Poor Monster

Last Monday morning, my co-teacher told me the monster was at the hospital, and would be coming in late. In Korea, a kid going to the hospital doesn't mean much - they go for colds and minor ailments pretty regularly - but a 4-year-old with a fever is a kid I had hoped would be allowed to stay home. No such luck. The doctors found him to be 'not severely sick' and so he was dropped off just before lunchtime, and announced his arrival by crying. Actually, the first sound I heard was a petulant whine that I knew within half a second was his. I've definitely spent too much time with this kid.

After lunch, I politely inquired if our little charge had eaten any of his lunch, and was informed that no, he had not, and indeed he had vomited on the floor. But not to worry - "sometimes he makes himself vomit by crying too much." Lovely. So glad he wasn't 'severely sick'. Honestly, at this point I felt awful for the poor sod. He was obviously OBVIOUSLY a sick little guy and desperate for sleep. Indeed, within a few seconds of me turning around to get his favorite song ready on the computer, he'd fallen asleep at his desk and started drooling on his hand. No fake sleeping this time.

The next day was a holiday, and then on Wednesday he was kept home again. Turns out he had food poisoning. On Thursday he still couldn't really talk (I think he had mouth ulcers) but he'd been bored at home and told his mom he was going to school. He was an angel almost the whole day: he found creative ways to express himself through thumbs-up and thumbs-down, and managed to get through the same amount of worksheets as he usually does.

He's actually been good almost all of this week too. With the exception of that day when he decided he WOULD NOT go to the bathroom, despite showing clear signs of desperation. He held out so long, that he ended up peeing in his pants. I genuinely have no idea what triggered this behavior; he does sometimes 'hold out' on going to the bathroom, but had always given in pretty quickly. Whatever the cause, the embarrassment must have gotten to him because he could not have been nicer that afternoon. And he hasn't refused an offer to go to the bathroom since.

Poison Ivy

The monster is off sick today, so I've had rather more time on my hands than I really know what to do with, so here's some more writing from Ivy, one of Lucy's classmates.

Plants are living things. All living things can feel pain and danger. When we chop trees down, the can feel pain. If you were a tree and someone chopped you down, don't you think you will not scream? Trees scream with their secret voices. Other plants can hear their scream and feel danger. These days, almost everyone make trees into non-living things. That can be okay. Just remember that if you chop trees, it's like you are killing someone. So, let's don't chop trees!

Ivy is basically an ideal student, and her writing is always this good, which is damned impressive for a second-grader who has only studied in Korea. Her mom apparently makes her listen to English-language radio and tapes at home, yet she doesn't seem to resent studying English at all. In fact, she acts like a classroom assistant: answering other students' questions and correcting their grammar and pronunciation. Of course, I stop her from correcting her classmates, but she actually manages to do it without seeming mean or stuck up.

Lately, I've started to realise how lucky I am to be teaching such small groups of highly motivated and able students. I truly appreciate my classes because I imagine there won't be many like this if I teach public school in the US or the UK. So thank you tiny people, you make these long days seem much shorter.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

A few weeks ago, there was a festival at Gwangalli Beach. It was called 'Eobang Festival', and was apparently something to do with traditional fishing or something. For us, it was mostly about drinking some beers on the beach, then moving along to somewhere a little more refined: the deck outside of O-Mart. Classay.

One of my more challenging and entertaining students, Lucy, had told me she would miss class that Friday because she was singing, and said she would be singing again on Saturday. She explained that it was singing 'in the street' and would be very hard to find, and expressed concern that I wouldn't understand because 'it is all Korean!' At this point I realised that she would be in the festival parade, and despite all the obstacles, and a fog of beer and sunshine, we managed to get to the right place at the right time. Of course the song had nothing to do with Korea or traditional fishing methods, but who needs an excuse to get cute small people to sing 'Do Re Mi'?

Lucy's front and center in these pictures, and you'll note that she seems less than thrilled to be there. She didn't really 'sing' as such, but she did make a half-assed attempt to follow the choreography. So glad to see that she behaves like this for everyone, not just teachers. I should perhaps point out that Lucy told me in her first week that she hates all English teachers, and as she grew to like me, started greeting me with a variety of kicks and punches, though one day she did hug me and tell me she loves me. Oh and she's a nine-tailed fox. You gotta love a kid with that much character and attitude.






As an epilogue, here are some vocabulary sentences from Lucy's old class.

Jun:
Jen Teacher died in an earthquake.
Jen Teacher is upset because of Jun.
Jen teacher died 7 times because of her experiments.
Jen teacher is a proud mosquito.
Jen teacher was stampeded by a herd of elephants.
Jen teacher has a pet mosquito and her pet bit her.

Ivy:
Lucy went to the banquet with Jun.
Jen teacher wrote an article about Jun and Lucy loving.
Jen teacher was upset because Erik teacher said "We won't marry!"
Neil Armstrong met Jen teacher at the training center and said, "I love you."
Erik teacher, Jun and Lucy stampeded on Jen Teacher.

Lucy:
Jen survived the earthquake.
Jen is a brave person.
Jen is a proud person.
Jen is fond of and kisses mosquitos.
Jen is killing with a flock of birds.