The Welcome Hunt: British and American English

The Welcome Hunt

1Priya Sharma had lived in London, England, for all eleven years of her life. Then, in October, her family moved across the ocean to a small town in Ohio. On her first morning at Birchwood Elementary, her new teacher, Ms. Delgado, handed her a clipboard with a list on it.

2"This is our welcome scavenger hunt," Ms. Delgado explained. "Mateo will be your partner. Find everything on the list, and you'll know your way around the school by lunch."

3"Brilliant!" said Priya. She unzipped her pencil case. "I'll bring my rubber in case we need to fix anything on the list." She held up a small pink block, the kind used to remove pencil mistakes.

4Mateo blinked. "You mean your eraser?" Priya laughed. "Is that what you call it here? Same language, different words, I suppose."

5The first item on the list was the elevator. When they found it beside the art room, Priya tapped the silver doors. "Here's the lift!" she announced. Mateo drew a check mark next to the word elevator. "Lift," he repeated. "I like that."

6The second item was the soccer field. "Oh, you mean the football pitch," said Priya. Mateo explained that in the United States, football is a different game, played with an oval ball. The game Priya called football was the game Americans call soccer. Priya's eyes went wide. "So I've been using the wrong word for a whole sport!" "Not wrong," Mateo said. "Just British."

7At the edge of the field, a cold wind blew. Priya rubbed her arms. "I wish I hadn't left my jumper in the classroom." Mateo looked puzzled. "Why would you need a jump rope out here?" "Not a jump rope," said Priya. "A jumper is the warm top with long sleeves that you pull over your head." "Oh, a sweater!" said Mateo.

8Next, they had to find the place where students line up for lunch. Priya spotted a row of trays by the cafeteria doors. "This must be where everyone queues," she said. "Do you stand in a queue?" "We just call it a line," said Mateo. Beside the doors stood a tall gray container. "And that's the rubbish bin," Priya added. "Trash can," said Mateo, and they both laughed as he checked off two more items.

9The last item was the gym. Priya looked down at her shoes. "Good thing I wore my trainers today," she said. "Sneakers," said Mateo. "Trainers," said Priya, and they both grinned.

10Back in the classroom, Ms. Delgado asked how the hunt had gone. "We found everything," Mateo reported. "And I learned that Priya says 'brilliant' the way I say 'awesome.'" Priya smiled. "Mateo taught me loads of new words. Next, I'm going to learn to say math instead of maths." Ms. Delgado laughed. "Perfect timing," she said. "Math starts in five minutes."