My School Marie-Reine

Do you remember your first day of school? The bus ride there or maybe just your mom's car? Asking your parents if you are going to have friends ten times in a row? Being nervous? Asking yourself if your teacher is nice? Looking up at the big school building and wondering if you want to do this? If you can do this?

For many of you that day started in Kindergarten in the U.S. But for me my first day of school was in fourth grade when I was nine. I came in the middle of a school year and I did not speak the language. I was in Canada and I was asking all the questions you were and some more. Some of the questions I was asking were, "Do they speak French?" Yes. "Will I have friends?" Yes. And, "Can you pray for me?" Yes.

I was as scared as you were. Everything was in a language I couldn't understand. When I did home-school we never had music class and when I learned that music was my first subject I burst out crying. What made it worse was that it was a substitute teacher and we were playing the flute. The teacher gave me a flute and I just sat there.

After that my day went pretty well except for a misunderstanding or two. Happily, since then things have changed a lot. I understand almost everything my teachers say, but I still do not play the flute.