A New Beginning: My First Day in a Canadian School

My mom and my cousin, Denise, walked me to school on that first day. The unfamiliarity of the place struck me instantly; not just because of the ocean between my old and new schools, but also because I knew nothing about this world.

I wore white stockings, a pink corduroy skirt, a white blouse, and brown shoes. I felt so out of place. While most girls wore pants, I didn't even own a pair. The cartoon characters on their clothes were foreign to me, especially the muscular turtles eating a cheesy triangle. One girl wore a loose white sweatshirt with a photo of five men on it. Who were the New Kids on the Block? I had no clue.

Denise showed me to my line, and only when it started to move, did it hit me—I was on my own now until my mom came to pick me up later in the day. Looking back, my mom got teary-eyed, and our eyes locked until I turned a corner.

In my new classroom, I found an empty seat among the chaos of laughter, yelling, chair dragging, and desk pushing. When the bell rang, a tall blond teacher walked in. Blonde, like me—something significant to me because in my previous world blondes were scarce.

As I looked around the room, I noticed that everyone was standing and a song played from a place known. The room stood and everyone sand along. Perhaps you only stood up to show that you could sing this song so I opted to stay seated. As I continued to look around, the teacher whispered something, her language foreign to me. As her tone escalated, I stood, assuming that’s what she was telling me to do. When the song ended, everyone gathered their hands as if in prayer—something I had never seen done outside of church.

She passed around papers to each student and when I got mine, I stared at the unfamiliar text. Luckily, the girl beside me seemed to know the answers so I copied hers. Beside the letters N-A-M-E I wrote Lisa, just as she had.