I'm a Rude Foreigner

There is this phrase that I've used a lot here that I found in my Korean-English travel book: "shil lyeh hammida," which means "excuse me."

I've been saying this to everyone before I ask them questions here. Just this morning, I found out that shil lyeh hammida actually means the "excuse me" you say when you want somebody to move out of the way, and not the one you say to ask a question. In fact, there is no precursor to asking a question in the Korean language.

Is this a big deal? Well let's see, when I asked a guy if he sold calendars yesterday, I basically said to him "move out of the way (he was behind a counter)... oh and do you have calendars?"

My First Rose

It is May 15th and officially "Teacher's Day" here in Korea. Teachers are forbidden from accepting gifts from students (due to a possible "you scratch my back, I give you an A in class" situation). However, it is okay for teachers to accept flowers.

A student by the name of Jin Gyu today actually gave ME a rose and thanked me for being a teacher. How strange is it that I have been the one giving flowers to others all my life, and now, someone gives one to me? It was very thoughtful and as a teacher, I must say these small tokens of appreciation like this make my job feel very fulfilling. Oh and did I mention Jin Gyu is a dude? And that the wrapping on the rose says, "Loving You?"

Hm... man-crush on the teacher or ... just another Korean custom? You decide.

Kids Say the Darndest... part II

I have been showing my students a video of a woman trying to sing Mariah Carey's "Without You" on a Bulgarian version of American Idol. My point? Enunciation is extremely important. Take a look, this sh*t is hilarious!







I also show them Mariah Carey's original version, because she is simply amazing in that song:

I can't live, if living is without you.
I can't give, I can't give anymore.

I was asking my 8th graders today if they understood the chorus, because I wasn't sure. One of my students yelled out, "you dead... I dead." I blew up with laughter and so did the other students. It was a simple, yet effective explanation.