Jokes are Worth More

One of the ten classes I teach weekly is a class for older students. I'm the only teacher in the classroom and the students are middle-school age. This class is usually my least favorite since the kids generally stare at me like I'm a freak, refuse to speak, and/or have the general "I couldn't be bothered" attitude. Typical 13 year olds.

In any case, twice in each level I have to call the students at home for a telephone test. It's just basic conversation stuff that quizzes them on their knowledge of vocab and whatnot. It's not my favorite part of the job, as I've found myself being hung up on after not being able to communicate in Chinese that I would like to speak to their son or daughter with the English name. ("No Angus!" Click.) I try, but sometimes it's hard.

So today, for my kids in the class on clothing, I had to ask questions like "What's your favorite accessory?" and "Do red pants go with a purple shirt?" This is laughable as some of the fashion victims in Taiwan are stunning. I do enjoy seeing a nice floral print matched with polka dots though. When I came to the question "What can you put on over a shirt?" one of my students had a fantastic answer: "Underwear." At first, thinking she hadn't understood, I tried to explain that underwear goes on under your clothes, not over. Her reply was this: "Superman."