I was happy to learn that my せんせい really made an effort to ask for my number to keep in touch with me even after 5 LONG YEARS! I feel happy because it’s not something that happens to everyone.
Mdme. Ocariza was my sensei in English Literature during my senior year in High School but I already got the chance to meet her earlier than that when I joined the scrabble try-out during my 1st year (its for a certain inter-scholastic competition).
Back then, I wanted to join the soccer club but during that year it was temporarily non-operational due to lack of support from school. So, I decided to give scrabble a try.
I can’t remember anymore how Reyna and I got picked as representatives for the 1st year. We were happy-go-lucky students who love nothing but to read Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Jude Devereaux novels. We already expected that we don’t stand a chance against our sempai but still the two of us gave it a try.
Luckily, we beat the representatives from 2nd yr to 4th yr so we automatically got accepted as members. So I think, that was the start why Mdme. Ocariza always favors the two of us to the point that you can smell the word “teacher’s pet”.
(laugh)
But seriously, I had fun being a member of that club.
Every Tuesdays and Thursdays she would ask me and Reyna to challenge each other in game of scrabble. Rule is we have to maximize all the accepted 2-letter words and 3-letter words in every move we make to come up with our own playing technique.
Sounds simple?
Well during my time there were “101” 2-letter words we need to memorize.
(Like: aa, ae , ag, ah ar . . .)
And not more than “1,500” 3-letter words we need to familiarize.
And we do it by constantly practicing scrabble.