The purpose of this blog often eludes me. Now that I've settled into my second year it seems that much of what I write about will be the same. The same postulations on students, teaching, and life. Much of what strikes me as memorable or humorous often proves too nuanced to be written down, to be explained. Perhaps I do it for you (though I am truly not certain by whom this blog is read - other than my special, faithful commentators), but I think it is mostly for my sake. When I leave this place, and I will leave this place, it will be nice to have these memories - not ones dependent on the strength of my mind, but here, committed.
Tuesdays are hard days. My day begins right away at 8:30am and goes through 5 concurrent, separate classes, the last of which ends at 1:50pm. Though these count as 5, I truly only have 3 different classes as I teach one subject 3 different times on Tuesdays (and another 3 times on Wednesdays), it is merely the faces that rotate. As such, when the last of the 3 arrives, it is hard not to be snappy and impatient.
Such was my endeavor when the last of the series arrived, I worked through the textbook patiently and slowly. Taking care to avoid any frustration that might lead to another unfortunate blow-up. Today's emphasis was on vocabulary - buildings and locations. We went through the words, defining each out loud, to ensure that everyone could understand them.
Bridge
Expressway
Taxi Stand
Crosswalk
Sidewalk
Gym
"Gym, where you go to make Peem!" Ham yelled out, his fingers pointed to his muscles.
I cracked. For a few minutes I could do nothing but keep the book in front of my face so that my students (laughing along) could not see how deeply I was affected by the irony of the situation.
Let me backtrack.
Practically all Thais have nicknames, it's easier for me and for them than the usual 13 letter first names they carry. One of the students in my class so happens to be called "Peem." Peem is a runt, by all definitions of the word. At full height, he barely peeks over the table and his small stature is at contrast with his loud booming voice.
Thus, the idea of going to a gym in order to make "Peem" - a little boy whose body is somewhat lost in transition proved to be the perfect analogy for a perfect class.
At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. ~Jean Houston
Have a laugh, it's good for you.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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4 comments:
i love u
=]
the beat swings, sings, pulls my heart strings, the vibe of my eyes calculate sounds- blink blank driven beats.
i plus-minus my eyes.
i recalculate size.
i don't make sense, i ride a different currency.
i don't hold back, i hold what's in front of me, roll on
manu
Wouldn't such a joke make Peem very uncomfortable? It sounds like the whole class was laughing.
I was worried about that also, but Peem said his parents gave him that nickname because of the irony (he didn't use the word irony, but that's how he explained it to me). Also, Thais tend to point things like that out all of the time, for example I'm told that I'm big or a person that might be a little overweight is called fat all of the time. In the US we tend to think of this as being intentionally hurtful but in their society they're just being straighforward but doing so without any sort of malice.
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