Strawberry Jam.
As we find ourselves nearly a month into the busy new school year, the inevitable has happened: here, having been immersed in a busy schedule for quite some time, no longer rattled by culture quirks and no longer consumed with extra classes, we find Amanda- teacher sitting at her desk, grown quite used to the busy, busy schedule, and, consequently, almost according to schedule: bored.
Sure, I have loads of work to do. I could plan my lessons for next week, but today is only Thursday and I’ll have three hour- long breaks in my day tomorrow. I could print off the papers for my next class and cut them into thin, environmentally- friendly strips for tomorrow, but I’ve got another thirty minutes before class starts.
I would strike up conversation with the teacher beside me, but she can’t speak English, and though I studied Korean for two hours last night and two hours on Monday night, and though I practice and practice and practice, and though sometimes I use up a little class time trying to sound out Korean words and write in Hangeul on the board as the class screams out vowel sounds, gesticulating frantically in the air and laughing and screaming hysterically when I guess wrong, I can’t speak Korean for the life of me.
I remember when I was a kid, I used to hang around my dad while he was working in the yard, building or fixing things. I was a skinny little thing with long, wavy blonde hair from sleeping with a headful of braids, hair lightened by the sun, always reading books or catching frogs or getting my siblings into trouble.
I have vivid memories of hanging around my dad and as I’d hand him nails or just watch him work, I’d kick around and say, “Daaaad, I’m booooored.”
He would pause, look me up and down and say, “You don’t look like a board.” Which, of course, would make me awfully mad.
“Not a BOARD, Dad, I’m BORED.”
And he’d always say, “Well, go find something to do,” or, “Hand me another nail, please,” which would make me equally mad, because he was my dad, which meant he was supposed to be full of really cool ideas to fill all my time… right??
So, I guess some things never change.
So here I am, sitting in South Korea, wearing fancy teacher clothes and waiting for the clock to tick the minutes by, same little kid in fancy grown-up clothes, sitting in a pile of notebooks waiting to be graded, and I thought I’d share a bit of the delightful poetry of Korean notebook cover phrases with you:
(Quick disclaimer: It’s hip and cool for English to be printed on random things, like backpacks and notebook covers and clothing, so it’s a great past time to read these English bits and try to figure out what they say. The remainder of the post is a random sampling of English phrases off the covers of my student’s notebooks, concluded with a bit of that random phraseology in real- life conversation. Enjoy.)
“Strawberry Jam: Extraordinary color and sweet name”
“English Notebook: A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means.”
“ENGLISH: Delicious Would you like some fresh bread. What a delicious smell!.”
“Open up your heart and greet the world as it is. We can always find joy and love wherever our eyes rest. Nothing is more precious than the truth, freedom and peace that we feel each day.”
“Pacific Ocean Brilliant jewels! Yes. It’s very nice.”
“English Are there any English speakers here? I have a knowledge of English.”
“Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunnyside of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on the greater achievements of the future.”
“HELLO! How are you? Use it. And you will love it.”
“English The scenery will always be where it is, and the colors change very slowly… The natural life without affectation is always beautiful.”
“Rainbow: By happy rainbow magic of mind / They turn to pleasure all they find.”
“CATS: Happy together.”
“English Welcome to the fantastic English world.”
“ENGLISH: Look up. So many places have the most fascinating architecture and it’s easy to miss unless you look up. Check out the details. If you’re in the countryside, check out the clouds in the sky or just enjoy the blueness. Isn’t it lovely?”
“It’s a beautiful day! What a beautiful day! It makes you feel like a million!”
“There is no reason to believe it / But I want to tell this feeling to you now and then.”
“Chocolate mocha Love is like the color revolution”
“What a wonderful world The start of a happy life is the firm decision that I will must be happy and the practice that lead to you happiness from this moment.”
“Sweet heart In my childhood I dreamed about me…. Someday I’m gonna be beautiful.”
“English After a few months of hard work, I felt confident in my abilities in the English language, and I am now able to communicate fluently in English.”
“English holic People , even more than things, have to be restored renewe revived, reclaimed and redeemed redeemed Remember, if you ever need a helping hand / you’ll find one at the end of your arm”
“English My English Note Book Hello my friends! Endeavor is victory! Cheer up!”
And, to finish, a conversation with a student that just passed by my desk:
“Teacher, hello! How are you?”
“I’m good, how are you?”
“OH, very good. Biorhythm good.” (hahaha) “Teacher byyyeeee!”
The end.