"Do You Carry Umbrellas?"

I'm giving speaking tests this week. I like it for two reasons...1)no lesson plans to write or classes to worry about; and 2)I sit down with every student in the school, one-on-one, even if it's only for a minute or two. The test itself is more like a memory test--the students have a few dialogues from the textbook to memorize, and I feed them the first line and wait for the proper response. Last week, the 3rd grade teachers had me sitting out in the hall, sending the kids out one by one. This week, the 1st/2nd grade teachers are inclined to have me sit at a desk in the front of the class--much warmer, but torment for the students. If it's quiet (which rarely happens), the students feel very on the spot. If it's noisy (usually), the student and I have a hard time hearing each other, compounding the difficulty for them. Think of trying to converse with your friends in a crowded bar. Now think of trying to do it in a foreign language. I wonder if the kids' scores would be better if conditions were different.

The dialogues themselves are not without difficulty, either. One for the 1st graders is "What does that mean?" "It means 'I love you'". What 12-year-old boy wants to say that to a teacher? (of course, they say it in the hall, so maybe I'm worried about nothing) Then there's "Can you return at 5:00?" "Pardon me?" Even after a couple hundred repetitions, I'm fighting the urge to repeat the question. And I've got the phrases running through my head like a bad song. Tell me you're tired and I'll reply robotically, "I think you should take a rest."

In typically Korean fashion, the test rewards rote memorization over practical skills. (though Terrie did say they tried to address that; they just couldn't come up with a workable alternative) I'm supposed to give a point if the student gives me an answer that's for another question, hence "You broke my new watch" "Never mind" is ok. So is "You lost my book" "Sorry to hear that". It may get you punched in America, but it gets you a good score here. My favorite mix 'n' match was "I'm from Busan, Korea" "I don't think so." (I don't think so, either, kid!) That question also elicited the best free form response I've gotten (which, fortunately, I can also give a point for), from a kid who otherwise was clueless: "I'm from Busan, Korea" "You Korean? Me too!"

Hopefully, I can make it through all these tests without coming down with The Pig. While I enjoy the chance to personally communicate (even if scripted) with each student, that's face-to-face time with a LOT of people, many of whom don't bother covering their coughs. The classrooms were ghost towns last week--the "short vacation" that was rumored to happen if too many kids got sick was abandoned when practicality interfered; shutting down schools would basically mean all of them, for a long time, and it just wasn't doable. I'm going to have to get vaccinated, or else face a week's quarantine every time I leave the country (4x, if all goes as planned, aka a month in my apartment), but apparently, I have to wait until after the vaccination of every elementary, middle, and high school student in the country, as well as all "weak" Koreans, before I'm eligible. I'll probably end up getting the needle at home, except it'll be all gone by then.

In the meantime, I'm making myself sick with Pepero sticks. 11/11 is Pepero Day, a Hallmark holiday where you give candy sticks to people you like. (One teacher told me it's people you love, but the class adamantly corrected her, and the sticks have been piling up around the office at such a pace that I think the kids may have even overstated it) Most of the sticks are somewhat smaller than a pencil; crispy cookie-ish substance dipped in chocolate...and sometimes rolled in nuts. They're awfully good--I've eaten several already and it's only 11:00. There are other varieties as well, everything from fat chocolate-covered wafers to massive gift packs involving stuffed animals, overflowing from every convenience store. Last night, a student gave me one in an "I heart New York" wrapper. (something else I've been meaning to blog about...that phrase is huge here. The first time I saw it, I thought the kid had actually been to America, but I quickly learned it's on bags, pajama pants, pencil cases, folders, shoes...Pepero wrappers. Maybe I'll get everyone I heart New York t-shirts for Christmas) One wrapper says "I'll be loving you forever, deep inside my heart." Kinda restrained for Koreans, actually.