After spending his first summer in the U.S., Rick didn't know what to expect his first day of school. At 10 years old, he had just arrived in the United States the previous June. His first day of school was an experience he'd never forget. The first day of English class his teacher called upon him to answer a question. Rick properly pushed his chair back, and stood to answer. 
The entire class started laughing at him as if he were an idiot. He was stunned and had no idea as to why they were laughing at him. The teacher then politely told him that when she calls upon a student there is no need to stand and answer.
In Jamaica when a teacher asks a question, you stand and answer or you'll be punished with a good whipping. Without realizing, he always stood up in class to answer a question. Another event that stunned Rick took place in history class that same day. A girl named Neidra mouthed off to the teacher and the teacher did nothing. This type of behavior would have had serious consequences back in Jamaica. This blew Rick's mind. School in this country was very different than back home. Even going from class to class every 50 minutes, and going to gym once a week was different. In Jamaica the students in elementary school stayed in the same class room for the entire day and the same teacher taught all the subjects.
Because Rick spoke with a deep Jamaican accent, the kids made fun of him. About eight months later having watched many hours of television, Rick was speaking with an American accent. Initially, the kids would also tease him about his clothes. For the first couple of months Rick still wore his clothes from Jamaica. They called his sneakers skippies and always told him that the storm was over because his pants were short. If you didn't have brand name sneakers then you wore skippies and some of the kids would tease him about it. In Jamaica all the kids wore uniform up until they graduated high school. Because of this Rick was never use to seeing or hearing kids teasing each other about their clothing.
A couple of months later Rick started asking his father to buy him designer sneakers and jeans. These jeans often had designers on the rear pockets. In less than six months, Rick assimilated into an average African‑American male sixth grade student living in the Bronx, New York.