Genki Kids!

Japanese kids are very genki (energetic)!  I met a lot of them when I went to my first school yesterday:  Yokogawa-chuo 横川中.  The opening ceremony was the strangest thing I’d ever witnessed.  I introduced myself first in Japanese.  After my initial Hajimemashite and a bow, the students were dead silent and bowed back.  I proceeded awkwardly with the rest of my self-intro.  Not a peep or facial expression from the students.  The rest of the ceremony was spent singing the Yokogawa song, giving a few speeches, and giving out awards.

Afterwards, I was technically supposed to go back to the Board of Education in Hayato, but my JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) asked if I would eat lunch with the students.  I agreed.

Students in elementary and junior high school eat lunch, which is provided from them, together and they all start at the same time with hands together in “prayer fashion” and a loud “Itadakimasu!”  Today’s lunch was a rice-soup-thing.  I really don’t know how else to describe it except for a massive bowl of rice and chicken soup.  We had various bowls: one big one of rice; another with soup broth, chicken and assorted veggies; and another with some shredded vegetable I had never seen before.  I watched the students as they put everything into the rice bowl and followed suite, and then…ate it with chopsticks?!  I have to tell you, I never thought it was possible to eat soupy rice with chopsticks, but somehow I managed to “ungracefully” shove it all into my mouth.  As if that wasn’t enough calories to fill me up, there was also a small carton of milk, a strong-tasting apple-flavoured Jello, and a small packet of cheese.  The packet of cheese looked like something you would see at a Chinese restaurant, like a soya sauce packet, but with cheese inside.

Overall, it was a fun experience and I look forward to more exciting lunches...as long as it’s not sashimi or some other raw creature.