I haven`t written much about my job here and school life in Japan and since I spend a huge amount of my time here, I decided to finally write a little about it.

School in Japan begins much earlier than in Ireland, the teachers have a morning meeting every morning to discuss any issues, events etc. for that day. Therefore, I must be in at 8.25 so I can be seated before this meeting starts. I have no idea what they could possibly be discussing for so long every morning, but my only contribution to the meeting is to stand up and say `Ohayao gozaimasu` (Good Morning) with everyone else and I usually daydream through the next 10 minutes since I have enough difficulty understanding the simplest conversations in Japanese, never mind the frantic instructions of 5 teachers, all shouting at the same time.

The Japanese are OBSESSED with meetings, seminars and feckin` speeches. Generally, what an Irish person would get done in 10 mins before heading down to the pub, a Japanese person would discuss for 4 hours with anyone available, make a speech, and then work for 10 hours. In the end, the result is the same, so it can be hard to resist the temptation of shouting `Get on with it` during the millionth unnecessary seminar or ceremony.

Thankfully, as an ALT without a homeroom class, I manage to avoid most of these tedious ceremonies. Since there is usually some sort of speech, ceremony, or organisation meeting every other week, it means I get a lot more free classes to sit around writing my blog, so I can`t complain

With countless meetings, seminars and so on, it won`t be surprising to hear that Japanese teachers stay later than those in Ireland. However, how late they stay was certainly a shock for me! There is some teacher present in the school from 6 in the morning until 11 at night. What they are doing, I don`t know and why they need to be there, I don`t understand. When I was going to school in Ireland, the principal turned up 10 mins before everyone else and opened the gates and I seem to be literate, so what is the reason for this madness?

Well, the reason seems to be that what is important in Japan is not the work you do, but the fact that you`re present. Teachers play solitaire, read the paper, sit around eating ice cream, drinking tea, gossiping and basically doing all those things that Irish people do in the comfort of our own home. Regardless of how hard they work and how much work there is to do, Japanese teachers are expected to stick around until at least 7 or 8. Some teachers stay in as late as 11 every night.

To an Irish person, of course, this sounds like absolute hell, but the fact is that, as a result of the amuont of time the teachers spend together, the Japanese staffroom is a nice place to be. The teachers know each other very well, are almost like family.　In　Japan the same emphasis isn`t placed on family and `quality time` as in Ireland. It seems to me that most Japanese teachers enjoy hanging around, tapping away at their computers while having a bit of a gossip.

Luckily, as an ALT and a foreigner I am not expected to work these crazy hours, so I work from 8.25 to 4.10. In Ireland this is a pretty long day for a teacher, but in Japan I leave at the same time as the primary school children and come home before them.

One day a week I teach an English club and finish at 5, when I am coming home at this time I meet hordes of five to 10 year old children just leaving school. Primary school children of all ages walk to school by themselves. I have even seen some getting on buses , trains and metros by the themselves. Since Japan has such a low crime rate, and since Japanese children are much more obedient than their Irish counterparts, children don`t need to be accompanied to and from school every morning.

Life for students in Japan is also very to different to those in Ireland. Many students come into school at half 7 and practice their chosen club activity for an hour before starting school. They are in classes form 8.40 until 4 and afterwards are expected to stay until about 6 taking part in a club activity. After that, many of them head to cram school for two hours, then after cram school they come home, eat and do their homework until about midnight. When I told my students my typical day in school when I was a secondary school student, they couldn`t believe it.

I live only 5 mins from the school and when I`m going about doing various fun things at the weekend I see students in school uniforms going to and from the school at crazy hours. The school NEVER closes, even on Bank Holidays we see students and teachers in there working. I have no idea what they could possibly be doing!

The relationship between the teachers and the students in Japan is miles apart from the way teachers and students in Ireland interact. The Japanese staffroom is open for any students who want to speak to teachers, about anything! Therefore, there is a constant stream of students coming in and out of the staffroom to speak to teachers all day. If a student calls a teacher, they will drop everything and attend to them since the student is always right in Japan. Again, the relationship between students and teachers is more like a family relationship since both groups spend all their time in the school. Japanese teachers do much of the work that parents are expected to do in Ireland. If a student gets injured or sick, the teacher goes with them to the hospital and stays all night. If a student is caught committing a crime, the teacher is often called rather than the parent. Teachers seem to be really involved in their students` lives and know everyone`s hobbies, like/dislikes, personal problems etc. This is not surprising since students spend so much time in the staffroom fighting for the teachers` attention.

Last week, to celebrate the end of mid-term exams and the school festival all of the staff in Housen went out for some food and drinks. The restaurant where we were eating was in the city centre in a place I had never heard of, and, inevitably, I got lost. After 20 minutes cycling around in circles, I found my supervisor who waited for me outside and we headed into the building. Since this was a meal to celebrate the end of the exams, I didn`t think my presence would be particularly important. So, we burst in the door 15 mins late, in mid-conversation, expecting to see everyone drinking and eating happily. What we actually saw was the whole staff waiting politely for their special guest (me!)- aaargh! When we began to walk to our table (the main table in the middle of the room, beside the principal) everyone stood up and began clapping, I was so embarrassed, I thought it would never end.

Once everyone sat down, and the attention was off me, I began to enjoy the food, drinks and conversation. Many of the teachers were taking bottles of beer and going around the room serving everyone. This seemed a little strange to me, but it seems to be the Japanese people`s way of starting conversations. Since I am the new member of staff, and a lot of teachers had been too shy to approach me in the staffroom without the aid of beer or sake, a lot of people came to serve me. It would be rude to say `No` so I had to drink everything that was poured for me. I could see that I wouldn`t be able to last this pace for long, and thought the only way of leaving the building still able to ride a bike would be to take a bottle of beer and go and serve myself.

I was a little nervous, since Japanese people are so elegant and particular about ways of pouring things etc. but I managed to serve some people and avoid drinking for a few minutes at least. I need not have worried about getting too drunk and making a show of myself because Japanese people have absolutely no tolerance for alcohol whatsoever, and I was the soberest one of the lot after the two hours all-you-can-drink. It was a good night because I met a lot of the teachers I had never spoken to before and it wasa little surreal to see all the big, middle-aged men get drunk and disorderly within the space of about 10 minutes.

Well that`s my impression of Japanese school life so far. I suppose working in Japan as an ALT is a great situation to be in as I am not subject to the same sandards and hours as the Japanese teachers but still get to enjoy the obedient, enthusiastic students and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere of the Japanese staffroom. Lucky me!