Tony: Hello and welcome to another edition of Tony Talk! This is Tony Provolone and with me today are three very special guests-- three sisters from Ohio: Mary, Clara, Sylvia Johnson. Hi girls!
Girls: Hi!
Tony: It’s good to see yah. Hey, you guys are from Ohio right?
Girls: Yeah.
Tony: Where in Ohio?
Sylvia: Cincinnati.
Tony: Cincinnati, I’ve never been there. What’s it like?
Sylvia: Um, well, we live kind of out in the country and we have a little cabin out there with like 66 acres and there’s a creek there and we usually just walk around through the woods and play at the creek.
Tony: What’s your favorite thing to do while you’re home?
Clara: Four-wheeling.
Tony: Four-wheeling! What’s that?
Clara: It’s like a motorcycle except it has four wheels and it’s much faster. Umm...it’s very fun to ride.
Tony: Can you go through like all kinds of terrain like through the woods and stuff like that?
Clara: Yes, just about, it depends what type of four wheel you have.
Tony: So you like four-wheeling.
Clara: Umhmm.
Tony: Alright, now how old are you guys?
Clara: I am 12.
Sylvia: And I’m 12.
Mary: And 11.
Tony: 11, 12 and 12. Now you guys live in China, right?
Sylvia, Clara, Mary: Yeah.
Tony: And you go to school here.
Mary: Yes.
Tony: Tell us what is it like to go to school in China? What’s it like?
Sylvia: Well, we go to a local school. We used to go to local school, but now we go to international school. Which one are you asking about?
Tony: Well, tell us the difference. What’s the difference between going to a local school and an international school?
Sylvia: Well, at the local school, we always have to speak in Mandarin. But at the international school, it’s kind of a free for all. You speak in English during classes and then to our friends we usually speak Mandarin.
Tony: Was it hard to go to local school cause you always had to speak Mandarin all the time?
Clara: Yes mostly.
Tony: Well, how old were you when you first went to local school?
Clara: Um..well..
Mary: We started in first grade.
Clara: Well we started in first grade...
Sylvia: After kindergarten.
Clara: Yes, we got to China and after three days of being there my Dad just threw us into school, so we just, we learned how to cope with being with Chinese people.
Tony: So you just got used to it?
Clara: Yes.
Tony: So after being in local school for a while ,I guess you have a lot of stories. You have a lot of stories I would imagine.
Clara: Yes, a lot.
Tony: Can you tell us a story like when you were going to school?
Clara: Well, my brother would be a good example. Would you mind if I told about him?
Tony: Sure, go ahead. What’s your brother’s name?
Clara: His name is Kirk. Before the, well, the fad was to bring animals to school, bugs.
Tony: Bugs.
Clara: And they would put ‘em on a string and let them lose all through the, all through the classroom while school was going out.
Tony: What kind of bug? Like a...
Clara: Sometimes wolf spiders which are not poisonous but very very scary.
Tony: Big spiders? Like how big?
Clara: Yes, very big. They sometimes are as big as a man’s hand.
Tony: Uh huh.
Clara: My brother took a grasshopper to school and let it loose, and it accidentally flew in a girl’s hair and she screamed so loud. The teacher got so mad. My brother had to spend the rest of the day standing in the corner.
Tony: So he would let animals lose: Did he do this all the time or was this just like ...
Clara: Occasionally.
Mary: After the first time, he probably didn’t do it, you know.
Tony: What’s the worst thing about having another sibling who goes to the same school?
Mary: Me and Clara used to be in the same class and whenever I had homework and I was trying to deny it, she always said, “Yes, we do have homework.” You know? So I don’t really like that. I like being on my own sometimes.
Tony: Right. Alright, well, we just want to thank you girls for coming here. It was good to talk to you.
Clara: Yeah, you too.
Tony: And we’ll see you next time on Tony Talk and bye bye!
Girls: Bye-bye. Goodbye!
