During my first class I show a Powerpoint presentation to introduce myself. I tell them things like my name, hometown, hobbies, age, favorite food, and previous career. At first I felt very awkward standing in front of the class making them listen to me talk about myself, but they are actually very interested. After that I ask the students if they have any questions for me. A lot of them are not able to ask their questions in English so the Korean teacher will help them or sometimes let them ask in Korean and translate.
These are the common questions and my answers, nothing unusual:
Are you married? (this and the next one are always asked right away.) -No
Do you have a gf? -No
Where do you live? -Geumchon, near Daeha Mart
How tall are you? -173cm
How much do you weigh? -A lot
How long have you been in korea? -Since April 2010
Do you like korean music? / Who is your favorite Korean singer? -I don't listen to it. I don't like pop music and it seems that's the only Korean music I hear.
What kind of music do you like? -Rock n roll and heavy metal.
What tv shows do you like? -I watch The Simpsons a lot.
Do you watch Korean tv shows? -No. Why not? -I cannot understand Korean, so it's boring.
Where have you been in korea? -Cheongju, Busan, Daegu.
Why did you want to leave the US? (Sounded like the kid thought I wouldn't be returning) -I Wanted to try living in a foreign country for a while.
Why did you choose Korea? I have known a lot of Koreans in the US and I have visited Korea twice before and liked it.
Do you speak Korean? -Only a little.
They want to hear me speak Korean. -I say 안녕하세요. 저는 존 라이언 입니다. 만나서반갑습니다. They laugh and act impressed.
Less common/odd questions:
Who takes care of your parents? -My parents are not so old that they need someone to take care of them.
What kind of things do you buy? I didn't know what he meant, so I said I like to buy electronics and digital cameras.
Do you smoke? (surprised I have not heard this more) -No. I hate smoking.
Do you like soju? (surprised I have not heard this one more too) -Yes, sometimes.
Do you want to marry a korean girl? -I don't know. Maybe.
Who looks the smartest in the class? I picked 3 that looked smart.
Who is the most handsome guy? I picked a guy.
Is north face popular in the US? -Yes.
Can teenagers buy guns in the US? -No, You have to be 21 in most states to buy guns.
Do you own any guns? -Yes, five. Four handguns and one shotgun.
Are you rich? -What do you think?
Do you have a six pack? -What does it look like?
Do you know dokdo? -Yes. (I don't give any opinion of it)
Do you know capoeira? ("Know" as in, can I do it? Or as in, am I aware of it?) I said I know what it is.
Some other questions I would get asked when I first started at my school were like, my co teacher would tell me one of the students saw me walking the other day... he wants to know where you were going. Or a student saw me at the grocery store, he wants to know what I was buying. Usually with those questions I cannot even remember where I was going or what I was buying.
Most of my students don't care about my class or about learning English, but they are curious about me.
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