Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Inquisitive minds

For the past 2 days, I've been introduced to the various classes I'll be teaching. I had no idea they'd be this curious about me. To be honest, I felt slightly embarrassed because when the co-teacher tried teaching, I noticed that there was minimal attention being given. The kids stared at me, and if I caught their gaze, they quickly turned away or giggled to the person next to them.

Walking into a new class, within seconds I can already pick out who are the noise makers, the mischievous ones and the shy ones....

In nearly every class, I was asked the following (along with some interesting other questions): They asked in Korean, and my co-teacher translated for me....

Where are you from?
Are you married?
Do you have a boyfriend?
Why aren't you married / don't you have a boyfriend?
What is that? (my BINDI)
Where do you stay in Korea?
Why are you in Korea?
How did you come to Korea?
How long is it from Africa to Korea?
What animals live in Africa?
Are there animals near your home?
How old are you?
How old are your parents?
Do you have a brother or sister?

....and:

Is that real gold that you're wearing?
Can you give us your phone number?
Do you speak Korean?
Do you like Korea?
What Korean food do you like?
What is your favourite colour?
What is your favourite season?
Do you have a dog?
What is your house like in Africa?
What is your blood type?
Do you like wrestling?
What are your hobbies?

I showed the children photos of my parents and brother.... oh my goodness, they scrambled out of their seats to get a closer look....and all I heard was ooooohhs and aaaaaaahss... they all reckon that my father and brother are very 'handsum' and that my mother is beautiful.

AND - my bindi caused a stir in every single classroom. They were simply fascinated by it, and I told them that when I sleep I take it off. I told them it's a "steeekuhh" (sticker) and I demonstrated simply removing it from my forehead to which they replied AAAAAAHHHHHH

Mr Kim's son was also fascinated by my bindi, so I just gave it to him....



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