学校‼

Before AFS and my application I used to search blog sites about people who were in Japan so I could get as much info as I could about school. So here is my blog. It's going to be a long one for two reasons. 
1. To make up for my last blog. Let's be honest, it wasn't the best update
And
2. Because when I was looking at blogs I always wanted to know more about school life. So if you think I've missed something out or you want me to elaborate more leave me a comment and I will. Just for you, because I love you :3

I decided it would be best to write a blog about school a few weeks after attending. We all know how first days are usually full of excitement (and no doubt a tad daunting) so obviously my first day wouldn't be an accurate representation of school as a whole sooo I guess now I can somewhat accurately talk about school-life, friends anddd clubs xD

My morning scheduel: 
•6:30am - Alarm goes off
•6:45am - Get out of bed, get dressed, pack bag, brush hair and wash face
•7:00am - Eat breakfast, brush teeth, put on socks and blazer
•7:18am - Leave house on bike 
•7:47am - Catch train
•8:06am - Arrive at station, collect bike and cycle to school  

I will never, ever, ever EVER forget riding to school on the first day. Why?Because as I dressed in my (KAWAII!!) uniform, ultra-keen for school, I looked outside at the thermometer hanging near the window which read 3'C!! So I left the house in good spirits nonetheless and hopped on my bike with my bag in the basket and followed Maimi down the road on the way to the station. The ride to the station is very lovely. For most of the way, on one side of the road there's fields of wheat and traditional style Japanese houses and on the other side there's a man-made water way with heron-like birds, turtles and fish. Usually you see the eager fishermen with their rods out in the morning but not this morning. Not on the morning of the 6th of April. You'd have to be mad if you were out in those temperatures hehe. Halfway to the station I could have sworn my hands froze xD it was so cold. Not only was it close to 0'C but riding on a bike with the wind against you doesn't exactly warm you up. So on the train everyday I meet up with my and Maimi's friend, Haruka, who's in my class. She's so much fun to be around. Always cracks me up. After about 5 stops I get off at my station and collect my second bike with the girls. I call it 'The Posture Bike' because it's one of those bikes that can only be ridden if you sit upright. On the note of riding a bike...I don't know about anyone else out there but whenever I get on a bike I wear a helmet. Not in Japan. The only people I see wearing a helmet is this one school who have school bike helmets...at first it was a little scary since Japanese roads seem insanely narrow and despite the maximum speed limit (usually around 40/50km/h) all I could think about was not cracking my head open. But no worries. It seems perfectly normal now and I've mastered the (safest) route to school so I no longer worry about getting lost :3 woot for directional skills!! I've only ran into a fence twice. One on the way to school, leaving an impressive scratch and a blue/yellow bruise and the second time on the way home in the rain but don't worry no damage that time around. Oh, also on the same day I got the bruise I ran into a ditch coming home xD Maimi now thinks I'm dangerous but I blame the roads not me! Haha. When I told okaasan she automatically said "is your skirt okay!?!?" "yes okaasan, it's nice to know you care. Don't worry the skirt is fine. I'm going to go cry in a corner now. Bye" lol I love okaasan *lovelovelove* xD

