Part 3: A New Family / A New Home
The start of 1992 was the beginning of fresh starts, including the third grade. This new school year brought more adventures, less restrictions, and new school supplies. Third grade would allow me, and the rest of my classmates, to write using pens instead of pencils and this was a big deal. As we speedily jotted the notes Profesora Claudia wrote on the blackboard, we were told to use red ink pens for titles and subtitles. Blue was used for body text and captions. Color pencils were used for diagrams and other types of drawings. Pencils were only used for math problems. In addition, we were required to buy white-out (or formerly known to me as "Liquid Paper") to mask any pen mistakes. We were not allowed to cross words out or scratch over them. “It didn't look clean”, we were told. As my pencil case got denser, I opted to use my newer one; the one Ciri and Jim gave me as a gift. This one had a jungle theme and a two pocket mechanism. It was fantastic.
I also decided to start using a color pencil I purchased during my trip to Sea World. And it was no ordinary pencil. In a single pencil-like container, it had over 20 colors and I could swap them as I pleased. These 20 color-tips were the size of ordinary pencil tips, but I could take them out and store it in the frame of the pencil. My intent was not to call attention when I pulled it out of my jungle jumble. However, for my fellow third graders, the pencil was mesmerizing. They all flocked over to my desk in disbelief. They had never seen such features; so they asked questions about how it worked, if they could touch it, etc. But the most awkward question was the one about where I got it. And right there, I felt like opening my desk drawer and hiding it from everyone around me. I was only prepared to share it, not to be show-offy. I answered "You know, I have no idea. My sister sent it to me." And that was the end of that. I never told them I went to America, saw an elephant, and visited Mickey Mouse. I felt uncomfortable. I didn't want to make any one feel bad that their dream was still only part of their imagination and that mine had become a reality.
