It was a very different school from those in China. You're not met by imposing doors and concrete walls, and the buildings were inviting. On the front of the main building was inscribed "Lee Elementary School, 1904." Wow! I knew it was an old school. Surrounding the main building were five trailers . One of them was my classroom, 5T. The "T" stood for Mrs. Toalson, my 5th grade teacher. Mrs Toalson showed me to my seat. A girl sitting at my table greeted me. Her name was Regina, and she was a blonde girl from Ukraine. Her eyes were like diamonds, and we had met at a party two days before. During my first morning, we had math class, PE and science. We didn't even have a break! I wondered why? Mrs Toalson said to us: "Guys, line up for the bathroom break please!" All the kids stood up and went outside. I didn't know what "bathroom break" meant. Was it break time? Lunch time? I was confused. Nevertheless, we followed Mrs. Toalson to the main building. We sat in the hallway across from the bathroom. In Chinese, "bathroom" means the WC, and a "break" means having a rest! Gosh, I thought that was weird and why did we have to go to the bathroom together? "Mary and Regina, you may go." When we heard Mrs. Toalson, we went into the bathroom. The bathroom was clean, and it smelled like perfume. I asked Regina what if someone wanted to go to the bathroom during class time. She told me that there was a special pass called a "bathroom pass." All you had to do was raise your hand with the pass to let Mrs. Toalson know you need to go to the bathroom. Then you would be permitted to go. At 3:30pm, school ended for the day. Students put their textbooks in their cabinets and lined up in front of the change room, where they collected their backpacks and coats. As they walked out of the door, each student said "Good bye" and gave Mrs. Toalson a high five. "Did you have a good day today?" Mrs. Toalson asked me as she hugged me goodbye. "Sure!" I nodded. In the author's new school, if a student wants to go to WC during the lesson, what does he or she have to do?
To raise his/her hand to let his/her teacher know. To stand up and ask for his/her teacher's permission. To raise his/her hand with "bathroom pass" and ask his/her teacher's permission. To wait until the class is over.