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the girls were asked which languages had contributed to English, when, and what kinds of words; there was discussion of fourteenth century England, of Chaucer and the individuality of characters in the "Canterbury Tales."
The French class was Sor Alicia's own, so she took it over. The girls had a better accent than in the English class. There were dialogues, discussions of late mediaval writers, and conversation.
Next was a class in shorthand. A business letter was read aloud by the teacher and transcribed in sections on the blackboard by the students and then read back at good speed. The teacher gave advice on types of letters, among which was a recommendation of short ones for the United States!
In the class in Spanish there was dictation and a discussion of punctuation. On the blackboard were some words, "zigzag", "transparente -- trasparante", "observo -- oservo", "simul -- semejante". There was discussion as to when the alternate forms were to be used.
The gymnastics class was held in a paved yard, equipped with baskets; when they arrived the class was getting up from the ground and then marched in fours. The teacher wore the full nun costume, the girls were in white blouses inside full black skirts, with black shoes and stockings. Girls in the class rooms wore striped blue and white smock aprons, piped around collar, cuffs and pockets with blue, over dresses and sweaters.
They visited two classes of chiquitas; both were in navy coats and caps ready to go out; both stood in the aisles and sang to the visitors. One class sang a song about evercises, with appropriate arm movements, clapping, hops, etc. The second sang about "el pobrecito, sin los ojos como puede mirar, sin los oidos como puede oir, etc., etc. The second class filled in blanks in sentences on the blackboard - "La vaca come pasto", "La naranja es buena", "No corran en la calle".
All of the classes were held on the first floor; on the second floor was an eye clinic and a dental clinic for the internadas. There were dormitories, clean and light, nothing but rows of hospital beds, each with a chair and a bath towel over the back of the chair; two or more large rooms and several smaller ones with ten or twelve beds each made up the sleeping arrangements for the boarding pupils. There were clean new lavatories down both sides of the halls. In the dining room were long narrow tables with white linen cloth, two white rolls at each place with a scanty saucer of cooked fruit. At one side was a stack of large soup plates and some silver goblets. There was a chapel with a large elaborate altar there were two or three girls praying in corners and ten