Brilliant.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Evidence
The following video confirms my earlier posting regarding the intelligence level of some of my students. In this little clip Heather and JiAhn are attempting to play a game of Paper, Rock, Scissors--which might I mention, is a Cat Class favorite. In the video Andy, the infant in my class (I think his mom and dad lied on his birth certificate to get an early start on his education) is well aware of the winner of the PRS battle, but JiAhn and Heather are absolutely clueless. In this relatively simple game, JiAhn thinks paper beats scissors. Then later Heather just decides to hold her hand out in paper, and Tweedle Dum throws out a matching paper 3 or so times, all the while Andy (the infant) is aware of the correct winner and correct English name of the game...baby genius.
Brilliant.
Brilliant.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Boy with the Sharpie Tattoo
I’m no stranger to bizarre things happening in bars. Working as a bartender throughout college I witnessed many odd behaviors, outbursts and an enumerable amount of embarrassing moments. Nearly every shift we’d dub someone Patron of the Night. This title would most often go to the drunk girl crying in the corner, or the person grinding on a pole while simultaneously using it as a brace to keep upright, but sometimes someone really special would come along and change the game completely. There was one evening in particular where a young techno loving gentlemen came in with a group of lady friends and proceeded to fight with inanimate objects and shoot fake arrows at my co-worker and I. You had to see it to really appreciate the beauty and creativity of this lad’s dance moves, but let me just say, it made an impression and i’m reminded of him every time I see a bow and arrow (not as if that’s often). I don’t know if anyone will ever top that individual, but last weekend while a group of us were out in Itaewon, someone came close. Very close.
Upon arrival at The Wolfhound, everyone hustled to the bar to snag pints of specially priced Red Rock, I however, having drank a considerable amount of soju on the cab ride over, opted to wait it out for a bit. Once situated I naturally took a look around the bar to survey the patrons and almost immediately I was struck by the vibe a young Korean man was putting off from the bar. Dressed in all black with his back towards the bartender, both elbows overconfidently placed atop the bar ledge, beanie pulled down, eyes focused outward. It was easy to see that he was trying to channel some sort of Korean James Dean, badass and mysterious, but it just came off looking awkward, forced and intense. Strange vibe and all, I didn’t think much of it and went on conversing with my co-teachers.
After some time had passed I grew thirsty and decided to go get a beer. I headed to the bar and quickly walked to the first opening I saw. As I stood waiting for the bartender to acknowledge me, I looked to my right and noticed that there standing next to me was the Korean wannabe Brad Pitt from Fight Club. After a few seconds he introduced himself.
“Hello. I am Jin. Where from?”
“Hi. Lydia. From America.”
“You teacher?”
“Yeah I am. I teach......” And that’s when something odd caught my eye. On both his arms, which were now place in front of him on the bar, were markings, at first glance they looked like sleeve tattoos, but as I looked closer, cocking my head to the side to get a better look, I realized that the markings were not made from tattoo ink, but from sharpie ink. At this point Jin realized that I wasn’t concentrating on our conversation, because I was curiously and confusedly staring at his arms, then a creepy smile took over his already slightly creepy face, as if to say “yeah you like those?”
As everything fell into place, my confusion turned into giggles then quickly turned into booming laughter when I started to make out some of the things he’d written on his arms. There were math equations, elementary drawings of animals, words like “strength” and “honor” and i’m 99% sure he had e=mc2 written on his wrist. I’m still kicking myself for not getting a photo to document the greatness of this kid’s attempt at awesomeness, because describing it really doesn’t do it justice. I’m talking full on, hand to shirt, writing, drawing and scrawl. Use your imagination--then double it.
What I did next was beyond mean, and I feel bad about it, but like a giddy child with no sense of personal space or right and wrong, I licked my thumb and attempted to rub off one of his “tats”, completely forgetting that he was a real human being with boundaries. When he realized what I was doing and snapped his arm back I came back to reality, said, “oh my god i’m so sorry”, grabbed my beer and took off.
