This post is dedicated to my nephew Bennett who is 51% Canadian.
Like a trendy film, I will start with the end. One of my students looked at me and said in confusion… “Canadians drink blood?”
So how did I get myself in this situation? One of the things that I do here is speaking exercises with the various classes at the private school. And there is only so many things that I can talk to with a bunch of 14 year olds. So I came prepared with a map and we were talking about the world and the countries that speak English. I mentioned that my brother in law is Canadian and one student asked why there was a leaf on the flag. I jumped on this and brought up that they make a lot of maple syrup in Canada. But then comes my problem, how do you explain what maple syrup is too a bunch of kids who have never eaten a pancake?
So I said it was really sweet and it came from trees. They all smiled and said… like cherries. Back to square one. Maple syrup is not like cherries. So I said… No, it’s not a fruit. It’s sap. Blank stares. Sap is not a word they teach in Basic English courses. I attempted to draw a picture… No go, it just looked like squiggly lines on a tree. So then, I came up with a metaphor. Sap is the blood of trees. Which led to the now infamous question. At this point, I realized I had to give up. They still have no idea what maple syrup is, but I did clarify that Canadians DO NOT drink blood.
On my way home, I realized what I should have said. It’s like honey, but it comes from trees. Live and learn.
March 28, 2008
March 23, 2008
Break a leg
So what have I been up to? A lot of the same things. Teaching, doing a whole bunch of PC stuff. But i did just finish a really fun project.
I had a group of students who put on a short version on Romeo and Juliet. We did the play on Valentine's Day and they did a great job. i was really nervous because the practices just before the play were terrible, but somehow in the 20 minutes between the last rehearsal and the actual event they got it together.
They were so incredibly cute. They remembered all of their lines and delivered them with all the drama they could muster. and at the end, they were so proud of themselves. It was great to see them smiling and congratulating their success.
Who knows what else is next... King Lear??
I had a group of students who put on a short version on Romeo and Juliet. We did the play on Valentine's Day and they did a great job. i was really nervous because the practices just before the play were terrible, but somehow in the 20 minutes between the last rehearsal and the actual event they got it together.
They were so incredibly cute. They remembered all of their lines and delivered them with all the drama they could muster. and at the end, they were so proud of themselves. It was great to see them smiling and congratulating their success.
Who knows what else is next... King Lear??
March 04, 2008
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