In The Teacher’s Room…

I was telling Chanta about Monday night’s dinner experience (I can truly laugh at it now) and one of the other teachers overheard me. As I finished the story, he said, “God, that’s a great line…”You will be my sexual partner”…I’ve got to try that sometime.” And he was serious. Scary, but true.

Perception, Once Again

I’m amazed at how people can experience the same event, yet interpret it, react to it, in such astronomically different ways. I want to study this. It has really intrigued me.

There is one class I teach, an elementary class. And they think that the volume of their voices will somehow compensate for their lack of vocabulary. So whatever they say, they yell it. And usually over one another. This is an unusual phenomenom here. This is a quiet society. I don’t have any other class that even comes close to behaving like this one. And I love them. I love how excited they get when I walk in and they yell, “Teach-a, teach-a, teach-a!” And how, when they are trying to think of the answer, they scream, “Wait-a, wait-a, wait-a! But, but, but, but…” They are so nervous I’m going to call on someone else. And how, when I’m drawing at the whiteboard, one will jump out of his or her chair and run up to me and pick up a pen and start drawing, exclaiming, “This-a, this-a, what this-a?”

But, I also realize that the school where I teach is well, close quarters. And the lobby not only has tv monitors visually monitoring what I’m teaching, but also has audio receptors, which tend to amplify anything said or done within the classroom. So everyday when I walk in I remind them about “inside” voices vs. “outside” voices. “Oh, yes-a, teach-a, shhhhhhhh….” And they remember for about, oh, 2 minutes. But they are so inquisitive, and so enthusiastic, the 45 minutes pass in a blink and I’m always sad to leave them.

After teaching them today, I literally bounced into the teacher’s room. They give me so much energy. “I love that class. They are so awesome.” Teacher #1 says, “The class in Room #1?” Yes. Do you have them? “I hate that class.” Teacher #2, “I hate them, too. I dread it every time I have to teach them. God, what is with them? They never shut up.” But, but, I like them. They’re a great class. They’re just, eager, that’s all. They’re really good kids. “Are you on drugs? What is wrong with you?” And with that, they left me. They’re still my favorite class.

Joke’s on Me…

At so-yae yesterday, Mr. Lau told a joke that was obviously very funny. The men could not stop laughing. Mr. Lee tried to explain it to me. This is what I understood: a monk was in the bathroom, a high school student came in and fell, he yelled at the monk. Mr. Lee was trying so hard to make me understand. I simply apologized and said, “I don’t understand.”

So today, he tried again. A monk was at the public baths. “Oooooh, the public baths, not a bathroom. Okay.” And he was in the tub. He had stretched his legs out under the water. A high scool senior came in and waded into the bath. He didn’t realize the monk’s legs were stretched out and he tripped on them. As he emerged from the water, he cussed at the monk, saying, “Dammit! Who do you think you are?” The monk said, “I am a monk.” The high school senior then said, “Stupid! Stupid! I am smarter than you.” Mr. Lee waited for me to laugh. When I didn’t, he explained that the word for “monk” in Korean also is the word for “middle school student.” And given this is quite the heirarchical society, I could see how it could be a funny joke. So I laughed. And the men were happy.

At dinner with Michelle and Cindy (both Korean) I decided to tell the joke. In English. Just to see what their reaction would be. I told it, they listened attentively, and when I said the punchline, they rolled hysterically. Somehow, telling a joke that you don’t really understand, but other people laugh hysterically at, is not as satisfying as when you actually understand the humor…