The Shocking Conclusion to My First Day at School

I was a bit confused as my co-teacher told me that is was time for lunch because she didn't have a packed lunch either. Ha! I figured I would be able to divert the attention toward my lunchless co-teacher if I were asked about only having an energy bar. She informed me that the school doesn't have a cafeteria and so the students all eat in classrooms or in the hall (just like my high school). She led me to the teachers' lounge which may have been where all the school's funds for the cafeteria went. Well, not really, but it does have a heated floor which is perhaps the greatest invention in the history of mankind with exception to the can opener. Everyone takes off their shoes when they enter and they usually smile at me for being silly and wearing shoes with laces. However, on that first day, I had the biggest smile because during the shoe lace struggle a ray of hope hit the corner of my eyes. Laying on a table was a ravishing assortment of food in metal tins. I followed my co-teacher's lead and piled generous amounts of strange and exotic food onto my tray. I was not going to disappoint my new co-workers.

Disappoint? Definitely not. Like Albus Dumbledore with his elder wand, I worked magic with those chopsticks. The other teachers were amazed that I could use them so proficiently. I told them that my mother taught me when I was younger. They were very surprised when I told them that she is American.

I spent the rest of the day in the teachers' office. It's a large room with groups of desks clustered together. I looked through the old lesson plans of the last native English teacher and noted how they followed the text quite strictly. During this time, other teachers came by and introduced themselves and told me their names which I would repeat in a butchered manner and then forget too quickly.

Towards the end of the day my co-teacher came over and told me that we have a staff meeting every first Monday of the month, and that it was my lucky day because we were going to have one in the next hour and I needed to give a speech. I didn't really mind. If my time in political science classes in college taught me anything, it was how to make something up quickly that sounds good and convincing without wasting time looking up facts or using logic. I was never that great in those classes, however, and I said something that I actually meant, that even though I am a teacher, I feel like I am just as much a student of the country and the culture, and that I'll do my best at both positions. My speech won me a seat in the comfy brown chairs we have in the middle of the teachers' office for the rest of the meeting. There was a lot of talk about things I didn't understand, but people seemed like they were in a good mood. Then one of the teachers got up and started speaking. The room was quiet before, but it seemed to get quieter as the man spoke. I looked around at other teachers and they were all looking down and seemed concerned. The principal responded to the man and then the man responded back and I could tell they were arguing about something. My co-teacher came over to me and escorted me back upstairs to my classroom during the middle of it, which was disappointing. I wanted to see what happened, but instead the conclusion was left to my imagination. They had a dance battle to decide who was right.

The school day always ends for me at 4:30 pm. I walked home on that first day, relieved that I didn't have to pack my own lunch. I don't remember what I did when I got back to my apartment. I probably took off my tie immediately because those things are a nuisance to wear unless it's a clip-on one. After that, I probably sat down and wished I had the internet so I could be making this post sooner for all of my loyal fans.

The end.