I actually like the first week of school.  And this year I will get to experience it twice.  We are offering a math remediation course at the school for those that want to enroll next year.  I was slightly surprised when more students showed up than had signed up!  And I have been even more encouraged to see the transformation after even one week.  Math in general is not emphasized here, and sometimes the students have not been taught even the foundations.  On Friday, a student asked me how I knew so much about math ( I was teaching how to multiply fractions) and I humbly answered that I had to take math every year when I was in school.  Their jaws dropped.