Life of Coming to America [On Hold and Currently Editing]

11 | Teachers and Tryouts [Alex]

After about a week at school already, everything was going great. I had new friends, classmates are cool with me; plus no bullies!

I'll tell the highlights of my 1st week stay at my new school.

Well, the teachers were okay, I guess. Some are okay, others are okay as well. I'm still getting use to them on how they teach. But God, there are a lot of them.

English:

Okay, the first teacher I met, of course is Mr. Daniel Cook. As we know, he's a fine and classy British guy, or was he Scottish? But well, the was he teaches English isn't like what I experience with my old school. Chrissy said that here he mostly teaches poems and stories and plays and not the grammar stuff, which is great. Because I got really tired of those things.

The highlight of Mr. Cook is the performance task he gave to us. It's about the Conversation of Romeo and Juliet. When the two met at the party and had this monologue and conversation in the balcony (Juliet was at the balcony and Romeo was down at the garden, giving a monologue to Juleit.

Technically you need a partner in doing this - memorize Romeo's monologue to Juliet, then her answer. So me and Chrissy decided to be partners - that way we can memorize easily, we are neighbors after all and we can just see each other in the window and memorize.

Of course when Mr. Cook told this - my classmates were both happy and angry that he gave a lot of time for us to memorize (7-8 months) but there's still the memorization.

But I have a different reaction, and Mr. Cook took note of my reaction:

"Oh come on lads. Look at Alex here. He isn't reacting so angry 'bout that." Mr. Cook spoke in a loud voice so that my classmates will stop talking.

"Well Mr. Cook, maybe Alex doesn't know how long Romeo and Juliet's conversation is!" Albert exclaimed.

"That's for Alex to decide, maybe he knows?" Mr. Cook replied, looking at me to support him.

I raised my hand and spoke "In our Public Speaking class last year at my old school, we memorized Romeo's monologue for our performance task. So I actually do know how long they're conversation is sir."

"See class?! Well, Alex. Maybe you could recite some of the lines you remember?"

I stood up, went up front and faced my classmates.

"Um." All of them were looking at me - but I wasn't that nervous. I had this thing that I look at my friends because I knew they weren't going to do something that will make me laugh. And I was doing that (well, of course I wasn't going to look at Albert because I'm pretty sure he'll do something)

I tried to remember everything from last year - I don't really have that special memory thing but I can keep things in my mind for a long time.

"He jests at scars, but never felt a womb.

 But soft. What light to yonder window breaks?

 It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!

 Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon!

 Who is already sick, and pale with grief.

 That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

 Be not her maid, since she is envious;

 Her vestal livery is but sick and green

 And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.

 It is my lady, O, it is my love!