I don't know how...

but every day gets a little bit better.  It's hard to believe.  I had such a good day my first day.  And then my second day was even better. I had heard tales that sixth graders were shy, but those tales were wrong.  Not that I had to do much teeth pulling the first day, but the second day, the kids were raring to go.  Maybe they talked about me, or maybe they are just really energetic kids, but I had a blast up there.  It was a special day, because all of the teachers went to the students houses around 1.  So I had all 4 of my classes back to back.  It was awesome, and then it was over.  I had the rest of the day to sit and think about my next lesson plan.  So the Vice principal comes up to me with a bunch of craft stuff.  And I think "Why would I want this?" So I just accepted it graciously.  But as the lesson planning began to unfold, I found some uses for it.  Made some numbers, printed out some pictures.  And then eventually, I left.  The teachers have all been super nice.  Apparently, I'm adorable. The end.  I can't fight it.  The kids and the teachers alike keep calling me kawaii.(cute) Which is fine, I suppose, but dangit, I'm 27.  Weird thing is, the teachers can't believe I'm that old, while the students can't believe I'm that young.
Today was a new day at a new school.  It was made extra special by the children with autism who were in my class.  The first one read to me.  In the middle of my introduction.  I was walking around greeting everyone hitori zutsu(1 by 1), and when I got to him, he was reading.  At first I thought "rude."  Then I said hello.  He stood up, opened his book so I could see it, and for what must have been a full minute, read a few sentences here, flipped some pages, read a few sentences there...Then out of nowhere, he says "My name is nani nani(I dont remember cuz its hard to remember a million japanese names in a day). Nice to meet you" And then he sits down.  And I'm like "got it." And moved on.
The next two were in my second class.  They showed up late. I have no idea why, but I didn't stop to find out.  I just kept going.  The first one, kept trying to get my attention so he could greet me, and the second one ran.  He had a big goofy grin on his face when he did it, but he ran, ducked behind the Japanese Teacher, got on his knees and covered his face.  And I thought. "Okaaaaaay...."  And the japanese teacher just smiled as I moved on.  During the song, though, the child came out from behind the teacher and was clapping and singing along.  He was off beat, but that's ok.  I tend to not rely on my students to keep time for me.  The teacher felt bad, though, and stuck his hands in between the students hands to dampen the sound.
Then I was back at the front of the class, working my way through my flashcards.  And that's when I knew. Aspergers.  The kid in the front row has Aspergers. Like, whoa.  He WOULD NOT stop talking. To me.  While I was trying to do my thing.  But it was ok, because it was kind of a free for all of communication.  I could tell eh was super excited about everything I was doing, and he made the class a lot of fun.  He tried to cheat during rock, scissors, paper, but I called him out. (Made a shocked face, gestured towards him and said "bye-bye")  And he knew he was caught so he sat.
Then I had a break before lunch.  And I was feeling so good about my lessons, that when the VP of this school brought me markers, scissors, paper, and such, I was totally psyched to make stuff.  Made an Alphabet chart, got my number cards finished, wrote out my plan for next week...I was on a roll. So much, in fact, that  I worked right up until lunch.  How did I know? Because the lunch lady showed up and all of my stuff was where the teachers were supposed to eat.  Oops.  I'm just saying, don't give me a space to work without telling me it's also where you eat.  I won't know.
So I went to lunch with 6-1. Sixth graders, room 1.  And guess where they sat me?  Yup.  The kid who won't stop talking.  His support staff lady was there.  She explained that he needed special help.  I told her I knew, and that I had taken a class about it in college.  She said "Sugoi."  And he kept asking me questions.  Mostly about dinosaurs, and where they are in the US.  He likes the T-rex, and the Allosaurus.  I like Anklyosaurus and Apatasaurus.  He also likes sharks, but I told him I like whales more.  And I also told him I liked dragons.  He was super impressed that I knew what dragons were. For some reason.
And then, surprise. "D sensei( which everyone calls me. It's AWESOME!), we are having a combined 5th grade lesson."  That means 60ish kids at once in the music room with no chairs.  oh, boy. But it was fantastic.  They were REALLY into my song, and really excited about Wipeout.  Thats the name I just gave the game I play with flash cards.  It's basically memory.  I have flash cards up, I eventually take them down 1 by 1, but still have them say what was there when I point to the blank space.  Also, I turned the words "cherry blossom" into a chant.  And today, it evolved. I used to(meaning the two days Ive done this before) just have them say "cherry blossom" like the drums from the war chant.  If, somehow, you don't know what that sounds like, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_vpfblTqng. If. So today it turned into "che-rry blo-ssom, che-rry blo-ssom, che-rry blo-ssom, rose!"  And it was the best pet. For the DPS.  And then my day was over. And still I can't believe how lucky I am to be here.