At school I address myself to those in the staffroom and the paper I write on as "2年1組39番ケイトリン・ケリー" but to everyone else I am "Keri", "Keitorin" or "Ke-chan" (Ke-chan; a nickname adopted by Kuma-chan and E-chan". There are many people who call me Keri since they think that Kaitlin is my family name xD I don't mind. It's a lot easier for them to pronounce Kelly than it is Kaitlin anyway. So on the first day of school I was greeted by screams of "KAWAII!! KAKKOI!! KIREI!!" and any other ego boosting adjective under the sun. If you need confidence with your appearance go to a Japanese school and you'll be given a list of what body parts are nice, cool and sexy. Here is a short list of mine that are usually mentioned:
Hair, eyelids, eyelashes, eyes, nose, neck (apparently I have a sexy neck as commented on by Aya O_o), height, waist, wrists... I'm going to stop there since I feel really up myself right now :P 
Anyway, the first day of school. So first I was introduced to my homeroom teacher and my class. I'm in the 2nd grade (year 11 equivalent), class 1, seat 39. Which probably explains the above title. The Japanese are extremely orderly. Everyone has a number and that is your number for the rest of the year. This number tells you when it's your turn to get up in front of the class, where to sit, when it's your turn to read, what part of the school you have to clean...it's a pretty handy number and I guess it's conveinient for teachers who just have to count from 1 to the ending number instead of checking the role to see who's present. Numbers have their ups! But for students we obviously call each other by name. By now I can pretty much name everyone in my class (minus a small handful of people) and it helps that their names are written on their slippers, all I have to do is glance down and work out the kanji xD Naah but I'm pretty good with names now :3 and people are pleased when you remember their name, mochiron. Getting back on topic. After introductions it was time for souji aka cleaning! Yes that's right. Students clean the school. Because of this, there is hardly any mess in the first place since no one wants to create more work for themselves. That was a smart move by school officials don't you think so? Afterwards was the opening ceremony. Oh. My. Gosh. The role of the audience (us the students) was to sit, stand, bow, sit for everything and everyone. It was all in the name of respect of course and when in Japan, do as the Japanese do :) The good thing about it was that there were quite a few breaks and in these breaks is where I met people and talked. Everyone is really nice and on more than one occasion I found my hair being stroked by my peers xD Here's one ice-breaker for you *in Japanese by some girls that are now my friends* "so...you're hair colour...is it the same everywhere?" bahaha I almost died of embarassment and laughter. These girls have no shame lol. Well as my speech was getting nearer and nearer my head was becoming heavy and butterflys in my stomach multiplied in their millions of billions. Looking back I don't know why I was so nervous. I spoke confidently when giving my speech in the staff room to all the teachers...there must be something daunting about getting up in front of 700+ people. However, I did pretty well I thought, with my only mistake being that I said I was in 1st grade which I quickly corrected with flushed cheeks. Because this was the first day of school we did no work. But lunch was at the regular time of 1pm. In a normal day we start at 8:45 (or 9 :S I've already forgotten eep)have homeroom first and then read a book for 10 minutes, we have 6 periods with Each period going for 45mins (4 periods before lunch and 2 after), everyone cleans the school at 3:35ish, 3:50 last homeroom then we finish at 4pm.  THEN in my case I go to club (more about that later ;D) which finshes at 6. So basically I get home by 7 which is when we always have dinner. ANYWAY back on topic...at lunch on the first day I sat with basically every girl and ate my obento which okaasan makes me lovingly every morning. Now Ive found my own group who I sit with everyday who are awesome. I'm also close with another girl since we're both crazy about Kingdom Hearts and we like lots of the same things xD   

My school timetable:
Monday: double accounting, health, homeroom, double English (sempai's class)
Tuesday: maths, Japanese, double elective (calligraphy), English ("Baka kurasu" as the students call it. Pretty much the most basic level english class but it's the funnest!), HPE
Wednesday: Double business info tech, English (sempai's class), Japanese, business, maths
Thursday: double business info, Japanese, geography, English (Top level English class), HPE
Friday: Science, English (top level English class), geography, Japanese, double accounting

So let's talk subjects.

Unlike in Aus we don't have electives here, besides one, so everyone does the exact same subjects with the same class day in day out (besides accounting, English and maths which are streamed) so it's very important to get along with your class!! Because I'm the only exchange student at my school I've been placed in a few English classes so everyone can get to be with me at least once a week. Man I wish we had Japanese everyday in Aus like we have English everyday here. Twice a week I go with the advanced year 3 English class (only two students not including me) which is a lot of fun since we basically watch language DVDs, play games like Guess Who and preform skits. And the other days I'm with the advanced year 2s and basic year 2s English class.  
 
Accounting: looks insanely hard but instead of studying accounting in Japanese my teacher was so considerate and searched for an accounting textbook in English. It's very basic, dealing with the accounts of a lemonade stand, but I study it anyway in class. Besides, he went to the trouble to buy it for me so I'm greatful. I also have a couple of friends, both guys and girls, in my accounting class who I talk to in the short break. During class a lot of them sleep. Counted 18/25 asleep one day.  I love accounting!

Health: we're learning about CPR. There's a lot of kanji involved with health but I try my best and write everything down from the board. I'm usually called upon to translate certain words into English like AED, CPR, respitory system, circulation etc etc. The teacher is really genki and I like learning new words and their kanji I enjoy health. 

Homeroom: we do a range of things in homeroom. A lot of the time people copy out the english text book word for word since they  have an insanely long test to do at the end of term. Good luck! We've also had to go to the lecture hall once and practice the schools folk dance (more on that later). Homeroom is also a good opportunity to catch up with friends xD homeroom is goood

English: So I've kinda talked about English. Basically we're reading about saving the rainforest in the grade 2 hard class, making a photobook to take on the school trip to Aus in December in the basic class (I'm not going but I'm still doing it and i've decided to write it in Japanese) and in the sempai's class we're doing a lot of visual and spoken exercises. There is one American teacher who is an ALT. He doesn't speak much Japanese but everyone wants us to speak English together anyway because they like hearing english being spoken fluently. Bottom line - I love English!