I was still in shock when I arrived back at our table, partly because of his tattoos, but mostly because of my behavior. And now looking back I can’t help but wonder what is more strange, a dude who sharpies on tattoos in an attempt to look badass in a bar, or a girl who, after a few drinks, develops turrets, licks her thumb and attempts to rub marker off a complete stranger. Jury is still out, but I hope Jin found whatever he was looking for.
Upon arrival at The Wolfhound, everyone hustled to the bar to snag pints of specially priced Red Rock, I however, having drank a considerable amount of soju on the cab ride over, opted to wait it out for a bit. Once situated I naturally took a look around the bar to survey the patrons and almost immediately I was struck by the vibe a young Korean man was putting off from the bar. Dressed in all black with his back towards the bartender, both elbows overconfidently placed atop the bar ledge, beanie pulled down, eyes focused outward. It was easy to see that he was trying to channel some sort of Korean James Dean, badass and mysterious, but it just came off looking awkward, forced and intense. Strange vibe and all, I didn’t think much of it and went on conversing with my co-teachers.
After some time had passed I grew thirsty and decided to go get a beer. I headed to the bar and quickly walked to the first opening I saw. As I stood waiting for the bartender to acknowledge me, I looked to my right and noticed that there standing next to me was the Korean wannabe Brad Pitt from Fight Club. After a few seconds he introduced himself.
“Hello. I am Jin. Where from?”
“Hi. Lydia. From America.”
“You teacher?”
“Yeah I am. I teach......” And that’s when something odd caught my eye. On both his arms, which were now place in front of him on the bar, were markings, at first glance they looked like sleeve tattoos, but as I looked closer, cocking my head to the side to get a better look, I realized that the markings were not made from tattoo ink, but from sharpie ink. At this point Jin realized that I wasn’t concentrating on our conversation, because I was curiously and confusedly staring at his arms, then a creepy smile took over his already slightly creepy face, as if to say “yeah you like those?”
As everything fell into place, my confusion turned into giggles then quickly turned into booming laughter when I started to make out some of the things he’d written on his arms. There were math equations, elementary drawings of animals, words like “strength” and “honor” and i’m 99% sure he had e=mc2 written on his wrist. I’m still kicking myself for not getting a photo to document the greatness of this kid’s attempt at awesomeness, because describing it really doesn’t do it justice. I’m talking full on, hand to shirt, writing, drawing and scrawl. Use your imagination--then double it.
What I did next was beyond mean, and I feel bad about it, but like a giddy child with no sense of personal space or right and wrong, I licked my thumb and attempted to rub off one of his “tats”, completely forgetting that he was a real human being with boundaries. When he realized what I was doing and snapped his arm back I came back to reality, said, “oh my god i’m so sorry”, grabbed my beer and took off.
I was still in shock when I arrived back at our table, partly because of his tattoos, but mostly because of my behavior. And now looking back I can’t help but wonder what is more strange, a dude who sharpies on tattoos in an attempt to look badass in a bar, or a girl who, after a few drinks, develops turrets, licks her thumb and attempts to rub marker off a complete stranger. Jury is still out, but I hope Jin found whatever he was looking for.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
“Your daughter...she’s...she’s so creative. So so creative.”
There are a number of things that i’ve learned from being around children and “teaching” for these past few months. First and foremost, I really don’t know what i’m doing. I often think to myself as i’m preparing a lesson, or doing something that doesn’t require my full attention, how funny it would be if people knew how much I make up on the spot, or how everything feels a bit like a leap of faith, because i’m never sure if what i’m doing will pan out. The fact that Cat Class is communicating in English and seem to have learned a significant amount is still baffling to me. It’s also a fact that not a day goes by that I don’t become a devout christian for about 20 seconds and thank Jesus that I teach kindergarteners, because i’m pretty sure that if I were teaching older kids they’d see me for the sham that I am, and berate me with their words and i’d be ridiculed daily.
Next I realized that my job title should probably be something more like “preventer of complete and utter chaos” rather than “teacher”. It seems that what I spend most of my day doing is keeping these tiny humans under some sort of control. In psychology I remember learning about this thing called “the Id”, which is basically that instinctual drive to find pleasure and avoid pain. As you grow older, people learn that you have to live within boundaries and completely giving into your Id isn’t possible, because instant gratification and living on impulse isn’t possible (some people take this to heart more than others). I’m no expert so I don’t know if it’s all kids this age, but the member of Cat Class really haven’t grasped the concept of delayed gratification and patience is still very much a word, not a practiced virtue. I’m in no way saying I don’t understand how this is so, because at 24 i’m still trying to get a grip on both those things. Maybe they’ll get the hang of it earlier in life then I did, but for now it’s pretty entertaining to watch the Cats struggle with even the most simple of patience requiring tasks....
