tea diaries ~~~~~ groooooovy

So in Korea I have this thing. Almost every week I come up with a new favorite phrase, and I repeat it over and over again to the amusement (annoyance) of my homestay family, coworkers, and students unlucky enough to hang around me too much. Last week it was "hajjima ajjima!" (literally meaning: "stop it, you middle-aged woman!"). This week it's "yo-gee mo-gee" (lit. "there is a mosquito here.") Yeah, I thought it was cute. And it was cute, until the mo-gees caught on that I was talking about them and decided to swarm my room last night. I must have killed 6 or 7 over the course of the night, and if those were the only ones in my room then they all took an average of like ... 5 bites of me each. I was COVERED in itchy itchy mo-gee bites. Stayed awake till 5:00 tossing and scratching and battling the buggers, got two hours of sleep, and then moaned and groaned my way up the hill in the rain to school, where I was set to introduce a new lesson, always a daunting challenge in its own right.

I should have trusted my kids to be awesome. :) Today I taught John Lennon's "Imagine" to a class of kids that was just amazing. To my utter surprise, I found myself being able to explain property rights, country borders, and "us versus them" mentality to middle school Koreans. Maybe it was the leftover Halloween candy that I was throwing at them, but they were bright-eyed and interested. Had them create their own utopia (with if/then statements), and here are some of the things they said,

one girl: "Imagine there's no boys. If there's no boys, I will be very sad."

a quiet boy from the back of the class: "Imagine there's no land. If there is no land, then I will fly all day."

a rowdy boy from the back of the class: "Imagine there's no me. If there is no me, then the world will be happy"
me: "Why would the world be happy without you?"
boy (with a grin): "Because I am DEVIL!"
me: "Hahah, that's worth TWO pieces of candy"

Korea has a habit of dishing out the best days and the worst days all at once. ;)