Maths: No calculators!! At first I felt incredibly smart. We were learning about -b+or-rootb^2-4ac/2a then about alpha x beta and alpha+beta etc etc It didnt take me long to crash and burn though. Now we're going old school and doing (algebratic) long divison and square roots. Ahhh I can't remember how to do them without a calculator >< why do we have to be so lazy and use calculators??! Despite this I like maths. Thank god numbers are a universal language. 

Japanese: this is the only subject I  don't participate in for reasons that I can't grasp anything being said. At all. Nothing. So instead I do self study. In this class they're reading a book and the word "Keri" keeps being said. So when it does I become alert and stare at whoever said it thinking they wanted my attention. One could dream they were that popular xD Japanese is pretty good anyway :3

Elective (Calligraphy): because grade 2s electives would probably bore me out of my brain (book keeping etc not to mention I wouldn't be able to understand a thing) one of my overseeing teachers has given me the choice of music, art and calligraphy which is offered to the 1st graders. Anyone who knows me and my love for kanji would guess straight away which class I chose. Calligraphy. I still see everyone in school and look at them as equals but of course this is not so. You treat your sempais with respect and are very humble towards them. This plus me being a foreigner = my calligraphy class being pretty awkward around me for the first couple of lessons. But now they're very, very slowly warming up to me. A lot of them won't look at me in the eye but I've spoken a few words to a couple of the guys which makes class a lot more bearable. Anyway, we're currently making our 'inkan's (Japanese use stamps with their surnames instead of signing documents) so I've finished carving mine and we'll probably move on to doing some calligraphy soon. So keen!! Despite the awkwardness between me and the 1st graders I enjoy calligraphy ^_^ kanji kanji kanji!!!

Sport: I was very surprised to discover that we all get changed into our sports uniform in the classroom (don't worry it's just the girls, guys go somewhere else). Our sports uniform is a pair of blue tracksuits with our name embroided on it. My name is in katakana and everyone went nuts when they saw it xD "KAWAIIII!!!" so currently we're doing fitness tests in sport. I'm doing pretty good I think so far despite my unatheletic ability. I ran 1km in 5mins 25secs. I thought that was pretty good considering I came 4th in my half of the class. At the start of every class we get into our orderly rows and do warm up exercises. The teacher is a bit crazy since he likes to try out his English on me and most of the girls (oh btw girls and guys get seperated in sport) treat him like a friend so it's all quite relaxed. I actually love sport. I miss going outside so often.  

Business IT/Business: the first half of business IT I participate in. We do this word pro typing game which involves a pair of false teeth eating different kinds of sushi and you have to beat the clock otherwise this pink man in a hat pops up and scares the hell out of you! The second half sensei makes time for me and comes aside to help me with JLPT study. He prints off a tonne of test papers and marks them when I'm done. He's so great for helping me. I'm confident with N5 (i should be since I passed it's equivilent last year), N4 is pretty average and N3 I lose it with the vocab. So currently I'm working on N3 and N4 at the same time. I need a vocab sheet T_T. More about JLPT later. In Business we work with the soroban (Japanese abacus) and basically talk the whole lesson. It's the biggest bludge subject ever. It's great being able to talk with my friends though since they're not that interested with what's going on with the screen. I'm surprised the teacher allows it...regardless, I love business!

Geography: I actually really like geography here. My teacher is really nice and I can understand most of what's being said since most of the countries names are in katakana. Currently we're learning about plate tectonics, how blacks in africa are supressed and The World Cup has been brought up a number of times too...the second lesson of geo I had to share a piece of news that interested me. So I searched through the newspapers and chose a story about two seperate cases where one woman  killed her son in the back of a box car and the second (a young mother) who broke her babys arms after it wouldn't stop crying. I talked about the topic for about two minutes. Personally, I was quite happy with myself. The class were pretty impressed with what I said too. Someone get a pin to deflate my head now? I love geography!

Science: now we're learning about planets, atmospheres and the solar system. We've watched a movie and done a few comprehension work sheets which I could fill in by myself. Last lesson we spent most of the second half signing each others name in running writing but we do a lot of work, and yes, I leave people be when we have to get stuck into our work. I also do work so it's not like we talk all the time. Hush, I actually pay close attention and take notes excuse me. Science is amazing *love*

I'm so glad to be cleaning where I'm cleaning at the moment. My
group has been assigned the computer labs so all we do is wipe down desks and vaccuum. I have the feeling that we'll be rotating soon. Perhaps, the gardens or bathrooms or hallways or a classroom...lots of possibilities. Yes, students clean everywhere! Including the toilets! Get over yourselves. It's not that bad I'm sure. Oh, oh, oh. We can't wear slippers in the computer labs or library. Socks only! Floors are super clean xD My supervising teacher has started talking to me now. At first she was so timid but now we just chat while cleaning desks ^_^

Sugi!

