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Topic: First Day of School (06/28/04)
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TITLE: My First Day of School in Philadelphia By Linda Ryzenga 07/03/04 |
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My Father's job had required that he be transferred from Fort Wayne Indiana, where I had lived the entire nine years of my life, to Philadelphia Pennsylvania. It was actually like starting all over again, as I didn't know a soul at this school where I was being tugged to and fro. First one group of girls wanted me to join their group, and then another girl wanted me to join her. I wasn't accustomed to keeping company with such aggressive girls. It was recess time and my Mother had just registered me in school, then left shortly thereafter. Just as one of the girls won the tugging contest, the bell rang, and we slowly proceeded to return to the classroom.
During the afternoon in class, the teacher asked everyone, one at a time of course, to tell where they had gone on vacation during the summer, and what they like best about that place. When it was my turn, I said that my family and I had visited Niagara Falls. As I thought for a second, I said, “I guess what I liked best about it was the water. Now, if you're familiar with the east coast as compared to the mid-west, there is a great difference in the pronunciation of many words, one being “ water”. There was an immediate uproar in the classroom, and I felt about as small as the tip of my little finger.
Well, that was my first day of school in Philadelphia, but it really became a much better situation in the days that followed. New friends were made, including a best friend, and I actually became comfortable going to school. The Jewish population outweighed the Christians and this was a great learning experience! Around Jewish holiday's, the children would tell how they celebrated. For instance, Passover, and Hanukkah were two of the main holidays for the children. They did a fabulous job of portraying what the customs were, including a demonstration in which one of the boys wore the traditional black Jewish skull cap which is the custom of the Jewish males when participating in a religious observance.
Yes, I must say that I do not regret the three years I spent growing up on the East Coast. It was a time of growing and learning. Great memories were formed along with an immense fondness of the Jewish people. And all of this started out with a nine year old, frightened girl on her first day at school. By the way, by the time I returned to Indiana, I spoke with a true eastern accent.