Cockroaches and Chicken Soup

My name drifts out of the conversation in the corner, once, twice, three times: "Bekah 老師...Bekah 老師..."

I look over to see that a group of my 5th graders from last semester in excited conversation with Maggie, who is shaking her head.

"What's going on?"

As it turns out, she explains, this particular class has just finished a group competition on different foods, and as part of the competition, each group has to get as many teachers' votes as possible. Each teacher is allowed to vote twice; there are four groups in the class, and so far, both include one of my favorite students. Ohhh dear.

Maggie tells me she's already abstained from the vote--too hard to choose--and told the kids I won't vote either; I reaffirm what she's said but feel a twinge of desire to help this wonderful group of kids toward their goal.

But not to worry, they're not done yet. Five minutes later, a group swoops into my office, now bearing their project poster on various Korean foods, and while I protest that I "看不懂" what they're showing me, a mixture of pictures and Fiona's translation assures me that they're presenting on tea, chicken soup, and a few other yummy-and-innocuous-sounding things. And these are some of my favorite kids, some of the sweet girls who bring me my lunch everyday...I finally agree to sign it.

No sooner is their poster off my desk, though, than another one lands there, this one lauding the culinary properties of cockroaches and spiders. (Yes, it was a group of boys.) "It's good!" They tell me, pointing repeatedly to the drawn pictures of sauteed spiders and fried-up cockroaches. I know these boys, too, and they are absolutely wonderful, but, spiders and cockroaches? No can do.

"Sorry, boys, I don't like eating insects!"

They don't go down without a fight, though, pointing furiously and giving me their very best puppy dog eyes, but to no avail. They came back several times, and I almost relented--but really? Insects?

I spent the rest of my lunch break chatting with my colleagues and finishing my Chinese writing homework--which, incidentally, the boys said was "好漂亮," though it was clearly anything but beautiful. Nonetheless, I left Hanmin with a smile on my face, as I always do when I get to spend quality time with my students truly feel myself to be "Bekah 老師."