The hateful sound of the alarm clock woke me up abruptly. I sat up on the bed while I yawned and my eyes fell upon my legs, motionless shapes under the sheets, and, as everyday, I saw disappointed that nothing had changed.
A few moments later, my mother opened my bedroom door and said good morning to me before preparing me for school, as she did each day. That depressing routine made me recall involuntarily the ominuous day of the car crash, since which I wasn´t able to stand by myself. I tried to put those thoughts out of my mine as I settled down in my wheelchair with my mother´s help. I thought about the news my parents had given me the night before: I was going to be moved to another school. The idea didn´t excited me very much, as I was used to not getting very enthusiastic about moving to other school. They told me that this new school would be better, but it wasn´t the first time I had heard that from them.
My father helped me to get into the car and we headed fot the outskirts of the city. On the way, I spend my time imagining how the new school would be. When my father finally parked in front of the building, it disappointed me to think that it didn´t look different from the rest of schools.
Once I was sitting on the wheelchair and being accompanied by my parents to the entrance, a group of kids passed in front of me and stared at me. I expected to feel their look which would classify me as a "queer specimen". But, surprinsingly I saw a hearty attitude in those kids faces.
For a moment I thought that everything could be different in that place, but I tried not to get very excited though, just in case.
Suddenly I realised ther was not a single step that would hinder my entrance into the building.
When I crossed the wide doors my parents accompanied me to a room which I deduced was the headmaster´s office. He assured me that I wouldn´t have any problems in adapting as the school had only one floor (so I didn´t had to take any ramps) and all kind of facilities for people like me. I looked at my parents and I saw their wide smiles iluminating their faces, and return them with mine.
Then the headmaster offered to accompany on in a guided tour around the school, and I could see huge tables where I could put my wheelchair under easily, movable blackboards so I could write on them with no effort...I couldn´t believe it!
I could see, pleased, that I wasn´t the only disabled person in the school, and it cheered me up to see that all of them were easily integrated and happy, and more than one of them looked at me with a smile of complicity. I couldn´t believe my eyes: it was a place with no barriers, with no discirimiation; perfect. It was my ideal school.
Alba Soto (2ºbto A)
N'namdi has to walk 5km to get to school. Sometimes it's very hot and N'namdi has a tough time walking in the arid heat with his sister Yamia who complains a lot and gets on his nerves quite often.
His school is nothing special, but his parents say that it's better than nothing. When white people come to the village, N'namdi always asks them about their lives, but specially about the schools they go to. They tell him about all these marvelous things about big, shiny buildings filled with children laughing in bright uniforms and learning all these amazing concepts. They learn about the stories of the past, something called History and how the world works. N'namdi is learning how to read and write, and he's finding it hard. The chalk is too hard to write with and the books they give him are barely legible.
The white people say they don't like school much. N'namdi loves it. He likes being able to sum and read the signs he finds on the way to school. But he wishes he could do the same things as the white children do. When he gets bored walking, he day dreams and imagines his ideal school.
He imagines a clean new building, with chairs, instead of sitting on the dusty floor. The floors could be wooden and the walls could be filled with books, filled with all the knowledge there could possibly be. What about a good blackboard? That would be nice. He would also like some things to play with, because the balls they have at school are very heavy.
Yamia starts crying, and saying that her feet hurt. N'namdi carries her on her back. 2km to go...
María Amanecer Navarrete (2ºbtoA)
It was a sunny day and the pigeons were flying around the fountain of the park. George was reading the newspaper sitting on his favourite bench, in which he had sat since he retired. Meanwhile, Jimmy was coming out from school, after a really boring language class. He didn't feel like going back home and he prefered to stay in the park. He would rather sit alone on a bench, but there were no benches free. The only place available was next to a man, who was about 70, who was reading the newspaper while feeding the pigeons.
"Could I sit here with you?"
"Of course!"
No one had ever sat next to George and it was something that he missed since his wife had died.
Jimmy had a tired expression on his face and his sight was lost among the oaks.
"Do you like oak trees? They are my favourite trees"
"No, I don't. I just haven't got anything better to do than look at them"
"Don't you have homework to do? I suppose you are at school..."
"Do you mind if we don't talk about school? It's enough having to be there 8 hours everyday"
"How can you say such a thing?! I wish I could have gone to school everyday!"
"Are you kidding? You don't know what we have to stand, listening everyday the teacher speaking about the verb 'to be'..."
"Do you want me to tell you how my life was at your age?"
"I don't have anything better to do so...c'mon!"
"I got up at 6 o'clock in the morning and I had to milk the cows before breakfast, while my sister collected up the newly-laid eggs."
