I basically study Japanese all day and pore through the textbooks.
Working for the government got me good at having nothing to do.
Cool stuff I've seen so far:
* Lunchtimes everyone says (in Japanese) thank you for the meals at the same time before eating.
* They often play the school song during mealtimes. It's so ...patriotic?
* There is such a hierarchy of student vs. teacher. Teachers are so respected. It's nice to be held in such high regard for just being there.
* Discipline! The students get called out for EVERYTHING! I mean like a scuffed shoe, or an untucked shirt is the worst you'll see.
* Students are the school cleaners. Each class is assigned an area of the school to clean. Even staff room. Teachers get in on the action too with a broom or something.
* Middle school students vary so much as they are in the peak of adolescence. 1st graders (grade 5/6) can seem like little kids still, while 3rd graders seem like adults.
* Being an ALT attracts an instant amount of interest from just about everyone. Groups of children are notorious for all practicing their hellos (AKA "herros") and then laughing at how bad they are to eachother. Great fun!
* Wearing a suit seems completely nullified by wearing indoor shoes and taking dress shoes off at the door.
* Roll calls are done by checking the shoe boxes.
Earthquake drill was pretty cool.
All the teachers donned helmets & went out to the play field (some kind of cracker ash not grass). The students in an orderly manner all collect their bags, their shoes, and place a brightly coloured 'pillow' over their heads and then run out of the school single file. No one talks. The speed they do it is amazing. Each grade has it's turn and the school is emptied and counted and checked within minutes. Soo disciplined and soo efficient. Anyone who did something wrong got told back in line it was like a military drill. I guess it's pretty serious over here unlike earthquakes in Melbourne or something.
Still though, I couldn't help but chuckle behind my teeth at 600 odd students running around on the oval with a pillow strapped to their head. Practicality, not fashion for sure.
Borrowed this similar pic as we aren't allowed to take pictures of our students due to Japan's privacy laws.
http://blog.alfiegoodrich.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/20090902202542_omori_dsc7876.jpg
