Elves, and other creepy guys
As I said earlier, my classes are not going too badly this week. I worked up a little Christmas themed lesson including a game I call memory, but people from other places apparently know it as concentration, and a crossword puzzle. Two surprising things have come out of this exercise. The students all think eggnog is the most disgusting thing they've ever heard of (My opinion is that people who eat silkworm larvae don't get to criticize another culture's food. Anytime. Ever. But I don't tell them that of course), and I've had the hardest time trying to explain what elves are. In the beginning I even left elf off my list of words to pre-teach because well, who doesn't know what an elf is? Lots of people it turns out. In trying to understand this concept, they invariably cite either Tinkerbell or Snow White. They seem to think elves are handicapped men who aren't very nice. I explain that the elves live at the North Pole and they help Santa, and they are playfully mischevious but not mean. This tidbit serves only to further confuse them. I flip through a mental rolodex of elf images trying to come up with an example that will clear the whole thing up. In rapid succession I consider, then discard the Keebler elves, Snap, Crackle and Pop, and the weird marionette like elves from that old Rudolph TV program. Perhaps only Americans know about the last one. Nothing feels satisfactory until finally I remember Dobby from Harry Potter. Even that doesn't feel right because Dobby looks about as much like an elf in the Santa's Workshop sense as E.T. would, but I'm willing to overlook it if it gets me past this lexical hurdle.
I'm delighted to see their eyes light up with understanding, but I'm crushed once again when they start asking if Gollum is also an elf. At this point I pretty much just drop it and move on. Elves help Santa. What else do they really need to know? But it has gotten me thinking what a really weird idea this whole elf thing is. I mean, little men with pointy ears who work for a flamboyant, isolationist, compulsive overeater who prefers cold climates. Seriously? Who came up with this?
Two different Korean/English dictionaries translated "elf" as something like, male fairy. Wellll, I suppose you could say that. I mean, the Orlando Bloom type of elf could be fairy related sure, but not the North Pole elves. So the dictionary won't be helpful in this case.
If you'd like to know more, here is way the Hell too much information about elves.
And for no reason whatsoever, here's a picture of me from last year, dressed as the Russian Ded Moroz.
As I said earlier, my classes are not going too badly this week. I worked up a little Christmas themed lesson including a game I call memory, but people from other places apparently know it as concentration, and a crossword puzzle. Two surprising things have come out of this exercise. The students all think eggnog is the most disgusting thing they've ever heard of (My opinion is that people who eat silkworm larvae don't get to criticize another culture's food. Anytime. Ever. But I don't tell them that of course), and I've had the hardest time trying to explain what elves are. In the beginning I even left elf off my list of words to pre-teach because well, who doesn't know what an elf is? Lots of people it turns out. In trying to understand this concept, they invariably cite either Tinkerbell or Snow White. They seem to think elves are handicapped men who aren't very nice. I explain that the elves live at the North Pole and they help Santa, and they are playfully mischevious but not mean. This tidbit serves only to further confuse them. I flip through a mental rolodex of elf images trying to come up with an example that will clear the whole thing up. In rapid succession I consider, then discard the Keebler elves, Snap, Crackle and Pop, and the weird marionette like elves from that old Rudolph TV program. Perhaps only Americans know about the last one. Nothing feels satisfactory until finally I remember Dobby from Harry Potter. Even that doesn't feel right because Dobby looks about as much like an elf in the Santa's Workshop sense as E.T. would, but I'm willing to overlook it if it gets me past this lexical hurdle.
I'm delighted to see their eyes light up with understanding, but I'm crushed once again when they start asking if Gollum is also an elf. At this point I pretty much just drop it and move on. Elves help Santa. What else do they really need to know? But it has gotten me thinking what a really weird idea this whole elf thing is. I mean, little men with pointy ears who work for a flamboyant, isolationist, compulsive overeater who prefers cold climates. Seriously? Who came up with this?Two different Korean/English dictionaries translated "elf" as something like, male fairy. Wellll, I suppose you could say that. I mean, the Orlando Bloom type of elf could be fairy related sure, but not the North Pole elves. So the dictionary won't be helpful in this case.
If you'd like to know more, here is way the Hell too much information about elves.
And for no reason whatsoever, here's a picture of me from last year, dressed as the Russian Ded Moroz.
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