After the old school sounding bell rings at 4pm I make my way to club with Haruka and Tano. My school has a lot of clubs; both sporting and cultural. My initial plan was to join a sporting club like kendo or karate which I thought would be pretty cool and get me into shape. Then I was awakened to how hardcore everyone is with sports. My school is one of those schools that hand pick you if you're skilled with sports in junior high...no thanks I'll pass on the exhaustion and humiliation of sports and going against trained atheletes and failing epically. I'm not giving up! It's just that my interests lie in other areas..."heh nice try but we all know you suck at sports Kaitlin and that you constantly fall over your own feet." shuuuutuuuppp!! I've fallen in love thank you very much. The first club I had a look at I joined straight away. I love it so much. I've joined the soroban club. Remember? Abacus!! Laugh all you want. But I absolutely love it! At first it wasn't a club that I was planning on joining. Actually I wasn't even going to look at it at all but I'm so glad I did. In English, Tano was doing her "my favourite..." page in her photo book and she was writing about soroban. I was looking and she took out her soroban and she and the teacher showed me some basic addition. The next day I went after school to the club and had a look. Now I'm the newest member of the soroban club. I've grasped addition, subtraction and currently practicing multiplying three digit numbers. In club the sempai's and grade 2s race against the clock to finish complicated sums and then try and improve their time. Omg! The speed in which they multiply 383739335 x 222993803 is amazing! The sempais can basically challenge a calculator, its so full on. However, I on the otherhand have a different story. Because this is my first year of pretty much touching a soroban I take my own pace, building accuracy. My teacher has told me that in December I'll be taking the soroban exam. Yes sir! I love soroban. I don't care what anyone says! Before okaasan's friend lent me hers, I used pieces of paper late at night and practiced sums at the dinner table. It may seem like I'm restricting myself since I haven't checked out any other clubs but I go to soroban for 2 hours 6 days a week and then practice for another 30-60mins after I get home. I love soroban and I couldn't care less if said anything against it. I love it. :D

So the day before golden week began we spent the entire day at the park (longest walk to get there and so hot in our sports uniform) so we could do our schools folk dance. We had practiced only one other morning before that date but I had done some practice at home with Maimi so I wouldn't mess it up. Man it was sooo much fun! I wasn't allowed to take my camera but I snuck some pics anyway :P i didn't know about the restriction until afterwards. The whole school got into a circle and we danced the folk dance. Some of the guys went crazyyy! When we had to walk into the middle of the circle they would unlock hands and bolt to the opposite side of the field. Like I said, it was a lot of fun. After that grades were split up and then all classes were divided into two teams for the skipping challenge. Just imagine almost 20 16/17 year olds jumping really close to each other with a small rope trying to get more skips than the other team. We got 11 i think...lol we didn't win but wow it was great fun. Oh, and lollies do make friends. The day before I had gone shopping with okaasan to buy okashi (sweets/lollies/snacks etc) which you basically buy for your friends. EVERYONE bought at least 3 packets of okashi and we all shared them among ourselves. It's a great way to meet people, start conversations and in my friends case, get close to her crush. Well actually, I had to run up to him for her but she was so happy that I did it and turned the darkest shade of pink! Haha. Is it just me that thinks it's strange for two people who go to the same school to have never spoken in real life and yet email constantly? I don't know, but so many students do it here that it's normal...

Last thing I promised to talk about: JLPT
Ehhh all the rules have been changed as ive probably whinged about before but I have been told by my supervisor that I will be sitting N2 (the old JLPT 2kyuu equivalent or there abouts) hahahahhaahahhaah. Scary. Ehh N2 is so difficult x_x I've kinda been a bit lazy and haven't studied as much as I should be (this indicates that I DO study which is TRUE) just not to a standard which would enable me to pass N2 at the end of the year. Fingers crossed. I'll buckle down harder I promise. I guess I'll have a better idea as the date gets closer. If i think I'm not ready I'll try and sweet talk my way to drop down to N3...time and motivation will tell.

I hope this blog is satisfying enough. I'm typing on my iPod so I've probably got carpol tunnel and this is looking really long but I guess from a computer it's actually small. 

Anyway hope it keeps you happy. Let me know if there's anything you want me to specifically talk about otherwise I'll just keep going on with what i want to write about. 

Very quickly...I went to my last check up at the doctors today! I'm free to go back to school on wednesday which I'd great since it's just in time for this huge baseball tornament between my school and another! So keen to see it. Our baseball team rocks!! Pictures will surely follow.

A few of my followers don't have my facebook. Feel free to look me up. If your not into the whole stalker thing I'm going to try and upload a few pics here :) ahh it's late and my thumbs hurt from being in this posistion for too long. See how much I love you? Lol, take care darlings. Oyasumi!!

No regrets. Live for the moment!

K x