hey all,
So first I need to back track a little. My "interview" with the BOE was really weird because it was held in an auditorium, and there were ALTs from 2 other companies. So the neighborhood where I'm working has hired three different companies simultaneously, which I've never heard of. All we had to do was stand up on the stage when our company's turn came, and then introduce ourselves (and repeat in Japanese, if possible). Then we talked to our teachers about the first lesson.
That is pretty old news. What happened today, is I had my first day of work at my first school. Tomorrow, I'll be at a different school, teaching with different teachers, to different students. Thursday I'm interviewing for another job, and Friday I have my first day at my third and final school. Today went pretty well, overall. The first, second, and fourth classes went really smoothly, but the 3rd class was something of a loss. The homeroom teacher for the 1st class really helped out a lot, probably going above and beyond the call of duty, but the 3rd class lacked disciple, and the homeroom teacher didn't really help at all, and even when she did, the students still didn't get it. The support I got from the other homeroom teachers was about what I received from several of my teachers at my elementary school last year: not great, not horrible, but average.
Something that I've read in several different places, but hadn't experienced, was that teachers at elementary schools are given the same size lunch as their students. At my previous elementary school, they served me lunch in the teacher's room, then I'd take my lunch to which ever class I'd be eating with. Today, I got a small piece of fish, a small bowl of rice, a small bowl of soup, and a small dollop of nikku-jaga: meat and potatoes. I didn't want to be late to work today, so I left really early and didn't stop to pick up something for breakfast, and then they go and give me this tiny lunch. I don't know any adult who has the same dietary requirements as an 8 year old, let alone someone who walks 20-40 minutes everyday, does yoga 1-2 times a week, and regularly goes rock climbing (recently, 2-3 times/week). At the best of times, my daily diet is probably still something like 3000 Calories. And, yes, I still weigh about 60 kg (135 lbs, give or take a few). I'd actually like to put on a little more weight and bump myself up to about 65 or 70kg, but I don't see it happening.
Cheers,
