Leah, dressed as a 1912 immigrant, participated in the fifth grade Ellis Island Simulation. Parents volunteered to alienate and confuse the junior immigrants in a manner consistent with what might have occurred in 1912. It was fun. I was in charge of the Money Exchange in which I randomly raised posted rates in my favor and stole money from the children so they wouldn't have enough for the ferry. Then I took "gifts" of their measly belongings and almost made one child cry.
Leah's immigrant "family" benefited from nepotism when I promptly gave them the exact amount needed for the ferry. Lucky girl. But I figured that was how it would work if your relative worked on Ellis Island. We were supposed to speak gibberish or foreign languages to the children in order to further the confusion. For my first customer I said "money please" in French... much to my suprise, this was a French Canadian student who understood me perfectly. I switched to Dutch after that.
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