing shy giggles, while others would yell out "Hello". The most often comment I could hear from them was regarding how tall I am. They absolutely loved that, haha. I literally had huge crowds of kids following me through the halls. It was a bit overwhelming.

Classes went pretty well today. Introduction and alphabet stuff. 45 minute classes zoomed by. After each introduction I gave the students a chance to ask any questions they may have. Here are 3 questions that were asked without fail

Questions
1. How tall are you?
2. Are you married/Do you have a girlfriend?
3. What Japanese food do you like?

Answers
1. 192 cm (followed by gasps of awe)
2. No/No
3. Sushi,gyuudon,Okonomiyaki,takoyaki,ect..

For some reason after each class the students would come up to me and ask me to sign their books or random blank sheets of paper. At least 30 students each class. I felt like I was famous. My claim to fame being foreign. They were so excited to get the signature. Some of the girls were even jumping up and down in anticipation, hahaha. I got a back massage from two of the boys. It was all quite surreal.

There were two activities outside of teaching that I found the most enjoyable/interesting.

1. Lunch time: Who doesn't like food right? During lunch time I get to eat with the kids in the class room. They don't have cafeterias. Instead they reorganize all the desk and eat lunch in their respective class rooms at the time. There are a few students who are in charge of getting the food and bringing it to the class room where they dispense the food out to all the others in the class including me. During lunch we eat together and talk. It was a great way to feel like part of the class and get to know the students better as they do the same with me.

2.Cleaning time:There are no janitors in Japanese public schools. Instead there is a designated time where all the students ban together to help keep the school clean. During this time you often see tons of students sweeping classrooms or running through the halls with wash rags pressed against the floor. I also take part in this experience by working with them. The amount of discipline these students have is astounding. I couldn't even imagine something like this going at all well in the States. Another time for student/teacher bonding.

Other things that surprised me were the students helpfulness. Many times a few of them would gleefully lead me to the next class or back to the teachers lounge carrying my teaching materials with them.
All in all it was a good first day and I pray my experiences will remain that way. It being the first day I haven't been hit with all the cultural differences working that will no doubt eventually show up causing me a few headaches, but for now it's cake and sugar.

You're not in Kansas any more Christian.
I'm certainly not. =)