Katoh Gakuen, Life at school

School has kept me on my toes this week and last. This is the second week. Each morning the bilingual staff (all nine of us) assemble in a very large office with the entire Japanese teaching staff for morning announcements, in Japanese. There must be at least 30 -40 Japanese teachers. The office is something to behold. Each teacher has a desk crammed with shelves, books, paper & personal effects. There is a ridiculous amount of cargo crammed into this room. The bell sounds at 8:20am...it is more like a doorbell chime, everyone stands, the head honcho says "ohio gosaiymas" which means good morning, and everyone in the room responds the same and we sit. Nobuko sensei (our college counselor) translates the facts for us on a chalk board simultaneously as they are spoken. After this the day begins. This week the daily schedule was irregular due to assemblies and testing. I've felt very disorientated and accepted the feeling with assurances from my colleagues that this week's schedule is exceptional, and very strange. Hopefully next week will be a little more predictable. I've just scratched the surface in getting to know my students. I actually have not had one of my classes yet...not until Tuesday. On the whole the students are respectful and seem kind natured.Their English is quite limited and a larger portion of my teaching will involve language instruction and strategies for advancing their abilities.