September 3, 2005I was teaching conversational English in a class one day and there was another teacher in the room. She was in there because it’s actually her class and I am just kind of like a guest foreign teacher who comes once a week to do the speaking portion of each lesson. So this other teacher is a local but she has studied English and is now an English teacher. Well I was going around the class getting people to read out loud a poem or short story that I had them write. After a few people had read theirs, a young man stood up and recited a poetic something from memory about him and his girlfriend recently breaking up. The first funny thing is that his “ex” girlfriend was sitting right in front of him with an uncomfortable grin on her face.
This guys English was really bad but he made a valiant effort to express his heart in front of about 70 students. He finally finished and I told him “good job, thank you.” I was asking for another volunteer to stand and read their story when the other teacher interrupted by standing up and saying “wait, I think we should give this boy an applause because his English is very bad and even you (meaning, me) probably could not understand him but he spoke anyway and I think this is commendable.” So the whole class erupts in applause for this kid for a few seconds then dies down. I proceed to ask for a volunteer and after several moments no one has volunteered. Then the Local teacher stands up again and says “someone should read their story because this boy stood up and spoke and all of you are better that he.” Then she sits back down.
I’m watching this kid that she’s talking about and he seems to take all this like it’s nothing and then it dawns on me how this must be normal in this culture. Of course my heart is breaking for this guy because I’m thinking in American terms where if a teacher had done that to a student he would have been crushed and very ticked. Later I got a good laugh out of it as I thought back on it but right then I’m sure my mouth was just hanging open with disbelief.
September 13, 2005I was near the front gate of our college and I spotted a colleague that I had not seen since I returned from my visit to the States so I went over to talk to her. She told me how great it was to see me and we stood and talked for a little while. Then as we were parting ways she says to me "now give me a passionate hug." I giggled a little as I hugged her because I knew that it was only her way of trying to be sincere in expressing that she was glad to see me again.
November 7, 2005I was in class with another one of my tag-team teachers today and while I was having some students write a short essay she comes over to me and says, "Curtis, the first time I saw you I thought you were so lovely and everytime I look at you I just want to laugh because you are so lovely." What do you say to that? I just said thanks and turned to check on my students. Wow!
