The First Day of Elementary School

My name is Sun Shang-chih. Sun is the name of the monkey in the Chinese book "Journey to the West." Shang looks like a TV with an antenna on top. Chih is like a bomber plane, with jet trails floating behind it. I was born in 1979 and am six years old. June 30th is my birthday. A little after my birthday this year, I graduated from kindergarten. I liked my graduation clothes, because after I got my picture taken in them, I could be just like my big brother--an elementary school student.

On September 2nd, my mother took me to Hsiyuan Elementary School to register for class. There were more adults than children at the school. The teacher carefully checked over our household registration, made a check with a red pen in a big book, and then told me that I was in the first year, second class. My teacher is called Ms. Ch'en. Mom then took me to the store to buy my uniform, which is a light blue shirt with dark blue shorts. I like the pretty red skirts they give the girls, but the boys' hats are even better. I really like my hat!

That night I was afraid I would be late for the first day of school, so I slept with my uniform and socks on. When Mom came to tuck me in, she said, "Since when do people wear their socks to bed?" She made me change into my pajamas, which meant I had to change again this morning. When I got to school, Ms. Ch'en had already assigned me to a seat. I'm tall, but Lin Ch'ang-ta, who is much shorter than me, sits right beside me. I was probably too noisy. Ms. Ch'en told us to close our eyes and put our hands on our hips. It seemed like a game. When we quieted down, then Ms. Ch'en told us to open our books. We opened them, but Lin Ch'ang-ta started to yawn, and all the mothers on the side laughed. At dinner my father said, "You like school so much, what will you be when you grow up?" I said I would like to be a dentist because I have too many cavities.