Park It

“park it” (pahrk it) verb. - a request, usually from a parent or teacher, to put your rearend back in that chair right now! also know as - the English term I inadvertently taught my 7th graders today. 

Whoops. 

It’s incredibly easy to forget that all the expressions and slang that I have heard all my life are brand new to these kids.  I could walk into any rowdy American classroom, say “park it”, and every student would know the expectation immediately.  In Korea, instead of finding their seat the two students (and the other 8 in the class) all turned and stared in amazement.  They spend so much time learning vocabulary and pronunciation that they are so eager to learn the fun stuff- the slang and western expressions.  And this one was cool.  Apparently.

Some of my classes are very advanced with impressive vocabularies AND comprehension.  Some don’t have either.  And the others are somewhere in between.  It is grade oriented of course, but I have advanced younger classes that have a very good understanding of the English language, far superior to those even a few grade levels ahead of them.  Each week I have 15 different classes.  15 different groups of students.  Some classes have 2. Some classes have 14.

Today started middle school.  I love Middle School.  I had such a great time with my classes today. Yes they are out-spoken, yes they are sassy, and yes they push every boundary they can find.  But haven’t all of you met me?  One class of 5th graders, then two of 7th, and an advanced 8th grade class.  So intelligent.  So feisty. So self-conscious.

All of the classes have wanted to know my age.  I have no idea why that is so big here, but I felt it important to let them know.  I’m 19. Thanks for asking. Today they asked my last name.  I wrote it on the board and immediately laughter overtook the room.  They had never seen anything so silly looking.  (sorry, Dad.) But they did pronounce it better than most American’s on a first try.

Everyone at work is great!  They all keep coming up to me to introduce themselves. They want to go out for beers, meet the dog, help in anyway they can.  I love that.

Before class today I decided to spend some time outside.  Funny things happen when I go out so why not?

Charles made his first friend.  A two year old at the florist in my building. (Note he’s made plenty of enemies thus far.)

I almost got hit by a Mr Pizza delivery man on his scooter on the sidewalk. Awesome.

And I got a hot dog for lunch. hehehe.  I know, I should be eating Korean food but there are just too many things to choose from here.  For those that don’t know, I love a good hot dog.  I’m almost 30 years old and they are still one of my top favorite foods.  Sad, I’m aware. But it was so good!  It was lighter than a hotdog at home.  Cleaner tasting if that makes sense.

The place is called Steff Hotdog.  It’s across the street from KFC. They advertise “coffee and a hotdog.”  Ummmm, just the hotdog thanks. Right next door is a burger joint.  That’s not really on my radar at this point.

This is my building.  I’m somewhere on the top right.  It’s fabulous. I really have a nice apartment as far as English teachers go.  I am very happy about that. We have 24/7 security during the week, so 24/5 I guess.  And after hours I have to swipe a card to be let into the elevator lobby.  I’m totally secure, don’t you worry.

This is the plant store outside my building.  I’m going to buy a plant once I start getting paid.  I think it will fancy up the place a bit. I’m also going to get a video camera.  That will be helpful too.

Oh, last thing.  I bought a notebook today for my classes.  Does this sound familiar to anyone?

 

I didn’t see any copyright here. Maybe since Disney “borrowed” the story from Chinese folklore Asia gets a free pass.  This is very popular here.