Hong-Ngoc Nguyen

Instructor: Jakubowski

English 103, section PG01

21 September 2005

An Unforgettable Award

Everyone could easily recognize my secondary school in Vietnam because it was built right beside quite a big Pagoda. Moreover, having a big gate helped distinguish itself from the other houses around. There were two entrances, one at the front for teachers, and one across the ground of the Pagoda for pupils. I could hear many noises-joking, laughing, and calling each other-made by many pupils before I reached the school since they usually had breakfast together at food stores near by.

My school was a pretty big building which had five levels without elevator. For four years I studied there, my classes were usually on the fourth or fifth floor. As you could imagine, I had good exercise everyday. Actually, it was not the kind of school that I wanted to attend because my favorite choice is always a school in which there are many big trees and a playground outside, so that I can play under the shade of the trees and hear the birds singing. My school, in contrast, had not even one little tree, and the playground was the first floor inside the building with many big pillars. But for my father, that it was the nearest school from my home was more important. It just took me a five minute walk or less to go to school, and the way was so easy that I still remember.

My school had two sets of stairs, one at the middle of the building and one behind the cement stage. This became a challenge for any pupil who unluckily lost the running game that children in my country usually played. He or she had to catch the others running around and around, from one set of stairs to the other. The game was so exciting that the quiet school at study time became very noisy at break for the screaming sounds of energetic children. Each classroom was large enough for more than forty pupils. The tables were full of colorful paintings and names drawn by mischievous pupils. Although the weather in my country is very hot and sticky, we did not feel so bad because our classrooms’ big windows allowed the wind and the sunlight to easily enter the room. Sometimes the light winds blowing drove us to fall asleep. By noon, all the school could smell many delicious foods from the local houses. It made all of us hungry. We just wanted to go home right away.

Like other pupils throughout the country, we had to wear a uniform: white shirt, blue trousers or skirt, white shoes and a red scarf. My parents said I looked nice and small in that uniform. During my secondary years, I was an active pupil. I joined in most contests and won some awards. One of them was for telling a fable in my mother tongue. It was special because telling a fable was a new difficult job for me to try. And I chose to tell a well-known Aesop’s fable named “The North Wind and the Sun”. It took me nearly two weeks to prepare.

The way to school the morning of the contest was somewhat different. I do not remember exactly what it was. Maybe the difference lay inside my mind. That time I did not go to school to consume or discover new things from my teachers' lectures, but to tell an old thing – my story – to my teachers. The stage was decorated nicely with the big red line "CUOC THI KE CHUYEN NGU NGON" (Telling Fable Contest) in the middle of the stage's wall. Some contestants even came earlier than me. As I could remember, there were three or four examiners and not a very large audience. After a long nervous waiting time, it was my turn to tell my story:

"The North Wind and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes. The North Wind first tried his power and blew with all his might, but the keener his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him, until at last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called upon the Sun to see what he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out with all his warmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays than he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly overcome with heat, undressed and bathed in a stream that lay in his path" (qtd. in Star Systems).

I trembled with excitement to wait until the Monday morning of the following week when one of the examiners announced the winner of the competition to all pupils. Unbelievably, it was me to win the highest position. Secretly, I had nourished the hope of becoming one of the winners, but getting this achievement was more than what I dreamed. Just like everyone who won a competition, I was so happy. Moreover, I was asked to tell my story again to the whole school (a surprising suggestion that I did not expect). I felt excited since that was the greatest chance for me to perform to such a large audience. As I did days before, I added the conservation between the North Wind and the Sun with two different voices, high voice and low voice. For the third character – the Traveler, I used my regular voice. That helped distinguish me from other contestants. In addition, my Vietnamese teacher instructed me to add the introduction and the conclusion about a valuable lesson one could learn from the story: Persuasion is better than Force. She was dedicated to see my practice until everything was smoothly done. My good preparation made me the winner, I supposed. I was glad because everybody concentrated on my story. After class, some pupils said to me that they liked my story and I did a great job. I was on cloud nine and will never forget that morning.

I love my secondary school although it has no tree, no outside playground and no elevator for five floors. It was the place in which I had many sweet memories with all of my little friends and an unforgettable award for my fable. Now I am here studying at NIU, far away from home as the Traveler whose voice was my own and I will continue using it to express myself, as confident as when I was standing on the stage giving my story many years ago.

 3rd Prize – Jan Kiergaard Award

with my instructor, Mrs. Jakubowski at the Awards Ceremony

 Thanks to Miss Erbe (ESL Center) for helping edit my work.

Work Cited

Aesop’s Fables. “The North Wind and the Sun”. John R. Long, Star Systems. 21 Sep 2005. http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/cgi/aesop1.cgi?3&TheNorthWindandtheSun