A mystery revealed
It's tempting to think that after living here for six months I've got everything figured out. Of course, that just ain't so. Every now and then I get those moments when some new aspect about the way things work is revealed. The latest happened last night, after English corner. The corners have resumed this past week and the students seem a bit more chatty than they were back before the break. One girl bent my ear for awhile and was mentioning that she had eight hours of classes on that particular day. (And was indeed heading off for the final couple of hours.) She ticked off all the classes she had to sit through on Wednesdays and one thing she mentioned was "Tourist English". That was one that didn't make it on the foreign teachers' docket, so I wasn't aware that it even existed. But now that I know of it, it sheds some light on an odd habit of many of the students here.When talking with the English students, you start to hear patterns in their speech. From phrases such as "In my opinion..." to topics of conversation. One topic that has cropped up repeatedly is the students' hometowns. Almost invariably a student will get around to telling you that they are from such-and-such a town and tell you that a) it is very beautiful, b) the food is delicious and c) the people are very friendly. Many will end up by saying, "Welcome to my hometown." Now I had always assumed that folks around here just naturally took pride in their hometowns. Now I suspect that these kids are just practicing the phrases they've been taught in their Tourist English class. Ah, well, giving the kids' opportunities to practice is why I go to English corner. (one reason, anyway)
posted by John @ 7:32 PM
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