The best of this week’s quotes from my elementary students in South Korea (and some thrown in from friends too)
The world didn’t end and Korea has its first female president elected into office this past Wednesday…so that happened.
ALSO it’s vacation next week so The Ketchup War is on hiatus while we relocate from The Land of the Morning Calm to The Land of the Shamrock for some festivities but fear not, we’ll be back in the new year with more quotes and timewasters and an all new Thursday weekly post. YAY!
Oh and before we move on, you should know The Canadian One has taken to writing down the things I say that I don’t post in an attempt to take over Quote Friday one week…o.O…We shall see, Canadian One, WE. SHALL. SEE.
Moving on.
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Kid: ‘Ireland’s Obama who?’
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Kid: ‘Do you Obama?’ – She meant do I vote.
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While explaining what ‘shelf’ is to my grade ones, a kid starts shaking his head.
Kid: ‘No. No no no.’
Kid 2: ‘Yes.’
Kid: ‘No!’
They hold a brief discussion in Korean with the first little kid pointing at my scarf and yelling, ‘JENNY TEACHER, LOOK!!’ at the other kid.
Kid 2: ‘NO! SCARF!!!’
Kid 1 looks at me.
Me: ‘He’s right, this is a scarf.’
***
This week we read a story about Mully, Skulder and an alien…just sayin’.
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A kid returns from English camp.
Kid: ‘I love a boy. He look like Harry Potter.’
I laugh.
Kid: ‘No really.’
Her friend: ‘He’s the foreign teacher.’
Me: ‘Ahhh, that makes more sense. Haley?’ (Haley’s their male foreign teacher who works in the school. His office is next to my classroom and he looks NOTHING like Harry Potter.)
Kid: ‘NO! Not Haley. Other teacher. Michael.’
I look confused.
Her friend: ‘English camp teacher.’
Me: ‘Ah, not Haley then.’
Her friend: ‘No.’
Kid: ‘You know Haley teacher?’
Me: ‘Yeah.’
Kid nods like ‘Of course, all you white people know each other.’
***
My co-teacher told me no Christmas party for the kids this year.
Kid: ‘Teacher, Christmas party?’
Me: ‘No.’
Kid: ‘But Halloween party!!’
Me: ‘I know, I’m as confused as you are!’
***
I hiccup in class. From the other side of the classroom, I hear:
Little Boy: ‘Bless you.’
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I’m explaining ‘roll over’ to my students. They all nod.
One smart-alec little kid: ‘I can’t understand…Do.’
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Me: ‘What pet would you like?’
Kid: ‘A giraffe. A small giraffe.’
***
We read a story about a girl who wants a puppy. Afterward, a little boy puts his head on his desk.
Little Boy: ‘It’s so sad.’
Me: ‘No, it’s not!’
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Sentence: ‘Having a dog is just like having a friend/cat.’
Me: ‘Cat!’
Kids: ‘FRIEND!’
Kid 1: ‘You think cat. Only you. We think friend. You circle cat. We, friend.’
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Me: ‘Cats are better than dogs.’
Kid: ‘No. Cats are annoying!’
Me: ‘Dogs are more annoying!’
Kid: ‘No, meow meow is more annoying than yeop yeop. It’s true.’
***
I have no idea what happen to cause this but I came back from the bathroom and a little boy was pointing at another little boy shouting: ‘I FOOLED YOU!!!’
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Kid: ‘I wanna go home.’
Me: ‘Me too.’
Kid: ‘Go ahead.’
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Me: ‘What’s a vegetable?’
Kid: ‘Obama.’ (and he KNOWS what a ‘vegetable’ is)
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Kid, staring at my hair: ‘Teacher, Jenny Teacher, rock…hair crazy…’
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Despite teaching one of my classes for three months, I still call them by the wrong names sometimes. They’ve realized that whenever they’re raising their hands to answer questions, I call on people when I’m positive I know their name. On Tuesday, they started raising their hands and SAYING their own name at the same time. Clever.
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Once again, here at The Ketchup War, we like to give back so we’re continuing our RANDOM KOREAN PRIZE giveaway. Will it be a packet of Psy sponsored ramen? A cute, kitschy phone dangle? Or something more awesome? (probably not that last one!) All ya gotta do to be in with a shot to win is to ‘like’ a post published between December 18th 2012 and 23:59 (KST) January 18th 2013. Why the 18th? Well, why not the 18th?
For more Quote Friday’s, check out:
- ‘YOU are OUT of the line!’ – December 14th 2012
- ‘He’s on a date.’ – December 7th 2012
- ‘Are you many many crazy?’ – November 30th 2012
- ‘I rolled too far.’ – November 23rd 2012
- ‘Robot Making Class.’ – November 16th 2012
- ‘Throw in giant spiders.’ – November 9th 2012
- ‘Hey, don’t call people pandas!’ – October 26th 2012
- ‘I am NO potato.’ – October 19th 2012
- ‘I am from Martian Land.’ – October 12th 2012
- RE: Obama: ‘I don’t wanna see his mustache all over the TV’ – October 5th 2012
- ‘Teacher, STOP TALKING!’ – September 28th 2012
- ‘Oh teacher, your font is very good.’ – September 21st 2012
- ‘Giraffe is no tall.’ – September 14th 2012
- ‘Teacher’s head is sad.’ – September 6th 2012
The Ketchup War 
Cute quotes. The little ones come up with such unpolished gems sometimes, don’t they?
And for the record, I Obama. And you?