Teacher, do you have a lover man?

For the first five minutes of all of my classes my first week, I gave a brief introduction and opened myself up to questions from the students. Below are some of my favorites. These are from 3^rd – 6^th graders.

–       How old are you? (In Korea, age is very important because it determines your relationship with someone. But for some reason the students were very surprised – shocked even – to hear I was 23. My answer was always greeted by gasps of shock, sometimes even applause.)

–       Are you married? (No.)

–       Do you have a boyfriend? (Nope.)

–       Do you have a lover man? (At first, I couldn’t believe that that was what I had heard. And made the tiny 4^th grade girl who had asked me repeat it four times before realizing I had heard correctly and then trying to dodge the question. But, the question of my having a ‘lover’ came up in two other classes. I tried to ask one of my Korean co-teachers about this – were the students really asking me if I had a lover? Apparently, yes, although perhaps the word is used more frequently in Korea. I can’t really imagine a fourth grader back in the US asked about a ‘lover’ – although I haven’t been in fourth grade for a while).

–       Does your sister have a boyfriend? (Nope. Why, are you interested?)

–       Do you like kimchi? (Asked by almost every class)

–       Did you sleep with your shoes on in America?

–       What university did you go to? (NYU)

–       Is it famous? (Lady Gaga went there. – This got applause for some reason.)

–       What elementary school did you go to? What was its name?

–       How old is your dog? (14. – This answer was also met by gasps of shock and awe. As was the idea that my dog was a girl.)

–       Do you want to be in the military?

–       From a third grader – What are your dreams for the future? (had to think about it for a bit, but then said – To travel the world.) Then you’re living your dream! (That made me smile)

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