Aw.
The sweetest thing happened in my classroom today.
A Korean student of mine (who's very English proficient) asked me about my heritage today. I was surprised because she was there on the first day of school when I do the yearly planned "here's-a-brief-history-of-my-life-so-you-don't-have-to-annoy-me-with-questions-later" schpiel.
I let them know that I grew up eating the same American stuff as them, tell them which local schools I attended, and why this Asian lady says stuff like, "Mm-hm" with a smirk, neck roll, and magically cocked eyebrow.
Anyhow, after reaffirming my Koreanness, she asked if I knew a lot about the culture. I told her, "No, since I haven't been there since I was a baby."
"Well, I could teach you... if you want."
From the mouths of babes.
It wasn't said with any kind of weirdness at all. Her sincerity was 100% genuine. It was just she and I in the classroom (the rest of the class was at lunch and her mom was coming to get her, so she wanted to stay put instead of going to the cafeteria) and it was just the most innocent thing you could ever imagine.
A Korean student of mine (who's very English proficient) asked me about my heritage today. I was surprised because she was there on the first day of school when I do the yearly planned "here's-a-brief-history-of-my-life-so-you-don't-have-to-annoy-me-with-questions-later" schpiel.
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| I wonder... if I make her mad enough, will she karate-chop me? Hmmm.... |
I let them know that I grew up eating the same American stuff as them, tell them which local schools I attended, and why this Asian lady says stuff like, "Mm-hm" with a smirk, neck roll, and magically cocked eyebrow.
Anyhow, after reaffirming my Koreanness, she asked if I knew a lot about the culture. I told her, "No, since I haven't been there since I was a baby."
"Well, I could teach you... if you want."
From the mouths of babes.
It wasn't said with any kind of weirdness at all. Her sincerity was 100% genuine. It was just she and I in the classroom (the rest of the class was at lunch and her mom was coming to get her, so she wanted to stay put instead of going to the cafeteria) and it was just the most innocent thing you could ever imagine.
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| What a horrible picture, but here's a life-like re-enactment. |
That is so awesome! Are you going to take her up on it?
ReplyDeletePS If you ever want to go to Korea, I will be your traveling companion. Just give me a LOT of notice, as it will take me years to save the money for airfare!
Seriously, I intended to write the EXACT same first line response Lindsey did. It's like we're related or something...
ReplyDeleteSo, are you??
MMMM. Too. Sweet.
ReplyDeleteA heritage trip was what my second job (tutoring) was going toward, actually, but other stuff keeps popping up instead.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: I like to teach with pictures, especially pictures of food because it's something we can all relate to. Their vocab word was "congeal" so I showed a picture of meatloaf. I asked the kids what if they knew what it was... "Mm - MEATLOAF!"
A few days later, the same student was asking me about American food. "So, what did you eat when you were little? "Ham sandwiches, Chef Boyardee, etc." "Oh. So, can I ask you something? What IS meatloaf? Is it like bread?"
This caught me off guard a little.
Seems like the cultural exchange is working in both directions. :)