First day of school: Looking back, it makes me laugh, but I remember that on the first day of school I was very nervous. I thought, “What if I don’t make any friends?” “What if no one talks to me?” “Who am I going to sit with in the cafeteria?” Things like that. My host mom accompanied me to school that day. Before going to the classroom, I went to the principal’s office so that he and two other teachers could meet me. My host mom and the principal talked a little, and then they accompanied me to my classroom. I knew I was going to have to introduce myself in front of the whole class, so I kept going over what I had to say in my mind because I didn’t want to make a mistake. I introduced myself, said my name, age, and nationality, and everyone applauded. The teacher told me where to sit (in the back), and as I walked to my seat, I could feel all eyes on me. Then my host mom and the teacher left, so I was alone in my seat. I could see everyone talking quietly while looking at me. To be honest, I didn’t know what to do. “Should I try to talk to someone?” My mind was racing, thinking about what to do, but then someone came up to me, started talking to me, and gave me a gift with a note.

The thing is, throughout that day, I gradually started talking to more people. At first, they didn’t know whether to approach me, but when they saw others doing so, they came over too, and I ended up making lots of friends! When I walked down the hallway, everyone stared at me, some introduced themselves, and others came from other classrooms to see me and introduce themselves. Over the next few days, I received lots of gifts (sweets).

I think it’s normal to be nervous on the first day of school because you don’t know what to expect, but in the end there’s no reason to be afraid. Both my classmates and my teachers are very friendly and help me when I don’t understand something.