The Second First Day

Today was my first day of school.
My class is composed of several Chinese, several Koreans, a Floridian, a Swiss, a Russian, A Ukrainian, two Nepalese, a Korean Canadian and a Dutch Canadian (me).  The common languages for groups of people are Chinese, Korean, and English.  We are all now trying to develop the common language of Japanese.  I find that interesting when I sit beside a Korean or a Chinese, knowing we cannot communicate (except with gestures and grunts), but perhaps after a while we will share a common language and communication will happen.
This morning they taught me, believe it or not, how to say I’m not Japanese.  
After lunch we were riding the elevator back to our sixth floor classroom.  The elevator was full, with many of my classmates and an administrator from our school.  The atmosphere was very quiet as we ascended and I couldn’t help myself.  I had to let everyone know I wasn’t Japanese.