One of my duties as a foreign teacher is to grade the kids’ essays. They have to write about certain topics: My Wish, My Holiday, My Hobbies, etc. We get quite a few interesting responses. One girl wrote that her hobby was eating food and touching her face. Three thoughts came to mind when I read this: does she do both at the same time, maybe we should explain again what hobbies were, and maybe we should get her some help. Then again, I think I could list reading books and scratching myself as a hobby so maybe the girl isn’t so strange.

One kid wrote that his wish was to be smart but he couldn’t be smart because, “I stoobid (stupid).” On one hand I would argue with the kid and tell him to give himself more credit. On the other hand he did terribly misspell stupid. Is that irony or an oxymoron? (Yes, and I know I can’t get on anybody for misspelling.)

I feel that I can laugh at these people’s mistakes, if only because my own mistakes in Spanish have given many people in Mexico and Central America much amusement. Once I said I was able to fly when I was actually trying to reflect that birds had that ability. I asked a man why he bit my hand when I was trying to explain that I was stung on the hand by some insect. I heard a girl tell her host family that the next day she was going to mount a gentleman, mistaking the word horse for gentleman. I wonder if the family thought, “Well, at least it’s going to be a gentleman.” The scary thing is I wonder how much I’ve said in Spanish that was incomprehensible or insulting, and I never even realized it. I guess this is all part of learning. Wish me luck with my Korean.