Ahana Shrestha, Grade 11
UWC Costa Rica
It was a Tuesday morning, and the sun was out. Everything was bright and sunny - unlike my mood. The day had barely begun, and I already couldn’t wait for it to be over. It was nearing the end of the semester, and deadlines were pouring in. I was overwhelmed, overworked and exhausted. I felt like I was barely functioning, sleep-deprived and drained as I robotically started getting ready for the day. Trust me, writing a Physics lab report till 3AM in the morning is not fun.
When I reached the cafeteria, it was noticeably empty, with only a few stragglers like me left behind. I hurriedly grabbed a banana and rushed to class, saying hellos and good mornings to others as I passed them. I barely managed to reach class on time and quickly downed my measly breakfast before entering the Spanish ab initio class - the first class of what I expected to be a long and tiring day.
As I took my seat, my bleary eyes registered what was written on the board. Confusion overcame me as I stared blankly at the bold words colouring the whiteboard: FASHION SHOW. Uh. What. My sleep-addled mind grappled uselessly for any recollection of last class’s lessons. After several moments of blank nothingness, realization dawned into me. Oh right. A fashion show. We were learning about clothes in Spanish and of course - what better way to learn about them than through a fashion show?
As excitement began to stir around the classroom, I looked down at myself. All I saw were the tacky, haphazardly assembled clothes I had hastily thrown on this morning. I grimaced, they weren’t exactly fashion show material. But despite my doubts, I quickly brightened up. Being brought up in a Nepali education system, which emphasized and encouraged rote learning, I was unaccustomed to any classroom activities that even involved me getting out of my chair. The classes I was used to were dull and dreary - single desks and people with combed-back hair and uniforms, listening attentively to the teacher or risking punishment. It was a system where memorization was given more preference than actual understanding and students would do nothing but watch with boredom as their teachers droned on and on about atoms and Newton’s laws and trigonometry.
So this change, while quite unconventional for me, was certainly welcome. We each wrote our own description, including everything from our shoes to our bracelets to our hair and paired up, so that our partner could introduce us while we strolled down our improvised runway. Once everyone was ready, our teacher moved towards his desk, and soon, upbeat Latino music was blasting through the speaker.
This was a stark contrast to the silent and strict classrooms back in Nepal. Wow. As I gazed excitedly around, I noticed how the classroom seemed much more vibrant and alive. Soon, the earlier exhaustion I had felt was washed away by excitement and enthusiasm. I was looking forward to class now.
We went up one by one and walked awkwardly to and fro from the teacher’s desk, but there was no denying that it was fun. As my turn came up, my partner announced, “ella está usando una camisa verde con fotos de los templos de Nepal” (She is wearing a green shirt with pictures of the temples of Nepal). I gestured to my shirt with a flourish. “Vaqueros negros” (Black jeans). I stretched out my legs dramatically. “No está usando maquillaje porque se levantó tarde” (She isn’t wearing makeup because she woke up late). I inwardly sweatdropped - well, she wasn’t really wrong. By the time the last student had gone up, it was already the end of class. It felt like the whole lesson had ended in a flash.
Walking out of the class, I was refreshed and energized, and I knew a lot more vocabulary than when I walked in. This class was interactive and fun in a way that was foreign to me. A fashion show: something that would have been incomprehensible back at home. Looking back at the smiling, cheerful faces of my classmates as they left the Spanish classroom, I remembered something that the Nepali education system had long let me forget - that learning, at its core, is all about fun.
When I reached the cafeteria, it was noticeably empty, with only a few stragglers like me left behind. I hurriedly grabbed a banana and rushed to class, saying hellos and good mornings to others as I passed them. I barely managed to reach class on time and quickly downed my measly breakfast before entering the Spanish ab initio class - the first class of what I expected to be a long and tiring day.
As I took my seat, my bleary eyes registered what was written on the board. Confusion overcame me as I stared blankly at the bold words colouring the whiteboard: FASHION SHOW. Uh. What. My sleep-addled mind grappled uselessly for any recollection of last class’s lessons. After several moments of blank nothingness, realization dawned into me. Oh right. A fashion show. We were learning about clothes in Spanish and of course - what better way to learn about them than through a fashion show?
As excitement began to stir around the classroom, I looked down at myself. All I saw were the tacky, haphazardly assembled clothes I had hastily thrown on this morning. I grimaced, they weren’t exactly fashion show material. But despite my doubts, I quickly brightened up. Being brought up in a Nepali education system, which emphasized and encouraged rote learning, I was unaccustomed to any classroom activities that even involved me getting out of my chair. The classes I was used to were dull and dreary - single desks and people with combed-back hair and uniforms, listening attentively to the teacher or risking punishment. It was a system where memorization was given more preference than actual understanding and students would do nothing but watch with boredom as their teachers droned on and on about atoms and Newton’s laws and trigonometry.
So this change, while quite unconventional for me, was certainly welcome. We each wrote our own description, including everything from our shoes to our bracelets to our hair and paired up, so that our partner could introduce us while we strolled down our improvised runway. Once everyone was ready, our teacher moved towards his desk, and soon, upbeat Latino music was blasting through the speaker.
This was a stark contrast to the silent and strict classrooms back in Nepal. Wow. As I gazed excitedly around, I noticed how the classroom seemed much more vibrant and alive. Soon, the earlier exhaustion I had felt was washed away by excitement and enthusiasm. I was looking forward to class now.
We went up one by one and walked awkwardly to and fro from the teacher’s desk, but there was no denying that it was fun. As my turn came up, my partner announced, “ella está usando una camisa verde con fotos de los templos de Nepal” (She is wearing a green shirt with pictures of the temples of Nepal). I gestured to my shirt with a flourish. “Vaqueros negros” (Black jeans). I stretched out my legs dramatically. “No está usando maquillaje porque se levantó tarde” (She isn’t wearing makeup because she woke up late). I inwardly sweatdropped - well, she wasn’t really wrong. By the time the last student had gone up, it was already the end of class. It felt like the whole lesson had ended in a flash.
Walking out of the class, I was refreshed and energized, and I knew a lot more vocabulary than when I walked in. This class was interactive and fun in a way that was foreign to me. A fashion show: something that would have been incomprehensible back at home. Looking back at the smiling, cheerful faces of my classmates as they left the Spanish classroom, I remembered something that the Nepali education system had long let me forget - that learning, at its core, is all about fun.
Image Citation: https://www.globalcosmeticsnews.com/fashion-brands-to-face-crackdown-as-eu-drafts-in-new-regula
tions-to-enforce-a-greener-textiles-industry/ |
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