At 学主因, after exams, students spend their school day reviewing their work and chatting. My experience of school today was vastly different from the stereotypical quiet classes of Japanese anime, yet, simultaneously, exactly what I expected. After a train ride to the school, via 渋谷, I met with the principal and my homeroom teacher. My class is the West class {西} and all of the students are incredibly friendly. After introducing myself I was whisked away to meet the Japanese language teachers with 桜さん and ニナさん. The latter has been living in Japan for four months now, on exchange from France, and both her English and Japanese is amazing.

学主因 exams are slightly different to those I am used to. In Australia, our exams are composed of many pages, with questions varying difficulty. The exams that I saw today were made up of fewer, A3 pages, with hard questions. Therefore, in these Japanese exams, every answer counts, as it makes up a larger part of your mark. It was interesting to see the English exams, especially the essay topic. If I recall correctly, it dealt with the reliability and effectiveness of email as a method of communication. 夏帆 response was extremely eloquent, and consequently, she received high marks. 

During this period of receiving exams, 桜 and I were left to do as we pleased. We spent some time chatting with other students, as well as completing some holiday homework from Australia. I should mention that 桜 and I are in different classes, but as today was a relaxed day, teachers were scarce and students ran wild through the corridors.

After lunch I was taken to meet the ESS club {English Speaking Society}. Members of this club spend their club activity time working on English speech and grammar, as well as watching difficult English movies, such as Les Miserables {in English, of course}. This club had prepared a party for us, and we ate interesting Japanese candy while chatting in English. Clubs span all high school year levels, so I conversed with students from 中学一年生 (Year 7) to 高校三年生 (Year 12). Through my conversations, I learnt that most club members would be spending their holidays lazing around the house, and that listening to music is an extremely popular hobby, likewise drawing.

After school, 夏帆 and I explored 桜新町, the area that I am currently living in. There is a popular Mangaka (manga writer) who lives in the area, and consequently the streets are decorated with various figurines from the manga. The name escapes me, but the manga characters feature everywhere in the area, and there is even a café dedicated to it, where you can buy pancakes in the shape of characters. Kaho and I also stumbled in to a Japanese Christian Church. This Church functions as an English school during the week, and then as a Church on weekends. It was very interesting to see how Christianity functions in Japan, as it is not the dominant religion.

Tonight, my host mother will cook Chicken Katsu Curry – my favourite Japanese food. I am looking forward to eating it. Below are some more Japanese words that I recently learnt:

Attached is a photo of my classroom (西) when it is empty. Usually, every desk is filled with a student. On the board are the exam answers, in Japan, students independently check their answers, rather than going through the exam with a teacher. Thought it seems harsh, I really want to try taking a Japanese exam {for English, though}.