Recount_-_Dear_Dad

Dear Dad, I was an emotional wreck. All at once I was nervous and excited, happy and sad, as well as scared and confident. My first day of High school in Australia was taking its toll. I kept asking myself: What if I don’t fit in with their life style' What if I don’t make any friends' She kept reassuring me, telling me everything would be okay, all I could reply was, but would it' Arriving at the school, I didn’t know what to expect. The name sounded so posh. What did International High School mean' I was scared it was going to be posh and I wouldn’t fit in. My upbringing was never posh, was it' Some people might call us common. The heat was overwhelming, and I could feel sweat beginning to build up in my armpits. I clenched them together, even though the heat was one of the main reasons I was excited to get to Australia for. Now it was just suffocating. Having seen the school for the first time, it didn’t look as posh as it sounded; it was a big multi storey building that seemed to tower over me, looking as daunting as I felt. As I opened the Reception Door, the breeze from the air conditioning came flooding out. It hit me with a sudden icy gush. Heaven; walking into that room was pure heaven. The air was clean, crisp and fresh. The reception was like any other high school I have been too, small, grey, bland. I breathed a sigh, just like a normal school. However, there were many different flags placed around the room. The first teacher I met was a jolly looking man, tall, bald and wearing an explosively hideous Hawaiian shirt. He was so laid back and unbelievably chatty for a teacher. Meeting him made me feel safe and comfortable. His words like “G’day” slid out of his mouth and I had to crane to understand. I also didn’t understand why he always had to use the word “heaps”. Maybe it’s an Australian thing' I couldn’t believe how settled I felt already; having only spoken to one teacher. I felt my stomach finally stop churning and turning. I soon found myself on a tour of the school, being escorted by a man who I had to strain to understand and who I felt slightly disorientated with every time I glanced at his repulsive shirt. At least he wouldn’t be able to kidnap me! My concern increased when I realized I had no idea where we were, or where we were going and I had no clue how to get back. Depressingly I thought about the necessity of bread crumbs, or a GPS for new students. I had a mental flash of me all old and decrepit still lost in the school, or all my bones shoved in the corner toilet. He kept reassuring me I was going to see a nice English teacher. I was expecting a strict teacher however what I got was a crazy, wild and funny woman. That day I had been confronted by many strange people who were all over me like a rash. The strangest of them all was my teacher whose beady eyes watched us like a hawk. Her hair was curly and a dark blonde. She wore an ankle length pink and white flower patterned dress and brown sandals. Was it me or did everyone dress unusually in Australia' I soon realised why the jolly fellow before was reassuring me, it’s because she was totally and utterly nuts. They obviously keep her on as teacher as she hadn’t killed anyone yet. I couldn’t believe that I’d believed the school might be posh. Instead it was run by a bunch of Wallys’ in Hawaiian shirts and sandals with screechy voices, who said things using slang that I didn’t understand. The classroom was stuffy and dull with computers filling every square inch of the room. I stood close to the door and found myself being studied by all the students in the class, they acted really nice towards me, not like most of the stuck up people back home. I was introduced to two girls in the class who were really quiet but very nice. They were both from England too, unfortunately they had both moved here when they were younger, so they didn’t know any recent happenings in England. I felt a little left out as they had a tight friendship and I was still coming to grips with moving to Australia. It was close to the end of the day and things had gone better than I thought they would go. I felt relieved that it was over. We had to go to care group so the students could be dismissed for Christmas break. I quickly realized that the teacher had not been putting on an act that morning. With much shouting and enthusiasm she started a class quiz where chocolates were given out for right answers. The event was nice and organized until she started throwing the chocolates at everyone. One of her throws went a little astray and hit a student in the head. The astray missile was thrown back at some force. After this incident it was on for young and old. The class quiz quickly became a food fight, some might have said it was more like a brawl as the teacher pelted us with chocolate bars and we returned the favour. I sat bemused amidst a hail of thuds as the chocolates hit the tables, the roof and the floor, I found myself surrounded by chaos. Unexpectedly she tried aiming for me however the chocolate bar flew through the air and ended up on the other side of the classroom. I escaped with my life as some of the students in the class came out of the battle with bruises and headaches, including the teacher. At the end of the day all the bad feelings that I had felt in the morning, like being sad and scared had gone. I was excited, happy and confident. The first day had turned out so much better than I planned. You told me how I could get through anything if I put my mind to it because I was that way inclined. Well you were right Dad the first day at school in Australia was the best. I had never felt this good about a school in my life. Love your little Princess xxx