Note clever little Lara, placing the cookie in her napkin and then putting the whole napkin wrapped cookie in her mouth. Ah K, Lara, you win.
Probably the most shocking thing i’ve learned from teaching is that some kids are just dumb. Clearly I didn’t come into this expecting every child to be a miniature Bill Gates, or well on their way to a full ride at an Ivy League or MIT, but I guess I wasn’t prepared for such a discrepancy in ability and overall intelligence. Now i’m not saying that the less then stellar kindergarten students of the world won’t turn out all right, I myself was in the lower reading level for most of my elementary school years (difficulty sounding things out and telling left from right). I wouldn’t be shocked if Ms. Walker or Mrs. Carlton thought to themselves, “Oh that poor little Hu girl, she’s really gonna have a tough time, that one”, I wouldn’t be shocked because that is exactly what I think about a couple of the little birds in Cat Class. But then I have to take a step back and put myself in their miniature shoes, which are more than likely on the wrong feet, because although it’s not scientific, in my experience, shoes on the wrong feet is a sure fire sign of a lesser intelligence, and realize that they’ll probably turn out alright, and if they don’t, hopefully they inherit some money or marry well.
Below is a picture of Heather and JiAhn, or Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee as I like to call them, holding cakes they made in art class of edible and inedible objects. Surprisingly both of them have their slippers on correctly.
Next I realized that my job title should probably be something more like “preventer of complete and utter chaos” rather than “teacher”. It seems that what I spend most of my day doing is keeping these tiny humans under some sort of control. In psychology I remember learning about this thing called “the Id”, which is basically that instinctual drive to find pleasure and avoid pain. As you grow older, people learn that you have to live within boundaries and completely giving into your Id isn’t possible, because instant gratification and living on impulse isn’t possible (some people take this to heart more than others). I’m no expert so I don’t know if it’s all kids this age, but the member of Cat Class really haven’t grasped the concept of delayed gratification and patience is still very much a word, not a practiced virtue. I’m in no way saying I don’t understand how this is so, because at 24 i’m still trying to get a grip on both those things. Maybe they’ll get the hang of it earlier in life then I did, but for now it’s pretty entertaining to watch the Cats struggle with even the most simple of patience requiring tasks....
Note clever little Lara, placing the cookie in her napkin and then putting the whole napkin wrapped cookie in her mouth. Ah K, Lara, you win.
Probably the most shocking thing i’ve learned from teaching is that some kids are just dumb. Clearly I didn’t come into this expecting every child to be a miniature Bill Gates, or well on their way to a full ride at an Ivy League or MIT, but I guess I wasn’t prepared for such a discrepancy in ability and overall intelligence. Now i’m not saying that the less then stellar kindergarten students of the world won’t turn out all right, I myself was in the lower reading level for most of my elementary school years (difficulty sounding things out and telling left from right). I wouldn’t be shocked if Ms. Walker or Mrs. Carlton thought to themselves, “Oh that poor little Hu girl, she’s really gonna have a tough time, that one”, I wouldn’t be shocked because that is exactly what I think about a couple of the little birds in Cat Class. But then I have to take a step back and put myself in their miniature shoes, which are more than likely on the wrong feet, because although it’s not scientific, in my experience, shoes on the wrong feet is a sure fire sign of a lesser intelligence, and realize that they’ll probably turn out alright, and if they don’t, hopefully they inherit some money or marry well.
Below is a picture of Heather and JiAhn, or Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee as I like to call them, holding cakes they made in art class of edible and inedible objects. Surprisingly both of them have their slippers on correctly.
Next we have a couple pictures of the two little ones right after I discovered that they had eaten a significant amount of the edible AND inedible decorations that were hot glued to the cake. Their faces really say it all....
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