Brrrrrrr and school

This morning, it was very cold. For the second time, there was no need for the fan throughout the night. I felt a little excited yet apprehensive at the same time. This is cos I have never been in a country where I can experience the 4 seasons!

Tom said that at 20 degrees in Britain, people walk around in shorts! And that to them, that's the kinda weather they deem comfortable enough to be in just t-shirts n shorts. I told him I'd probably feel very cold at 20 degrees, n would need a thick sweater!

I just wanna give thanks for the beautiful family that stays very close to me. Once again, I had dinner with them last night. Kare Soba (Curry Soba). It was really good. The kids were lovely and Mayu-Chan, the eldest girl who is 6 this year, made me a card. Haha. So sweet! The 3 kids can't really speak or understand English, so I hope to be able to help them! Well, they call me Olen / Oren. :D


学校について
In school here, each period is 50 minutes, and there is a 10-minute break after every 50 minutes for the students and teachers to rest and go to the washroom, take a break, etc. School begins at 8.30am here, n at 8.30 am, there will be a short staff meeting where announcements are met out. It's kinda good I think. They have lessons all the way till 3.15 pm, with a 45-minute lunch break. Students bring their bento sets (lunch boxes). Their CCAs begin after that and gosh, some CCAs have activities every single day, even on the weekends.

Oh yes, there's something very special about this Senior High School. Unlike the standard Senior High School in Japan, my school offers a variety of courses. There are even Indonesian and Chinese classes. I was invited into a Chinese Language class yesterday and to my surprise, I saw 2 おばあちゃん　(obaachan - grandmothers) attending the lesson too. They will come to school just for the Chinese lessons. Yup, my school offers a variety of courses but to be eligible for them, you have to take a test and go through an interview.

Tom and I were very surprised by the number of students in sports CCAs. Here, sports is HUGE! Most students seem to be involved in some kind of sports. Baseball is BIG BIG BIG. There's also softball, volleyball, beach volleyball, basketball, kendo, judo, track n field, soccer, rugby, tennis, table-tennis, cheerleadin, swimming.... A LOT! Considering that the school population is only about 750 students, it is really really amazing.

And I have observed a few trainings with different sports. They are disciplined. VERY VERY disciplined. There is no coach or teacher around when they do their warm-ups, which can last 2 hours before the actual training begins. I really salute these kids. My school is apparently very good in the various sports!