(The view from my window yesterday morning)
Yesterday morning I woke up and I looked out of my window and I saw snow lining the streets. What a disappointment; I thought that the snow had missed us after Tuesday’s light snowfall. I was wrong.
I trekked to school in my rain boots and I was happy to have worn them. Two of my students saw me on the street and accompanied me to school. Soon, it was second period and time for my classes to begin. It was the first day the fourth graders had seen me and they were very excited. We had our typical question and answer session but the fourth graders were particularly knowledgeable and asked some questions I did not expect them to ask. (All questions were asked in Korean and translated by my co-teacher):
Student: “Chanel Teacher, Is it true that your country has had a war?”
Me: Yes, we have had wars in our country.
Student: “Chanel Teacher, Is it true that you have a high crime rate in New York City?”
Me: Well, yes we do have crime in New York City.
Student: “Chanel Teacher, Do you have pickpockets in America”
Me: Well yes, we do have pickpockets, but I have never been a target.
Wow, those fourth graders are smart. Maybe they are watching one too many news broadcasts from New York City. Also, today I had more questions from students asking me why I was black, and once again I had to make the ‘America-is-very-diverse’ speech. When I mentioned Barack Obama, Ne-Yo and Beyonce, they seemed to get the point. It’s so funny that every time I mention Beyonce, the kids say “Seen-guhl Ladees” in their cute little accent.
After school was over, I asked my co-teacher if she believed in the “Fan Death” syndrome; you know the one where Koreans believe that if you sleep with a fan on that it will suck all the air out of the room and you will die? To anyone outside of Korea, this idea sounds crazy; to Koreans, it is true. My co-teacher believes it and so do other teachers I have asked. If you have never heard of Fan Death, see the video below: