Today was the first day of school. It seemed like everybody knew where to go except for me. When we found my class room, I went in and got a desk in the front. The desks each seated two, but nobody wanted to sit in the front, so I got a desk to myself... but nobody to ask to help me. The teacher came in and took roll call. She asked us to tell everyone where we lived (people come from surrounding towns). Everyone was tense because I was a STRANGER (and what's more I wore odd clothes), but when I said that I'm an American, I could feel the pressure lessen.
The Latin teacher didn't teach us any Latin. Instead she went over the basics of: what is yours, you can draw on, but the desks aren't yours. She proceeded to tell us that we could draw on the desks, as long as we covered the desk with paper first.
Then came the German teacher. The German teacher was really hard to understand. I learned two phrases. Then came a ten minute break. After ten minutes, I had Physical Ed. This consisted of the teacher taking roll call, asking what sports we did sitting down, and talking for the rest of the time.
Last of all came the French teacher. She actually taught us something... or at least two of us... the rest of the class had already had two years of French. After eons, the bell rang and I was out. I had no clue on the homework, but when we were picking up James, I saw some of my classmates. Mummy went and asked them about the homework. I had an essay, a German sheet, a photo and creating a name tag.
Love,
Fiorella
P.S. They call me Flo-rrenze 'ook or HHook
Florence, you realize that you are on the way to becoming quadrilingual don't you... Fortunately all these languages share the same alphabet - no Chinese characters !
ReplyDeleteBoy I sure miss your hugs. I,d reach across the ocean and give you one if I could. I was hard-pressed to study Latin and French at the same time. (notice I said study, for sadly neither became part of my vocabulary.) i can't imagine German at the same time. Its grammatic constructions and word roots differ so much from the Latin, Italian, and French. But it must be a welcome change too. Good luck with classes. Did you get anything you can call fun amid them?
ReplyDeleteGranddad
Fiorella, I told you I taught many children who could not speak a word of English. After 6 weeks I couldn't keep them quiet...They rattled on and on (in English). I am sure things will get better. However I can only speak "Southern English". Italian, Latin, and French would be impossible for me to learn!!
ReplyDeleteFlo-rrenze what a delightful story!
ReplyDelete