Day One. He survived.

I'm not going to lie, Janni looked a little shell-shocked when I picked him up from school at the end of his first day. Kingwood is a large school by any measure and is much larger both in student body and square footage than Janni's school in Germany.

This we knew.

Things became really challenging for him after we realized that he wouldn't see his schedule and class locations until the morning of the first day. Basically there was no chance to "walk through" his schedule so he could find his classrooms prior to the chaotic first day. 

(I don't understand why. Apparently it would have been FAR TOO DIFFICULT to print out the schedules of the 20-or -so new students who attended new student orientation Friday so that they could find their classrooms then....when things were fairly calm. )

His MAP (Mustang Advisory Period) class was first. Once there he received his schedule and things started to go downhill. His first period class, Principles of Architecture, wasn't in the room that corresponded to the number on his schedule. After walking around for a while, and getting "so nervous I was sweating" Janni said he finally figured out that the large classroom number had a small piece of paper taped to the wall below it, with another classroom number - the number matching the one on his schedule.

Janni's other classes were thankfully in the rooms as shown on his schedule but he said it was a bit challenging to find them. The good news is that he knew someone in each of his classes so felt fairly comfortable once he got there!

One funny thing that happened was during basketball class when the coach told the players that he's "not a Nazi" but that practice will be hard. Janni said several of the boys were joking with him about the reference. I'm sure the coach was only trying to say that he's tough, not cruel and narrow-minded, but we all got a laugh out of the slip of the tongue. Hopefully Janni's stay here will remind everyone to be a little more culturally sensitive! As a mom I'm just happy to hear that he's become a part of the group to the point that the guys are joking around with him.

All in all, he said he enjoyed the first day - once he found his classrooms.

Last night he kept remarking on the close relationships that the KHS teachers share with the students, saying that German teachers are far more formal. In Germany, Janni said that the teachers stand at the front of the classroom and talk, with the students sitting quietly. He said he likes the more interactive aspect of the American classroom. He was, however, upset that some students in his English class were being disrespectful to the teacher.

Once Janni got home and played some ping pong and ate some tacos with his friends he was able to laugh about getting lost and the other misadventures of his first day at Kingwood HS.

I know it will take a few days to get into a routine (I had forgotten how much I hate the alarm clock) but so far all of the members of the Leahy household are handling the start of the new school year pretty well. 

Other than Lucy. She really misses the kids!

Sad dog :(