Personal Narrative: The Redeemer Christian Nursery School
I did not look like them. Their eyes were bigger and sunken into their heads, whereas my almond-shaped eyes lay flat on my face. Waterfalls of milk chocolate and rays of sunshine cascaded down their backs, while I hid under the shadow of my pitch black hair. Their skin was Crayola Peach, but there is no crayon in the box that will replicate the color of my skin on paper.
At the Redeemer Christian Nursery School, my first American preschool after immigrating from South Korea, the only English I knew was “Hi” and “Thank you.” I longed to play dress-up and house with the girls who looked like Disney Princesses, but I was wary of Nikki, the uncontested queen of the dollhouse who had a habit of making girls like me play the dog because “Family members are supposed to look alike and speak the same language!” Noticing my lack of progress, my parents transferred me to Mrs. Keary’s Little Schoolhouse, which promised an intimate learning environment and more one-on-one attention. I learned my ABC’s, made chocolate chip cookies with Mrs. Keary, and became the designated Princess Mulan. I finally started feeling like an ordinary American child, but then we played a game. Bridget was at my right and Lily was at my left. All six little girls in the circle linked hands, and Aly started chanting strange words. Everyone else happily joined in, but I felt …show more content…
I asked Santa for books and I spoke English everywhere I went, but as I learned more and more English, I remembered less and less Korean. One day after school in second grade, my mom greeted me with the usual “What did you learn today?” I wanted to say that we started memorizing our multiplication tables, but I realized that I didn’t know how to say “multiplication tables” or “memorize” in Korean, so I shrugged and said “Nothing.” This became a regular
At the Redeemer Christian Nursery School, my first American preschool after immigrating from South Korea, the only English I knew was “Hi” and “Thank you.” I longed to play dress-up and house with the girls who looked like Disney Princesses, but I was wary of Nikki, the uncontested queen of the dollhouse who had a habit of making girls like me play the dog because “Family members are supposed to look alike and speak the same language!” Noticing my lack of progress, my parents transferred me to Mrs. Keary’s Little Schoolhouse, which promised an intimate learning environment and more one-on-one attention. I learned my ABC’s, made chocolate chip cookies with Mrs. Keary, and became the designated Princess Mulan. I finally started feeling like an ordinary American child, but then we played a game. Bridget was at my right and Lily was at my left. All six little girls in the circle linked hands, and Aly started chanting strange words. Everyone else happily joined in, but I felt …show more content…
I asked Santa for books and I spoke English everywhere I went, but as I learned more and more English, I remembered less and less Korean. One day after school in second grade, my mom greeted me with the usual “What did you learn today?” I wanted to say that we started memorizing our multiplication tables, but I realized that I didn’t know how to say “multiplication tables” or “memorize” in Korean, so I shrugged and said “Nothing.” This became a regular