My experiences

My Good Learning Experience:

When I was 8, I really wanted to swim but I did not know how and there was no one to show me.  Every single time I went to the local swimming pool, I saw people of different ages swimming with no problem.  It looked so simple. So I tried, but at each attempt I would sink down and on the way drank gallons of water through my mouth, my nose, but I kept on trying. Then I figured that if I kept moving my legs about, I’d float. And I did!  I was so proud, but the only problem was that I never moved forward. If anything, I seemed to go backward.  It was frustrating.

One summer, my uncle and my aunt took me with them on holiday to the coast. Wow! Sea? I was so excited.  There I tried. I floated and drank so much sea water that my nose, my throat, my eyes were so painful.  My uncle felt so sorry for me that he decided to show me how to swim. He grabbed the strap of my swimming costume, lifted me up in the air and “now”, he said, “stretch your arms and your legs forward and draw an ‘O’, bring them back together and draw an ‘O’. Head’s up, chin up!” he shouted, “And keep looking in front of you.  You’re doing very well!  Well done!”

Floating up in the air I followed his instructions, and after a while he slowly put me back in the water while still holding onto my swimming strap. He walked with me while I kept on drawing my ‘Os’ in the water and then bit by bit he let go of me. I swam! I moved forward!  That summer my uncle taught all the kids how to swim and the funny thing was he did not know how to swim!

My Not So Good One:  

My deacon uncle and aunt went to the movies with their children and left my sister and me at home cooking dinner for them. I felt it was so unjust that I decided to sabotage the rice by keeping on adding water in the saucepan so that instead of having light and fluffy rice, they got sticky and porridge-like rice (sacrilege!).  When they got back, my uncle and aunt were so angry that they made me eat the entire pot of rice (for 12 people!) And they watched me eat it! I was 9!

Tetelle