I've been here for two and a half months, and grocery shopping still amuses me. It's just hard not to laugh when I walk past random dead sea creatures that in no way resemble a food source, octopus stir fry, or pork "libs" (ribs - "r" and "l" are interchangeable for Koreans). I had to smile, too, when I noticed the bell peppers that were bagged and labeled "paprika." There's always potential for amusement when you're a westerner living in Korea.
I recently learned to count to twenty in Korean, much to the delight of several of my students. They get so thrilled whenever I say anything in Korean! Today they made me count for them twice, and got the most adorable expressions of awe on their faces when I did it. I had some fun with my E3-D class the other day - they were being noisy, so I slammed my fist dramatically on the table and shouted "stop it!" in Korean. Completely silence filled the room, and eleven little faces registered a mixture of shock, worry ("Can Stephanie-Teacher actually understand and speak Korean?"), and amazement. It was all I could do to keep from bursting out laughing.
The kids regularly keep me in stitches with the random things they say. Here are a few more recent quotes from my little monkeys:
Me: "Harry, how are you today?"
Harry: "I'm dung!"
Amy (my little three-year-old cherub): (holding a pencil up to her nose) "Teacher! Me Pee-oh-key-o [Pinocchio]!"
Me: "Guess what - Daisy-Teacher is back in Korea. Daisy-Teacher said to tell all of you that she said hello."
(Gasps and looks of astonishment from all the kids.)
Jake: "Oh Daisy, my Daisy, I killed my Daisy!"
Me: (holding a textbook in front of me) "Where is the book?"
Sarah: "It's in front of the tummy!"
Me: "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?"
Leon: "I would go to your brain."
(During a discussion about months)
Me: "My parents' wedding was in August. This year they will be married for forty years!"
Susan: "Oh, Teacher, your mommy and daddy very, very, very, very, very old!"
1 comment:
Hi
I am a publisher of THE EAST; the only English newspaper, which is mainly focused on the East Asian information (at the beginning of every month, more than 12,000 free copies are distributed throughout the London area, particularly, where East Asian Networks are established).
I looked at your blog the other day and have been wondering if there would be any chance that we could publish some of your interesting articles on the paper.
We think some of your blog articles should be very helpful to the Westners who are interested in Asian Culture.
The East cannot afford to pay for your articles right now (as we are non-profitable organisation). However, if you wish, we can still offer you:
1. Advertising space
2. Link to THE EAST web site blog section
We look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Many thanks and kind regards,
Hyung Wook Lee
Publisher
MBA(Edin)
THE EAST, The East Asian Monthly Business Newspaper,
Elephant Consulting Limited, 37 Charter Court, Linden Grove,
New Malden, Surrey, KT3 3BN, UK
Tel : + 44 (0) 7912 608 321 / Web site: www.theeast.org / E mail : publisher@theeast.org
Registered in England & Wales, Company No. 6254454
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