We were paired up with a senior ALT depending on what level school we teach at, so 5 of us newbies were shadowing another JHS/ES ALT. We were shadowing S, who works and lives in Tottori-shi. The five of us new people were me, L, R, S2, and D.
R and L were really kind and offered to give me a ride into the city. In the end I think it took longer than it would have on the train, but it was fun to ride with them and it was cheaper! (I had to ride the train ~30 minutes to Koge station to meet them where they live)
We drove into the city and arrived at S's school, Nishi JHS, with minutes to spare. However, we somehow managed to drive into the back lot and when we tried to find the entrance we got trapped in the courtyard and couldn't find the way in! Luckily the school nurse spotted us and let us in through the nurse's room...But then we didn't know where to go and wandered around the hallways before thankfully running into S! She brought us to the meeting room which we would inhabit for the day, and we met S2 and D there as well.
Next we all went up to the teacher's room and introduced ourselves to all the staff. After that S and one of her JTEs took us on a tour of the school. The school is massive! There are at least 4 floors, a massive courtyard, a gym, and a pool.
We had a bit of time to relax, but then we went off to observe S's first period lesson (3rd graders)! We also did self introductions as part of the lesson.
We didn't have a class 2nd period, so we went back to the meeting room and were supposed to discuss the lesson. We did a bit, but mostly chatted about a random assortment of things.
Next was a 1st grader lesson. We only observed during this lesson. M and some people from the BOE also came to observe and video tape the lesson. Afterwards we all went back to the meeting room with 2 of S's JTEs and talked about the lesson and just general concerns and questions about teaching and school life. It was really nice!
After that was lunch time! I decided to take a gamble and purchase school lunch, because its just so cheap! Y325 for rice, stew, milk, salad, and fish. It wasn't my favorite lunch ever, but it was edible.
S's school does cleaning time after lunch, so for 15 minutes we helped some students clean the teacher's room.
Then we had our last class of the day, another 3rd grader class. They were studying the grammar, "I know how to (verb) something," ex. I know how to bake a cake. S had us all go to the front of the class and give one example. I said I knew how to ride a horse and everyone seemed pretty impressed (yeah! good choice!). D said, "I know how to make pastry," but the kids were all confused. She tried to explain by talking about croissants, but one kid thought she said she knew how to eat croissants! Pretty funny mistake.
We had another free period after that, and again, we just chatted about a bunch of stuff. It was really nice to hang out with other ALTs, actually! I am pretty segregated out here in Chizu. Even though R and L are closest, I don't see them very often. They are also much closer to the city than I am and have cars.
Finally the day was over. We went to say goodbye to all the staff. We stopped in to see the office ladies, who apparently just randomly have adorable animals at school! Today there was a super cute grey bunny! S said there have been hamsters and kittens too! Best school ever! I would spend all day in there!
We were meaning to leave then, but were offered coffee and cake and sat talking with the principal for a while, mostly about fireworks and Disneyland.
R and L drove me back to Koge, where I managed to arrive JUST as the train pulled into the station, so I rushed out, bought a ticket (hoping it was the right fare), and ran across the tracks onto the train!
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