Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Cute Stories to Brighten Your Day

Sometimes they say really cute things. Spanish children use the words "got die" for kill and I honestly can't take them seriously when they say things like that. Sometimes they say things that just make you want to adopt them as your own. I have a few stories like that from this week.

First one involves Jean Valjean (I swear these literary names are NOT completely random and make sense when I choose them in my head). This kid can be trouble sometimes. And distracts his classmates. But he just does it because he likes to have fun and enjoy life. He never means any harm. 

Anyway, today in class, Elphaba was subbing and she was trying to get all of the kid's attentions by making them imagine creating a life on the moon. She asked them questions, like, "What would you want them to build on the moon?" To which they answered things like "A swimming pool with floating water!" "A park!" ("Without real trees of course because those need Oxygen!") "An amusement park with floating rides!" You know, perfectly acceptable answers for 9-year-olds imagining a life on the moon.

She then asked the question "What would be the first thing you would do on the moon?" Jean Valjean raised his hand and she called on him. "Read a book." Elphaba looked at him. "If you were visiting the moon and you could do anything including swim in a pool with floating water, you would read a book?!" He shook his head yes. 

I swear I did not pay this kid to say this, despite what people may think. I mean, maybe this kid didn't know how to say any other activities in English, but I prefer to think he would truly want to read a book. I love hearing that other people love to read and it was just a heartwarming moment!

Next story for you is about my third grade. The main teacher, Miss Clavel, was out for the day and the teacher from next store came into the classroom and said something in rapid fire Spanish to which I replied "No hablo Español. Pérdon." One of my kids translated for us and then she left. 

When she left, they burst out saying in almost perfect unison "YOU DO KNOW SPANISH!" Yes, I just said "I don't speak Spanish. Sorry." and, yes, it was in Spanish, but that is literally pretty much everything I know in Spanish. So, they decided they wanted to teach me Spanish instead of doing their English lesson. "Brittany, repeat 'Hola.'" "Guys, we really have to do phonics." "Repeat, rojo." "No, phonics." Within two minutes, they were calmer and doing their phonics and all was restored, but it was such a cute moment. And it was nice to know that someone had faith in my Spanish skills. Although it's kind of depressing that when they really thought that's all I knew in Spanish they proceeded to teach me "Hello" and "Red." I hope they know I live in Spain.

Last story of their cuteness. One day, there was freetime at the end of one class, so, I told them they could ask me questions in English using "Have you got...?" Their first question: "Have you got a husband?" "No, I haven't." They then got looks on their faces to reword their question. Some kid raised his hand. "Have you got a fiancé?" "No, I haven't." Another hand shot up. "Have you got a boyfriend?" "No, I haven't." The looks on their faces was that of shock and confusion. (I know, sweet kids with a lot of faith in my guy-catching abilities). Then someone let out a sigh of relief and smiled. Her hand went up. "Have you got a wife?" she asked. *facepalm* I told them "No, and I haven't got a girlfriend either. I'm young and sometimes people are just single." At least they are open-minded and still would have accepted me had I said yes I had a wife. 

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