This week, Pat and I made a monumental mistake. (Pat being my ELL support teacher). This is a mistake that I also made during my student teaching year, and one that Pat, a 30 year veteran, has never actually made.
We were playing a game with the kids, and I was the guinea pig to show how it worked. I sat on a desk and Pat held a name above my head so I couldn't see it, but all the students on the carpet could. I was Cinderella, and I had 20 questions to figure out who I was. "Am I an animal? Am I a girl? Do I live in a forest? Do I have any family ... etc." The students narrowed it down for me by answering yes or no. I nailed the jackpot when I asked "Do I live in a castle?" as some of the students were confused, because by the end of the story, Cinderella did live in a castle! So it was easy to figure out from there.
After the initial demonstration, and I had guessed my identity successfully, the students were ready to try a turn themselves. The first student sat on the desk, Pat held the name of a character over her head, the students naturally reacted with giggles, but managed to keep it to themselves ... and then came the first question. "Am I real?" .... The name that Pat was holding above her head was Santa Claus. About half the class laughed and said "Nooo!!!" and the rest were shocked and shouted back in astonishment, "Yesss!!!" Pat and I were so mortified by what we had done. But I guess not too mortified since I couldn't breathe from laughter for at least 30 seconds, and neither could she. We had ALMOST ruined Santa Claus! Luckily the students were too stunned by our reactions to continue the yes-no battle, and Pat and I ended up throwing out the question.
I can't believe this is the second time I have done this. I almost ruined the Tooth Fairy for my 29 kindergartners when I asked them to sort fictional from nonfictional characters. After a few heat arguements broke out, I had to run around the classroom taking all the Tooth Fairy pictures back.
Language Uh-Ohs.
- I tried to tell Fan (a Cup of Joe Barista) I would see her later. In doing this, I got to learn the important difference watch and see ... as I accidentally said, "Watch you later!" The look on her face made me come back to see what I had actually said, and then before leaving the cafe, I had to assure her that I would not be stalking her.
- This week, the heaters were broken in the library, and the only way for me to ask Shelley if they had been fixed was the simple sentence, "Is the library cold?" ... one wrong tone and it turns out I accidentally asked, "Is the library romantic?" This really shocked Shelley .. and now I feel bad for bringing this issue up as it turns out it's a very common topic right now.
Convenient Segway into romantic times ... Chinese New Year is coming, one of two weeks that all of China travels home to spend a weeks worth of meals with family. Turns out this is also the time when Chinese moms ask their offspring if they can be expecting wedding bells any time soon. Shelley is possibly feeling the pressure as this week is fast approaching. We learned there is actually so much pressure, that there is a special TaoBao search (TaoBao being wonderful Chinese Amazon/Ebay/Craigslist all in one) for fake boyfriends that will go home with you for the Chinese holiday to assure families that their sons and daughters are in a serious relationship and thinking seriously about the future.
Convenient Segway into TaoBao. No I have not been searching for fake Chinese boyfriends to placate my parents for the holidays into believing that I am fulfilling my daughterly duties. But my most recent TaoBao purchase has been the best things ever. My electric ducky hot water bottle. I plug it in for a few minutes, and it is hot for a few hours! So wonderful, I am FINALLY warm in my own classroom without wearing my overcoat.
And last ... convenient segway into my almost TaoBao purchase. I have once again broken a phone, and I have been looking on TaoBao for a cheap replacement. During this time without a phone, June, the acting manager of Cup of Joe, gave me her second phone to use temporarily. I could change the general langauge into English, but for some reason, I can only text in Chinese characters. Ever wanted to learn another language? Get a phone in the language. Nothing makes you learn faster!
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