So Easily Amused. . .

I guess I’ve never realized how much I laugh. At everything. And how little it takes to make me laugh. Sparkly lip gloss. No, sparkly anything. Picking up all of my dumplings from the pot with chopsticks and not bisecting any of them in the process. Eating with chopsticks. Reading a sign in Korean. Korean television commercials. Saying, “Ole!” Pink lingerie. Bad English translations (You Ill Pharmacy). Sneezing. Snack food packaging (my favorite so far is strawberry frosted mushroom crackers).

Miracles in the Modern World . . .

At the beginning of the term I was assigned 10 classes. 4 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon, 3 at night. I felt I was so lucky. I loved all of the children. Except for those in one of the morning classes. Four pre-adolescent students. Three girls, one boy. And they would just sit there and stare at me. Or mumble something in Korean then snicker. The first week I spent almost all of the class time trying to figure out if they couldn’t understand me or were just being sullen. It was the latter. I felt like I was the new kid in junior high school that no one liked. I dreaded going into that class. Everyday I would give myself a little pep talk then burst into the room with a huge smile and “Hi, class! How are you today?” And basically amuse myself while teaching the lesson. Whenever they would complain about the homework, I would smile and tell them, “Oh, but this is very special homework. Only you are getting it, because you are very, very smart.” Over the past 5 weeks, the students have begun to participate more in class (though that’s not saying much), even speaking to me in the hallways. Today, as I entered the lobby, the three girls were chatting animatedly with Eun-Joo, the receptionist. As I walked over to them, they started clapping, giggling, and saying “congratulations-a, teacher!” I asked, “Why?” They giggled hysterically. And spoke rapidly in Korean. Do I really want to know? Eun-Joo smiled. I asked her to please translate. She said they told her they had voted me the best teacher because I always smile and laugh in class and that they are very sad classes end next week. I guess miracles do happen . . .