My sisters are famous in Spain.
I'm in a new school this year, and I teach second, fourth and fifth graders. The older kids are absolutely fascinated to be in the presence of an American, and they stare at me like I'm a zoo animal that they've spotted in the wild. At the end of each class, if they've behaved well, I give them five minutes to ask me questions about anything, anything they want, as long as the questions are in English. They put their heads together, forming little impromptu translation committees, and then one brave kid after another will raise their hand.
Their questions are usually along the lines of "What's your favorite __________" with soccer player, movie, book, music, color, food, sports, animal, and other varieties. Mainly, I think, because this is the vocabulary that they actually know.
Another question I love is "Do you know Justin Beiber/Barack Obama?" which I can never seem to get away from (by the way, I just got a kick out of writing the names of the Beibermeister and the President in the same sentence, I hope you got a kick out of reading it).
But the fascination about my sisters is endless. I told them on the first day of class that I have two sisters, one older and one younger. Well, that opened the floodgates. Are they blonde? Do they like dogs? What are their names and ages? Do they eat hamburgers? Do they speak Spanish? Do they like the Madrid soccer team? Do they have boyfriends?
So Hannah, Emily, come back to Spain soon. You've got a fan club. Hope you don't mind swarms of ten-year-olds.
Ten-year-olds with millions of questions.
*picture of my sisters and me taken last spring by The Mister.
isn't it nice?
:) I'll come back!
ReplyDeleteLove it. You three girls are awesome!
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Here in Stockholm, Swedes will say they have a friend in New York and want to know if I know them. Um, no. It's a big country is my usual response. But then again, they tend to say they've been all around the US. Officially, that translates to New York, LA and Miami. No where else.
ReplyDeleteFan club membership starts at $5 US! Apply today! :)
ReplyDelete@ Sandra - so true.
ReplyDeleteAs a school teacher myself, here in the U.S., it is very interesting the types of questions students will ask. I teach a lot of ESL students who have a limited English vocabulary and it is funny to see that students on the other side of the world end up asking the same types of questions. Very interesting post!
ReplyDelete