PrImArY sChOoL - pArT 2 oF 3

Whatever it was, I was so glad to escape it, even it was just for three months. My parents took a teaching job in New York for three months and we left in September where school was just starting. I never finished grade three but was instead moved up to grade four where I found something completely different than what I had back home.

I had found friends. Genuine people who actually cared about one another and also about their lives and the world around them, I will never ever forget that moment when I realised that it was okay to just be me and to be alone sometimes and to just be accepted and accept everyone else. I’d never felt that way before.

We were given an assignment to write to one of the presidential candidates that we supported and tell them why we wanted them to win. Naturally I didn’t know anything about South African politics, let alone the whole Bush/Gore race. The kids in my class, all a year older than me and from the same country, all knowing each other and their worlds, didn’t make fun of me or ignore me. They explained every single thing to me. And it wasn’t just about the elections, it was baseball teams and dodge ball games and how to eat a pretzel or make a candy apple, how not to cut yourself when using a saw and most importantly, to choose between the Yankees and the Mets.

There was a rule in our school that was probably a really big deal to our teacher and it was that no one could share their lunches with anyone else. She had a box of crackers and a supply of milk if anyone did forget their lunch. Something I only did once but I’m glad I did because that was when I discovered what having real friends was actually about. When they found out I had forgotten my lunch, every single person gave me something and one guy took out his whole lunch box and gave it to me, telling me to take whatever I wanted. The actual meaning of this never hit me until after I left and came back home. The most special part of it all was that we didn’t get caught, our teacher thoughtfully looked the other way and continued to do so even though we were totally pathetic at sneaking and ended up making a racket. The games we played here were never about choosing the people on your team; they were about playing so that no one was quite sure which team you supported and finishing with a draw. I wish every moment in life was like that, even if it mean that I had to stay eight forever.