English Episodes #14 - Final CAE fun

Some amusing incidents from the last few weeks of my CAE course:

• Playing Taboo: big chimpanzee to gorilla to Godzilla. What?
• I gave my students chopsticks for good luck before their exam. When we all went for Japanese food a few weeks ago everyone not from Asia had been excited to perfect their skills. My Korean students told me that it's a Korean tradition to give a small gift before an exam, like chopsticks. So culturally savvy I am!
• Shocking class with my new, short haircut. "It looks like you!" says a student. (I hope so).
• Some students are describing a picture of a wizard with a "magic stick." I explain that this is a significantly different item than a magic wand, which is what is in fact pictured.
• "I fly with my private jet."

I'll miss them for sure.

English Episodes #13 - The End of CAE

June is a great month (and not just because it's my birthday!). I've successfully completed teaching my Cambridge CAE class; students did written exam on Wednesday, speaking test on Thursday. They were a great bunch and really bonded in what seems like a meaningful way. We had lots of fun at the end, playing silly games (one learned that Charlie Sheen is known for cocaine use - shocker, right?!?) and generally trying to not stress about the looming exam. I had them over to my house for class on Friday and everyone brought food from their country, a mix of Korean and Swiss starches it was with noodle and bread-based mains, pudding cake and my world-famous chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

The funniest part? When one came in with a 18 pack of Budweiser - I can't remember the last time I saw anyone drinking such a thing.

It's a weekend of birthdays, so popping around to parties around the city. Mine will be Sunday since Monday isn't an ideal party day... Impressed because I actually already have the supplies on hand. Plus a long RSVP'd list. Tres exciting!

Oh, Italians

Italians are always right, just as many other folks from the Mediterranean are. I came across this post about how to make pesto and giggled a whole much. The author has definite opinions he is unafraid to share, from the blasphemy of mixing different cheeses to using a blender.

Yet he doesn't toast his pine nuts. I question his credibility on this point alone... But I still want to eat some pesto now.

English Episodes #12 - Who Would Win?

Yes, I've become mired in the mixed joy that is teaching CAE Cambridge exam course. We've just finished week 8 of 12 - whew! Some funny things for your Friday afternoon...

Today ended class playing the game Who Would Win? The idea is to come up with convincing arguments about what famous person would win in some shared activity, like Mick Jagger vs Martha Stewart in Hairdressing. I modified the original rules a bit so 2 students would argue for a minute, each one supporting the card they had drawn, and then the rest of the group votes on whose explanation is better. The person with most points wins; here are some examples of the pairs that occurred:

• Britney Spears vs Cleopatra in video gaming
• Karl Marx vs Christopher Columbus in weightlifting
• Madonna vs Lance Armstrong in swordfighting
• Da Vinci vs Caesar in wargames
• King Kong vs Pope John Paul II in tennis

Hilarious, I tell you. They also told me yesterday I should run for president after giving a pseudo impassioned speech about international relations and the importance of getting along. The slogan for my campaign? "No, you can't."

I know that I've been not updating as frequently as some of you would like; my freelance writing work has really picked up and is eating up most hours that I spend in front of the computer, for which I am sorry. Please bear with me! And think about what other ridiculous pairings you can come up with for your own version of Who Would Win?