I had my first day back with the middle-schoolers after the end of the mid-term test-prep period. Many of them were absent, but a core group of my RN1T cohort of mostly seventh graders was present, and they were definitely entertaining. The highlights:
Jeongjae said his homeroom teacher was a pig. I said that didn’t seem like a very nice thing to say. “Why is she a pig?” I asked.
“She gives horrible test!” He explained, which I could see leading to antipathy, but didn’t really make her a pig. “And she gives me food all the time. Extra food. She keeps making me eat!” Jeongjae is very skinny. Maybe she’s trying to take care of him.
“Hmm,” I mused. “That sounds more like a pig-farmer, than a pig.” This went right over the boy’s head. But Eunjin, in the other corner of the room, broke out in a fit of giggles. She’s very quiet, but her English comprehension is excellent. She got the joke.
Later, we were talking about wild animals. “Are there any wild animals in Ilsan?” I asked.
Jeongjae’s hand shot up. “My homeroom teacher!” He announced, confidently.
The best was when Donghun’s hand shot up, unbidden. “Teacher!” He exclaimed, as if making a profound discovery. “My favorite beer is Heineken!” Out of the blue, and his accent was flawless. This is from a seventh grader. I think it’s from a television commercial. I couldn’t help but laugh at this.
[Daily log: walking, 5 km; running, 3 km]
