The Second Day

The second day began early, even if I didn't want it to. Jet lag woke me up around 5 am, leaving me lots of time to dress my hair up nice, suit up, and head to breakfast. The breakfast was a Western style breakfast with eggs, bacon, ham, and fruit but the eggs and tomatoes were by far the most delicious!

Some of the friends I made!

After breakfast we all gathered for the official opening ceremonies which featured speeches from a few important figures in the Japanese teaching system about the logistics of grade levels and how important education is in Japan. Apparently being a teacher is one of the most respected positions in Japan. After a series of general sessions we were directed to lunch; a semi-buffet style meal of pasta and soup. Where was all of this wonderful Japanese food I've been waiting for?! Regardless, it was a great opportunity to bond with some of the other ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) from around the world. I met people from Singapore, Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, America, and so many other countries. They were all wonderful people.

After lunch we were separated into more specific sessions geared towards the grade level we would each be teaching. While most were teaching Junior High School and Elementary Schools, I was in sessions along with about 200 others who were teaching at the Senior High School level. I've been told now that these positions are usually reserved for those with previous teaching experience and are therefore a bit more selective (don't know how I slipped in). 

Most of these sessions were generally about how to approach teaching English with students, but one session in particular was terrifying. We were drilled in Japanese manners by the most strict manners teacher I've ever seen. We're talking Professor Umbridge level strict. She told us how we would basically lose our jobs and offend everyone in the country if our bows weren't 45 degrees, we took a business card from someone with the wrong hand, or if we dared to remain seated when someone of higher status approached our desks. We all left assured that we would only last a week if we were lucky.

After the copious workshops, we were finally released. As I had fallen in with a group of rebels, we decided to skip out early on the welcome reception being held for us at the hotel and instead spend our evening discovering the shops of Tokyo. We had fancy drinks at a fancy restaurant where they require that you take off your shoes before sitting down (I thought they were going to kick me out for not having socks on, but I lived another day).

Fancy Restaurant

We found a shop which was packed on all three floors with cheap dollar-store type goods and bumped into another group of JETs exploring the area. We all made our way to an arcade, which are apparently still very popular in Japan. We tried (and failed) to get pokemon from a claw machine, played Dance Dance Revolution, and use a classic Japanese photo booth which effectively turns Westerners into aliens. We stumbled back into the hotel after dancing our hearts out and slept very deeply.