School starts!

School has started! Finally I am actually doing what they are paying me for. So far, school is actually going pretty well, although I haven’t really gotten into the meat of it yet. Most of it has been my Jikoshoukai (self introduction). I tell the kids about Kentucky, show some pics (they ooo and awww) and then they introduce themselves to me. Time seems to fly when I’m teaching (which I assume means I’m actually having some fun), and although I’m not actually “teaching” English yet, I am getting to interact with the kids, which (if what the teachers tell me is true), is making many of their days. My elementary schools come in two sizes, small and really small. The really small schools have 10-15 kids (in the whole school) and I think I like those schools the best. Everyone knows everybody, it’s almost like a small family, especially given the fact that in Japan the school is much more a part of raising the child than it is in America. The kids are obviously very excited for me to be there, and at times can be a bit too excited. I had one kid who would not stop asking me for my address (which I politely said that I had forgotten…) and a couple of girls that look like they might follow me home (luckily my car is faster than they are). Junior high school is great so far. I think I’m going to like that more than gradeschool mostly because I actually get to do a bit of teaching there. My kids are generally well-behaved (I’ve heard horror stories from other JETs, literally things I still don’t believe because they are so ridiculous, maybe more on those stories later), but have a pretty low level of communicative English ability. I think they actually understand more than they let on, but are way too nervous/not used to listening to an English speaker and so give me blank stares when I ask them questions. They then stand their awkwardly while I try to rephrase the question. I stopped a student in the hallway today to talk to him and he wasn’t giving me anything (not even much in Japanese) and finally I realized that since I was a Sensei, he couldn’t walk away. I told him it was ok to leave and he quickly thanked me and scurried off. Oh well, maybe next time.