Thrilled by my description of an activity that requires LOTS of quiet working time for the students, and curious to find some equally peculiar results, several of my friends leaped on the idea. One friend described her experience of introducing the project to her early elementary school students, saying, "They were so excited we had to turn off the lights and do deep breathing, and that was before I told them they'd receive letters back from America."
It's good fun for everyone, and I've included some of my favorites below. They were instructed to write "Dear GCMS Students", along with a series of questions and personal responses. I mentioned they could include their genders, since students in the U.S. likely won't be able to determine from reading their names. For privacy, I've removed their names from this blog post.
*Important Note: By posting these letters, I don't mean to mock my students' English ability. I've chosen to copy their letters as they were written, but I recognize that this is their second language. I think they're intelligent and funny, and their letters say a lot about middle school life. I'll keep it balanced by later sharing some notes and amusing themes after receiving the return letters from Grove City. Also, at their age, I couldn't speak a second language at all.
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Letter #1
Dear GCMS Students,
Are you a boy or girl? I'm a boy. What's your hobby? My hobby is playing computer game. What is your favorite food? My favorite food is bread. Do you know Korean? I think you have to know about Korean. Do you know about Hong Kong gay bar? Hong Kong gay bar is very good. And in Korea we always eat dog. It is very delicious. And I'm god of Minecraft. I'll wait your answer.
(Note- I opted not to send this one, since people don't always eat dog in Korea, and I simply don't have time to explain the complexity of the issue to the receiving students.)
Letter #2
Dear GCMS Students,
How are you? I'm great. What are your favorite hobbies? My hobby is play computer games, especially, I like Left4Dead game. It's fun. Try this and do you know Dokdo? Dokdo is land of Korea, but Japan take away Dokdo, and Japan take away East Sea. We are so angry. People is unknow this. So we say Dokdo is land of Korea.
Letter #3
Dear GCMS Students,
Hello GCMS Student. I'm a boy. How are you? What do you do every day? Um... My schedule is wake up, wash, and eat breakfast. I go to school at 8:20. After I finish school, I go to Academy. And I come back my home and eat dinner and wash. At home, I do homework, and when I finish, I sleep. And what kind of online games do you like? What game is it? What is your nickname? I like Sudden Attack. My nickname is Psychohead. How long is your winter vacation? Our winter vacation is one month. I think our winter vacation is very short.
What do you think about Gangnam Style? I like it very much. When you come to Korea, you come to Gwangju. And when you come to Gwangju, you spend my house or my friend house. You're welcome to visit any time.
Letter #4
Dear GCMS Students,
What is your favorite food? My favorite food is bosintang. Bosintang is dog stew. It's yummy and healthy. I tell you the recipe of bosintang. First, put a living dog into a pot. Second, put a boiling water into pot. Last, boil them. Um ~yummy. Um ~delicious. Dog's smell is good. Very healthy smell. Um ~good. I recommend eating bosintang. bye. Let's LOL. Let's play the League of Legends.
(Note- See note for letter #1. While I appreciate the shock value, I'm holding the original copy in my hand right now.)
Letter #5
Dear GCMS Students,
How is the weather these days? I'm so cool because the weather is cold. I am interested in K-pop. My favorite K-pop star is BIG BANG. Do you know them? Do you like him?
In my school, girl students usually wear make up. Your school also do? If they do, how they make up? And boyfriend like computer game? My school's boy students like games very much.
I hope to know difference between my school and your school. And in your school, students dying their hairs? If they do what color? In Korea, many students dying variety color.
This is the end. I want your answer. Take care your health and good bye.
Letter #6
Dear GCMS Students,
Hi I live in Gwangju, Korea. I am a Juwol Middle School student. I want to ask some questions to you. First is it common to have a gun? In Korea, it's illegal. Second, are there any bullies? In Korea, there are many bullies. Third when you visit Korea which place do you want to go? When I visit America I want to visit New York and Washington. Bye bye.
Letter #7
Dear GCMS Students,
What is your favorite food? My favorite food is sam gae tang. It is very delicious. I tell you sam gae tang recipe. First, prepare one chicken and a pot. Second, boil water. Third, stick the chicken to the pot. Finish! Yummy!
Letter #8
Dear GCMS Students,
How are you? I'm... hm... fine! I live in Gwangju, South Korea. Do you believe in God? I don't believe in God because I think God doesn't exist...Oh... By the way, my hobby is drawing because I like cartoons. So when I grow up, I will cartoonist. I look forward to your reply.
(Note- This kid drew an amazing picture of himself at the bottom of the letter. The letter/drawing combo is quite Doonesbury-esque.)
Letter #9
Dear GCMS Students,
Hello, how are you? I'm fine. I live in Gwangju, South Korea. My favorite hobby is playing video games and watching animation. My favorite game is Halo. In the future, I want to be a game maker. My life is so hard because I always go to academy every day. How about you? Anyway, my life is so hard but I always happy because I have good friends to play with. These friends sometimes do annoy but they are funny and good. By the way, have you good friends? I want to be your friend. Later, when we met we have to a good friend.
1 comment:
And I thought Spaniards were blunt!
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