some notes on my school

After catching the lastest episode of Jersey Shore online today I was chatting with my mom about the school and the kids and various other things, and I came to the realization that I haven't really mentioned much about them! The school is called International Language School (ILS). It's very small, on the third floor of a building off a busy street. The first floor is a market, and one of the floors has recently been converted into a senior citizens rec center.

It's a private school, which makes it far less intimidating than it should be. Each of my classes has roughly 5-10 students, but mostly around 5-6 each. I teach kindergarten in the mornings, have a lunch break, then teach around 6/7 year olds up through middle schoolers. The earliest I ever start class is 10:50am, and that's only once a week! We get out late, around 7. But some days I get out around 6. Classes are 40 minutes each. The most unique thing is that we don't wear shoes! As soon as you get off the elevator, there is a small foyer with lots of shelves full of slippers. Everyone removes their shoes and puts on their own slippers if they have them, or they grab a pair that's not being used. I don't even feel silly wearing slippers while talking to my boss. Everyone does it, and no one even thinks about it. It's totally natural.

Monday will be my first day actually alone in the class with my students. Last week was a total whirlwind full of emotions, new surroundings, and tons of new faces. Though I've been on the verge of tears half the time wondering what I've gotten myself into, I haven't felt like an outsider at all. That may change once I begin exploring this city, but my co-teachers and students have made me feel like they already love me. This is why I came here. When I get really sad and think of everyone back home that I miss, I think back to last April when I vowed to change my life into a direction I longed for. I never dreamed it would be this hard, but even if someone told me it'd be difficult, I think most of you know that I would have done it anyway.

Time to finally move into my apartment- across the hall! I'll provide a description of my apartment once I can put up pictures, mostly because verbally describing the shower won't do it any justice without some photographic evidence!

One more thing: the teacher bathroom in the school has an electronic bidet!! Sadly, I may never have the courage to use it, but it is there in case I'm feeling fancy-free one day.