Salmon sushi rice and squid nugget

Day 2.

The day went a bit faster than yesterday... maybe it's because it was predictable. I wasn't in constant fear of randomly being asked to say something in Japanese in front of the entire school. I had my first experience with school lunch... I had been warned by many people about the possible disgustingness of Japanese school lunch. But it was delicious!!! It was sticky rice with bits of dried salmon in it (we all had great breath after lunch. The whole "bring a toothbrush to work" thing is starting to make more sense) with two crunchy fish nuggets. We had miso soup and a carton of milk (I'm lactose intolerant).

Now, besides the possibly mystery lunch aspect, I was also warned about the portion size. Japanese portion sizes= small. The people are small, they need less food to sustain themselves. It all makes logical sense. However, that was not the case today. The food was great! So amazing. And then I was super full. Could not stuff another bite of food down. BUT WAIT. There's still half my plate left. The bell rings, signaling the end of the lunch period. All the teachers stand up and put their plates, bowls and empty cartons on a food cart. Panic runs through me as I rapidly try to shovel as much food in my mouth as humanly possible. All of a sudden, the salmon rice isn't so delicious anymore. The seaweed in my miso soup is suffocating me and I have to concentrate on breathing and not upchucking my lunch everywhere.

Oh, and by the way EVERYONE (literally, every. single. person) has cleaned their plate. There is not a drop of miso soup or a grain of rice left on the dishes. A full ten minutes after everyone is back at their desk and the lunch lady was awkwardly staring at me (I muttered "gomenasai" between mouthfuls of food), there were three drops of miso soup left and maybe twelve grains of rice. I shamefully put my dishes on the rack.

After that, it was cleaning hour. We swept and mopped the floor, emptied the trash, and yes, I got down on my hands and knees to scrub the floor with the kids. I actually think its a good thing, most kids in the states throw trash on the ground because there is no responsibility or repercussions for littering. They seem to take a lot of pride in their school here and keep it in good condition.


Tomorrow will be day 3 for me, and then I have another "first day" at another school. I'm teaching at four schools so I have three more "first days" to go through. Yippeee.


Until next time minions. Love from Japan!