Tuesday, December 28, 2010

E is for Erasers and Extra Helpings

As a teacher, I get to see how a lot of students handle making mistakes. Some just scribble over their mistakes while others erase most of the error and write over it. Then there's the S. Korean student. They talk softly and carry big erasers. They use them constantly, because you are supposed to do everything in an exact way. If you don't, you start over. One of my students even has a foot long eraser rope. When she showed me, I thought, "Wow, can I get one of these for my life?"

They not only have big erasers here, but they have little eraser debri cleaners, made in the shapes of animals, which will sort of 'vacuum' up the nubbies of rubber that are left behind. S. Korea has to be the school supply capitol of the world, besides being the all things cute and shiny capitol. I do enjoy watching my students work away, erasing and rewriting. I think that we all would rather like to do that with moments of our lives. "Ooops, that wasn't right, let's try that again, shall we?"

It was Thanksgiving this week and I went to the army base nearby to celebrate with some teachers and soldiers. It was lovely. A little taste of home, especially because someone made candied yams! I had an extra helping. I wish there had been a turkey, but the chicken was delicious. Finding a turkey in S. Korea is rather like trying to find an icecube sunbathing in Hawaii. It's possible, but it's rare and gone in a hurry.

No comments:

Post a Comment