"Whao! I would love working on a farm!"
"I was the only boy in the family, and the only one who had the chance to go to school. My sisters had to take care of the farm and the house. After walking for 50 minutes through muddy roads, I got to school. Relationships with teachers were almost inexistent: they came into the classroom, gave their lesson and, in many occasions, used their belts to swipe us."
"Why didn't you complain if they treated you so badly?"
"We were not allowed to express our opinion, we were there to learn so many things by heart, most of which wouldn't do us any good in the future. I wish I had had the same oportunities you have now and you don't appreciate at all."
"I don't think the situation nowadays is as nice as you imagine. We need a degree just to start looking for a good job. And what's worse, they ask us for experience that we cannot have. What's more, companies demand a high level in languages. Since we are very young, we study English and a second language."
"That's a privilege. I wanted to go to a foreign country to work but I couldn't, because the company demanded a knowledge of the language that I didn't have. So, don't be silly and make the best of the chances you have."
"You've opened my eyes, George. Now I know how to appreciate the education we have now. Thank you very much."
Jesús Villar (2ºbtoA)
Today in the pharmacy there wasn’t any Carninova, so I had to buy Herbibol. These pills are my only source of nutrients and they are so boring. It’s been three years since I last tasted something solid. Lately, I can’t stop thinking about the soups and stews my mother used to make me or those steaks I used to love so much. Now nothing is real. I wish could go back to those summers in the beach. Now it’s impossible.
Since the war broke out, everything has changed. It all started when the climate change conference met for the last time. The USA had finally recognized the drastic situation the world was living and had decided to stop all together CO2 emissions of its industry. China, however, didn’t accept that deal seeing that its economical motor depended on a heavy industry which was the main cause of pollution. After many warnings and much debate the situation got worse and finally, the USA declared war on China. The world was divided in two groups. The west, made up of the USA, the UE and Australia. And the East, composed of China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic World.
After years of war the East had a terrible idea. The 24th of May of 2020, they unleashed the cruelest atomic bomb ever known to man, strategically placing it in the Atlantic Ocean causing a mega tsunami and contaminating its waters forever.
With this terrible act, western waters were contaminated. With the waters, animals and humans died instantly. The lack of trust in the state of the food made the governments create nutrient pills. The quality of life we have now lacks in happiness and fun. Almost everyone has cancer or other complicated illnesses.
This is what the war causes, it only causes problems. But now it’s just too late. War gives no solutions. The question is: will there ever be world peace? Will we ever be able to talk instead of fighting?
I wish I could go back in time and talk some sense into leaders that once ruled a wonderful world, and now rule a dead one.
Cristian Álvarez (2ºbto D)
Dear World,
My new teacher told me to write this letter to thank you for your help. She says that thanks to you I´m able to write this letter in this little table and sitting on this cushion.
The truth is you´ll have to help a lot after what happened. I´ve seen many broken homes and sad people, and I wonder why I hear so many people asking the clouds why. But now I see sad people but they´re rebuilding their houses.
My teacher says that these things happen and can´t be avoided. But thanks to you, dear world, my friends and I have a wonderful school where we can learn and play. It´s great because it´s like a huge tent and we can sit on cushions. There´s only a class so we all know each other and sometime, when the teacher isn´t cooking, we can play with the insects which are on the grand.
The other day I managed to hunt lots of ants and my teacher gave me a pot to keep them.
We´ve learned to curea wand, we were given bandages and sticking plasters and we had a great time playing patients. We´ve also learned how food comes from other countries and many of us have wished to be a packet of food so we could travel so far away.
Then, we did another thing that I liked a lot. We all ate together, it´s great to have food and drink everyday.
After tidying up, we helped to wash the dishes. We have to put them in a huge bucket with water and soap and after that they gave us a rag to dry them. We laughed a lot when one of my mates fell into a bucket. The teacher cleared him as if he were one more plate, and he laughed when she told him that he had had a bath. I don´t know what that is, but it looks funny and maybe I´ll fall into a bucket next time intentionaly.
I´m already tired, I´ve recently learned how to write and, even though my teacher helps me, it tires me to write a lot.
Thanks again for giving me such a marvellous school, where I can do so many things and be one of the few kids in Haití who can enjoy this. The only thing I´m sorry about is that my parents aren´t here to see it. Thanks a lot, world. This is perfect, it´s everything I could ever have hoped for. And I hope that, even though I´ve heard the adults saying that it´s temporary, this school should be here forever.
Lots of love,
Omar.
Carlos Martínez (2ºbto A)
