technical high school

My first day at the technical high school went soooo much better than I expected. Beforehand, I was warned that the kids would sleep, use their cell phones, listen to their mp3 players, swear at teachers, and sit in class with some of their clothes off (when it's hot out). The technical high school has about 400 students there, 11 of which are female. They "major" in computer science, agriculture, or mechanics. The school is very famous for their baseball team, so although the grades are very low, it is still hard to get a spot in the school because kids from other prefectures take the entrance exam. Last year their team was among the top 8 in the country. Baseball in Japan is like American football or Nascar in the States. The baseball players at the high school live in dormitories near the school if they are from other prefectures.

Before going to class, I talked to one of the teachers. At that time I was undecided as to how to handle the classes - super sweet or strict and mean. She told me that the kids misbehave because they don't get enough attention at home and that they take advantage of the female teachers because they are more supportive and kind. I decided that super sweet was the way to go. During my 3 classes, there were a couple kids sleeping, listening to mp3 players, and using their cell phones. In one class, the talkative leader kid kept asking questions. He was really interested in middle names and why they exist. And one kid asked what kind of men I like, to which I replied, "Men who speak English very well." They asked that even after Eddie was introduced in my self introduction!!

I had them play "baseball" for a comprehension quiz on my self-introduction. There were two teams, and when a team was up to bat, they could ask for a 1, 2, 3 base, or homerun question. A 1 base question was a yes/no question. A 2 base question was an easy one word answer. A 3 base question was much harder, and a homerun question was usually "What state am I from?" since all of them forgot. They got outs for wrong answers. By the end of the period, all eyes and ears were on me when it was time for a question! There wasn't any mocking me, which was what I was most worried about, so I was sooooo relieved at the end of the day.

At lunch time, I bought lunch in the cafeteria. Actually, I bought a ticket from a vending machine and took it up to the counter. I had tempura udon which was really tasty. I sat next to a couple kids who actually attempted to speak English with me. Once they left, some kids nearby got me a glass of water to go with my lunch.