An immigrant perspective on extracurricular in the states

     For a while i am slightly tired of writing analytical blogs on the topics at hand. Instead for this blog i am just going to write my experiences as an Asian American and let others compare and contrast it to Japanese culture through my story. The reason being that writing analytically requires a degree of professionalism that curb emotions through impartial portrays of culture and secondly such writing requires research on the topic and that gets tedious. writing from the heart has always been more of my strong suit. Without further ado. 

    I see grandma packing somethings in her room. she is particularly well dress for today. Usually, she just wears a nightgown around the house but today she actually has her purse and blouse ready. This usually could mean two things either she has important things to attend to, and I have to look after the house for a good portion of the day, or she has important things to attend to and need me to follow. I hoped for the former, but my heart sank as she calls to me to put on my shoes and bring a pencil. I understood that shoes were needed if I am going but why just a pencil. As she stepped out her room look her bedroom door behind her with a pad lock i asked her "What do you need me to do?". "You are going to cram school to take a test today" she told me sharply. I was perplexed at the news. I wondered which cram school she could be referring to. There are so many cram schools within walking distance in the neighborhood, and I sincerely hoped that she wasn't considering another one. "Another one" I groaned. Grandma turn around and look at me sternly, "What do you mean another one. Going to cram school is a great thing. You will do better at school and plus the big school test is coming up right. You must do well on that test otherwise you won't get into a good college". Just as i was about to voice myself in protest i stopped. I have had this conversation before it never goes anywhere. I just went ahead and grab a pencil from my pencil case in my school bag and follow her out the door.

    The way we took was different from the one i take to cram school every summer. it was still in the same direction however we follow along the road instead of going straight down the avenue. it felt longer than usual as normally i would ride my scooter to cram school, but since grandma couldn't ride one, we both walk.  With the abundance of free time, I notice the small white envelope that stuck out of her purse. it was same kind that my dad would give her around the end of the month. I guess that she has discussed it with dad. On the way there i could help but wonder how the new cram school would be like. My current cram school while isn't the most enjoyable place in the world it was far from the worst. Compare to one i have attended back in elementary school or middle school it was much better. At least we got some activities besides just studying and lunch breaks. Occasionally they would hold some classroom events to help the students relax and for that i was grateful. All the other crams school was dull and mind numbing tedious.

    My worries were quelled as soon as the elevator door open to the third floor. immediately I saw teachers that i was familiar with and cross from us was the headmaster of my current cram school. I didn't recognize the place at first because we always study in the summer at various public schools as classes are out and the cram school can use the faculties. I had no idea that where the cram school headquarters is or if they existed. My grandma greeted the headmaster as if they were old friends. it wasn't too unexpected as this not their first time meeting. After exchanging greetings, the headmaster turned to me and pointed for me to go to room 2 to await taking my placement exam. I head toward room 2 out of the glance of my eye I saw my grandma handing over the white envelope.

    In the exam room i saw some of fellow classmates from my time in the cram school. They were mostly regulars who has been here many years. Most of them are not from high school, however. They mostly attend a more prestigious public school. Fitting as from what I can tell hardly any of them really need the extra study. They mostly scored in the 90 percentiles during mock exams. There is also some of us that some would say needs the extra push and help. We fell into the more of 80 percentiles. Of course, none of us are for a lack of better words stupid per say. There is a separate class for that. I waved at the other students without saying anything. Deep inside we all knew that we would rather be doing anything else than taking the placement test on a Saturday afternoon. After 10-15 minutes an assistant came in and handed out the practice test. They briefly explained the rules and procedures all of which are the same as the one for the actual college exam. This is something i was more than familar with as i had to do this at the start of every summer break. The only difference is that this time it is in the fall. i just assumed that my grandma is just enrolling me the next year ahead of time.    

    For I the next 1 hour and half I sat there struggling through the exam. By the 1 hour 15-minute mark some people have already finished their exam and handed in their papers. I took the full 1 hour and 30 minutes. By the time I finished there was still a few students left. We talked a little about the exam. One by one slowly most started to head out by themselves or with their parents. I didn't have keys to go back home nor a phone, so I just sat by the main lobby until my grandma came back around to take me back home. it wasn't till 30 minutes later did she come back. During that time some of my cram school teachers recognized me and came to talk to me and ask me about my life. When my grandma eventually arrived, both of her hand carried bags of groceries. She handed me some of them and went straight to the headmaster and asked "So how did he do? Did he do good?". The headmaster not shaken in the slightly told her "The tests haven't been graded yet, but your grandson is bright i am sure he did well", turning to me as she said that. "I see" replied my grandma a little bit disappointed. We said our goodbye and step into the down elevator. Through the various plastic bags that hung around her wrist i saw that where the white envelope used to reside has been replaced with a yellow receipt paper that read "Saturday Fall term" with a amount written for 2000$. At that moment i let out a small sigh.