Finally. The long-awaited (not really) public high school entrance exam.
So, the first day was the written exam: five 45-minute tests covering the main five subjects—Social Studies, Math, Japanese, English, and Science, in that order.
The school allowed students to enter the classrooms from 8:10 a.m. I arrived at 7:50 and waited a bit for my teacher to show up. My teacher arrived, along with a friend of mine, as there were four of us applying for East High. We got there and showed him our examination tickets. Around 8:15, the last girl arrived, and after discussing things and watching another school’s students walk toward the building, we ended up following them.
We changed into indoor gym shoes to walk inside the school and followed instructions to reach our assigned classroom. There, we hung our bags on the side of the desks and waited/studied until 8:50, when the teachers at East High took attendance and explained the rules.
At 9:15, we moved to the testing room, where the exam papers were placed neatly on our assigned desks. We placed down our examination tickets and the writing utensils we brought. Pencil cases were not allowed and would be considered cheating. The only items allowed were:
Mechanical pencil or pencil
Answer sheet (because there were no clocks in the rooms—probably to prevent cheating).
You were also allowed to bring an analogue watch; digital ones were considered cheating.
The first test was from 9:20 to 10:05 a.m. I could share the questions, but I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to spread them online before they’re officially published. (After double-checking, only the stories/situations are technically restricted under copyright law, but it’s not heavily enforced.) Sadly, I threw the tests away a long time ago, so I don’t have any photos anyway.
The second day of the exam was the interview. At the school I applied for, interviews are usually done in groups of three with two interviewers, but I was placed under special circumstances and ended up doing mine alone. They asked me about three questions: why I chose this school (mandatory for every school in the country), what I worked hard on in middle school, and what I found difficult in middle school—I think. It’s been 2–3 months since then, so I’ve forgotten a lot (sorry for the late post).
Fast forward to April 6th: Entrance Ceremony day. It was a long speech about how great the school is, congratulations for passing, and a list of an ungodly amount of rules we’re supposed to follow (which, in reality, aren’t that strict).
The first week was all physical exams: height, weight, blood pressure, then sports tests—grip strength, flexibility, vertical jump, 50m dash, handball throw, and possibly a shuttle run I might be forgetting. About five days later, there was a heart examination and a lung X-ray, where you had to remove your bra under a white T-shirt for both exams because it could interfere with the results.
The second week was normal classes. I have seven 45-minute lessons a day, a 40-minute lunch, and a bento every day. Honestly, anything is better than those cursed school lunches. Ew.
There’s also a cafeteria/school shop where you can buy juice boxes and pastry-type sweets. So far I’ve had a strawberry daifuku (winter limited), cream puff, and strawberry milk.
Fast forward to yesterday, I went on a little “uniform date” with my friend while we talked about our new school lives (she goes to a different school).
Socially speaking, I’ve made… uh, friends. I don’t know how many, but friends! Yay! People also tend to stare from the doorway at the gaijin. It’s almost like a zoo painting moment, whispering, “Omg, it’s a real half-gaijin!” Like, chill—I’m not that rare. It’s funny though, I don’t really mind.
A lot of the senpai from my middle school brass band are at this school too, so they’re my senpai again. Some of them changed, but I can speak Japanese now, so I’m being relentlessly teased by one male senpai and his friend. I can’t fight my elders. What a tragic world.
Another thing I forgot to mention: during the first week of school there were like six tests. Because fun fact—in Japan, once you pass and sign the paperwork for high school, you get homework from a school you haven’t even started yet, and then get hit with tests in the first three days.
School is tough, and you have to study lessons before you even attend them. My school is a mid-tier school—not the top in town, but it still sends a handful of students to top universities each year.
And honestly, the school is really nice too. I struggle with Japanese (I’ve only lived here since the start of middle school), but they’ve been really mindful of that. They’re super understanding and try their best to help me succeed. I even had an interview with the English teacher about what I can and can’t do, and they offered to explain things to me privately if I don’t understand lectures, etc.
Anyway, that’s all. I love you lots, byeee 💛though by time I'm posting this it's like a week after I wrote it lmaooo. But there is a way to see what I do at school
