First Day of School

Everybody seems to be really excited to hear about my first day of school, and let me be the first one to say that it was very interesting. That's probably an understatement, considering the magnitude of the interesting people and programs there. I have a very in-depth schedule, and I'm signed up for nine classes. I am taking Mathematics, German, English, Physics, Chemistry, History, Physical Education, Theatre, and Business Studies. So yeah, that's two Sciences and two Histories/Humanities. I'm hoping to knock out a lot of my credits for school that way. Anyway, my schedule has everything set up so that  I have each of my classes at least twice a week. The classes are very small! My "tutor" class is a class I have every day at the very beginning, like a homeroom classroom. I have eight other tenth graders in there with me. Only eight. My Monday schedule went something like this:
1. Arrived at school, half hour early for the assembly to welcome the new and returning students. The assembly lasted until 9:10, and the various adminastrators of the school explained rules, programs, extra curricular activities, and expectations. Our sports department guy, a really cool English man, went on about all the sports that were offered. He stressed on students signing up for soccer, handball, volleyball, softball, and basketball. That was really neat.
2. All students divided into groups according to their grade. 10th grade has 45 kids in it this year. That's in the entire grade. We eventually found our way to our tutor classrooms, where we received our schedules and our locker numbers. According to my Monday schedule, I'd already missed German thanks to the assembly. After leaving the tutor room, I went exploring. My amazing sense of direction got me lost once or twice, but I generally knew where I was.
3. My next class was Math, and I met my so-far least favorite teacher. She's a short, crotchety, totalitarian dictator of a Scot who just rubbed me the wrong way. When we finished our quadratic equations, I thanked her for the lesson and told her I had fun re-learning some things, because I always pick things up better the second time around. She told me that fun was not allowed in her classroom. The thing was, she was serious! As long as she continues to pound Math into my head though, I don't think I'll mind.
4. Next was PE, and the entire 10th grade has that class together, twice a week. The rules were explained, and then we chose our first unit sport. you had to choose between soccer, handball, and volleyball. Naturally, almost all the guys chose soccer, and the girls all picked volleyball. There were a couple odd handballers in the mix, but I decided to go with volleyball. I figured that I had the least chance of being trampled or injuring other players in that game. The nets weren't set up today, though, so we were able to play soccer, field hockey, basketball, or table tennis. I think we all know which one I went for, and I've got to say that I was a table-tennis fiend! Not that I was any good, but I in capacitated my opponents every time the ping-pong ball flew from my paddle into the ceiling, behind the lockers, or into someone's face. That was mainly because we were all screaming with laughter the entire time. I made several good acquaintances in this class, and nobody was from America.
5. Next was lunch, and the lunch is pretty pricey. Naturally, I took the short cut and grabbed an 80 cent brotchen with cheese. Yum. I chatted with other newbies in an awkward display of differing personalities, but I had a good time. A nice Vietnamese girl even stole my phone and implanted her number. That was nice.
6. My last class was Physics. We didn't do a whole lot in Physics. Our class basically spent the whole time signing safety papers stating we knew what to do in an emergency, and how the equipment worked, that kind of stuff. It was interesting, though, we discussed the relative properties of the two different fire-extinguishers in the room.
So yeah, that was about it. I have tentative friendships going on with a Scottish girl, a Norwegian, a Danish girl, a few German girls, and a Dutch girl. just about everybody's just as new as I am, so we get along well. Anyway, sorry for boring you with my long step-by-step diatribe. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements.