ADAPTION is always a challenge, but everyone says when you are young, it is an easier process. Arriving in a new land, seeing new faces, living a new lifestyle, and eating new foods, would surely take some effort. After all, it was so very DIFFERENT!
Perhaps the most difficult challenge was a new language.
In Hong Kong, my older brother, Edward, attended Diocesan Boys’ School, a missionary school that included English in its curriculum. However, I attended Pui Ching Primary, a Chinese school that taught in Cantonese, the spoken Chinese dialect in Hong Kong. Brother Ed had a better beginning in the new school because he had a little foundation in English. For me, it was much different.
We lived in a three-bedroom apartment on Kapiolani Blvd. and my brother and I enrolled at Ala Wai Elementary School. The thought of attending third grade in a new school created an enormous sense of fear, especially when I did not know a word of English. Mom would bring us to school, pick us up after school and I would prefer not to remember the hours in between.
Each day went by ever so slowly as I sat in the back of the room not understanding a word in class. Those first few weeks were terrifying, almost traumatic, and I spent most of each day crying to myself in class.
There are two distinct memories from those early days at Ala Wai Elementary. Firstly, one of the most enjoyable periods for most kids in school was surely lunch. However, it was a challenge to me as I did not recognize any of the food on my tray. For most days, I went hungry.
It took several weeks before I finally adapted a little to what was served.
Secondly, the teacher quickly realized that something was wrong, and a correction was needed. If he did not understand English, it would be difficult for him to learn anything. Immediately, I was sent to a separate class and introduced to Mrs. Beverly Crumley. For as long as I live, I shall always remember her and credit her for my ability to speak English today. The program she taught was developed by Science Research Associates, Inc. (“SRA”) and utilized a format based on a series of color-coded SRA cards. This was a learning program for special education and covered all the subjects like mathematics, science, social studies, and especially English, reading, and writing. I speak English today because of Mrs. Crumley and the SRA program.
It is funny how these two experiences from my early days remain vividly in my mind all these years.
Crying in the back of the classroom was painful but with the help from Mrs. Crumley, I overcame the pain. I eventually also learned to eat the school lunch.
After one year at Ala Wai Elementary, Mom and Dad bought a home in an area called Aina Haina, and with the move, I enrolled at Aina Haina Elementary School. Indeed, I was saddened to leave Ala Wai Elementary because I did not want to leave Mrs. Crumley. Imagine my very happy surprise when she showed up at Aina Haina Elementary. She followed me there to continue the program for another year. I will never forget her.
These two experiences in Elementary school represented my first taste of adversity.
Learning to adapt was a valuable lesson for me. Elementary school taught me reading, writing, and arithmetic. It also taught me the importance of adaptation and helping others. This guided me throughout my professional career and inspired me to do the same to help others.
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