Loose Elastic

(This post has been on my other blog for some while now, but I feel it belongs here)

One of the funniest events ever to happen to me occurred in one of my Korean classrooms. My job was to teach these kids (aged 8-15) English in English.

The problem with Korea is that almost the entire population wants to speak English but can't. But they are getting there (gradually). They employ native speakers of English to be present in their English Language, er "Schools", and although technically my mother tongue is NOT English, INHA University managed to get me clearance to teach as a special case.

It's very easy. However, because of the way the system works, I never knew what classes I was to teach next, nor the age range.

So I got into the habit of asking each student what their names were before I started to teach, writing them down in my notebook, along with their position in the classroom (with 300 students, it was sometimes very difficult to recall names. These Koreans ALL look alike!)

In one of the classes, I had a new student. A little girl, aged maybe eight, very small in stature and quite angelic looking. She sat on the front row, right beneath my lectern. She had very big eyes couched in innocence. So, I started asking names. "My name is Danny", My name is Emma", "My name is Sandra", all of them announced rather shyly, and I wrote the names down.

Then the new student. I bent my head down and said quietly, so as not to embarrass her. "What is YOUR name?" I barely whispered.

Looking straight ahead, taking a huge deep breath, and with a voice Mr Richter would have been proud of, she bellowed

"MY NAME IS L U C Y !!!!!"

to the astonishment of all present.

I almost dropped my marker pen.