Context: As an ESL teacher, I get special leveled ESL materials. One of these is a magazine/newspaper written for adults but at a low level. I like to let my kids spend some time reading the articles that interest them like you and I would with an average newspaper. However, I also make them choose one article that they would like to read to the class and discuss. This generally goes off without a hitch: practice reading and decoding, work on pronunciation, and engage with a multi-cultural class in discussion where everyone is expected to form opinions.
Cast: This class is very small. I have an assistant who is a spectacular grade 12 girl from Japan. There is a boy and a girl from Mexico, a boy from Thailand, three boys from China, and two boys from Korea. One of these Korean boys is new to Canada but adjusting rapidly as he adopts a pithy attitude and a rebellious streak. I'll call him Korean Jim. His name isn't Jim, but the name he selected is equally as staunch.
Ms. B: So, let's look at one final article. My favourite article was this one on page three that discusses the documentary The Cove. *insert discussion on the article, what this movie is about etc* Did anyone see this movie?
The class begins to discuss practices of their cultures that are not common world-wide. We decide we should watch this film, as long as our TA is okay with it, which she is. We discuss Canadian practices that are frowned upon and/or debated. We talk about seal hunting and whaling. As we put away our newspaper, Korean Jim pipes up.
Korean Jim: Mrs. B? In Korea, we eat dog.
Now, because of his thick accent, it sounded more like this: Een KOR-E-A, we. eat. DAWG.
Ms. B, naturally curious, having heard this but never having been to Korean, asks: What kind of dog?
Now, I too am a dog lover. Many of you after my own heart may wonder how I could bring myself to talk about this. I would never engage in eating a dog, but my mind is open enough to understand and respect cultural differences. I know that few animals are as loyal, loving, and wonderful as a dog, but I have seen people with pet pigs who are just as spectacular. It is a cultural practice to keep animals as pets, just like it is to eat them. Who are we to judge?
The Dutch eat horses; Canadians eat narwhal; Koreans eat dogs.
I am not one to judge the practices, especially culinarily, of other groups of people. I think I am just as unlikely to ever eat tripe or cockroaches as I am dog. However, despite not doing it myself, I am still curious. If you told me you ate a cockroach, my first question would be, "What did it taste like?" Even if you told me it tasted like sunshine and rainbows, I STILL wouldn't try it BUT I would then be able to tell people that cockroaches taste like sunshine and rainbows if it ever came up in conversation.
So, naturally, I wanted to learn more from Korean Jim. He is in Canada learning about our culture (even if all he is adopting is a piss-poor attitude), an I can also engage in this cultural exchange.
Ms B.: What kind of dog?
The answer I am looking for is like pug (please no!), retriever, etc. I would settle for big, small, old, anything that hints at what type of dog is eaten.
Korean Jim: Male dog. Female dog.
He narrowed it down to all dogs. Not very helpful. I decided to move on and never bring pug Norm to visit me.
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