What is that! I stared at them my heart jumping. It looked like a line of bloody X's. I did not
hear what the teacher said for the rest of the class, as I tried to process those Xs that I had never
before seen on any paper with my name.
I was a good student in my country. So the spelling test in my new school was for me a no-
brainer, but the result showed everyone who I was, a foreigner: color(colour), harbor(harbour),
favor(favour), check(checque), program(programme) and the trail of Xs walked down on my
page.
Moving to America meant I had to learn new ways of spelling and so many other things. So
many. In hindsight, however, these challenges have prepared me for life, which is a constant
journey of learning and applying new things.
Ann H