When I was in school they offered two classes per grade, or at least for my grade. One was the Yiddish class and the other was the Hebrew class. I was in the Yiddish class. I didn't speak Yiddish at home. My mother didn't speak Yiddish anymore, and my father (z"l) did not speak Yiddish either. So why was it requested for me to in the Yiddish class?? Well my mother heard that the Yiddish class was more refined. The girls came from better homes and the school favored the Yiddish classes and often received better teachers, which in my case was indeed true. They did like us better and they did give us better teachers, as for homes, I can't really say, we were more the "Hungarian" grandmothers opposed to the "Israeli" parents. The girls in my class spoke Yiddish at home to their grandparents while the other class spoke Hebrew to their parents. Not saying that is the case for 100% of the class, I am talking about majority or not even. Unfortunately for us this caused a great distance between the two classes throughout the school years.

The "other" class was always referred to as the other class. We had nothing to do with the other girls. We hardly knew their names. Yet they were the same age as us. I was different. I knew the class and was friends with 1/4 of the girls. Granted the ones that lived near me...and we used to walk home together. We would laugh at the majority of our class and laugh at the "ice" that was between both classes.

Slowly in seventh grade the "ice" thinned a little. I guess somewhere between the shabbaton in Lakewood and the trip to Philly the girls needed to plan things together. The mingling started a little. It wasn't unheard of to know the name of a girl in the "other" class. By eighth grade, things even melted more. You had G.O and yearbook that combined both classes together to work together and make one yearbook. It was hard. One Editor in Chief, but from two classes, what do you do? G.O. was from both classes...and the other jobs were split pretty evenly. But it wasn't like the two classes became best friends.

By ninth grade the entire grade split up. You had about half if not more of the grade went to the same HighSchool while others went off to different ones. Let me fix that sentence. Half of my class went to the same highschool while the other class had 75% went to that same highschool. I was curious to see how things turned out. What do you know. The other class stuck together. The friends went as a group...and stayed friends...My class went in pieces but they managed to break into the other class and became good friends with the other girls. I was shocked. Here 8 years of a cold war was definitely over!! No more of not knowing what their names are, and who they are...And saying they are from the "other class". Amazing.

I wonder what it would be like if you got the grade together for a reunion? Would they stick together with the Yiddish class vs the Hebrew class? I think so! I think somethings still will stay the same. Even if they are friends now...They will socialize with their peers from grade school who are "more" like them. But why would people do that? I mean, if in HS they are good enough to be friends with them in HS why not when the other girls are there too? Why is it that people change their personality pending on who is there? Sometimes they can be sweet and nice...And another time they feel the need to be snobby and put on a show? Why is that?

Anyway, in my daughters school now, they separate the girls by birthdays. Go figure. There are three classes and she is in the youngest class. So all the birthdays are now...Sept-December birthdays. Of course since there are 23 girls, and they like to have birthday parties at home there are going to be conflicts. So my little social butterfly has her birthday this Sunday after another girls birthday party. And next Sunday she again has two birthday parties to go to. I guess after December there technically should not have any more parties to go to. From camp she has a friend in one of the other classes. I sure hope her grade does not turn out like my grade did...