On November 14th, 7th graders came to America. They arrived at school clad in their immigrant outfits. Some of the girls were playing male roles, and some of the guys were playing female roles. The families made their way down towards the media center and around towards Mr. Couch’s room. They took a family photo and got in line. As the 7th graders made their way through the line, Mr. Stachura came through playing Gustav, a guileful thief. As Nora Snelling ’31’ said, “We were standing in line to get on the boat. Gustav was walking in the line, and he saw Alexander’s passport in the front pocket of his jacket and quickly snatched it. We all noticed, and he asked him for it back. He pulled out a passport from his pocket that belonged to someone else, and we told him it wasn’t ours, then he pulled out another one that was Alexander’s. We asked for it back, but to get it back, we needed to trade something for it. We looked through our bags searching for something to trade. We decided to trade rosemary for the passport because we thought we didn’t need it.”
The teachers even had a fun time, with Mr. Couch, Mrs. Marvel, Mrs. Sherrer, and Dr. Heath playing ship workers. Mrs. Luke and her husband played inspectors. Mrs. Garcia played a server for the first-class passengers, bringing them delectable food. And even Mrs. Babbitt got involved; she played an aggressive inspector. Many of the immigrants, and I, were panicking in front of the Czech-screaming woman.
There were four first-class passengers, and of them this year were Zoe Vincent, 31’, Evie Doornbos, 31’, Keira Lumpkins, 31’, and Dev Sangwan, 31’. They were treated much better than the lower-class passengers, getting seats and food service. According to Zoe Vincent, “During the first class, we were first given hot chocolate while we watched others sit in the cold! Next, we were given tea, then waffles and whipped cream; a plate of cheese, crackers, salami, and grapes, then apple juice as “champagne,” and water. ”
As the immigrants boarded the H.M.S. Dunstan, they realized the voyage would not be all it was cracked up to be. There were rats and roaches scattered everywhere. The common passengers sat down on the floor, entertaining themselves with cards, books for those who were literate, and sleeping to pass the time. When the ship finally “arrived” at Ellis Island, the first-class passengers got off first; they didn’t have to go through arrival inspection. After the first-class passengers got off the boat, Dr. Heath began to call off family names. Some families bribed their way off the boat quicker.
The immigrants had to go through another checkpoint. Teachers checked your bags, and then you had to take a literacy test. Some of the immigrants had to go to the doctor. The doctor was played by Mrs. Sherrer. Some of the immigrants were diagnosed with favus, some with mental illness, and some even with lameness.
After coming to America, the students went to their morning specials. After that, they had a big buffet with food from different cultures and countries. It’s safe to say that the 7th graders had a great time during Coming to America.
