Monkey Teacher

Small portion of a larger article on some of the things to expect when teaching in an Asian country:

Many Asian children find red and blonde hair and hairy arms and legs to be fascinating and can’t resist tugging on it or rubbing their hands on it....

I suppose it dawned on me but I never really grasped the inevitability of this until recently & it's quite ironic since the weather has warmed up, I've been able to shed some of the many layers I was donning on any given day in the classroom as a means of keeping my core temperature at a respectable level yet with this new found freedom, another, more interesting development has taken place - arm hair has become exposed in a slight capacity and this has turned into quite the fascination amongst the kids.

Now, I've always been a fan of having some scruff on the face as I just don't really like the clean shaven look & the ordeal of having to use a razor EVERY DAY is terrible (oh, how my life is such a struggle). The slight stubble has been a thing of curiosity amongst the kids & they'll occasionally sneak a rub of my face to really get a feel for the wonder of facial hair.  The fact that I also eat a few bananas every day, has helped to supplant in their little minds I most certainly must be sprung from some primal line of evolution but haven't fully shed the monkey side of things. Thus, the little ones have begun to call me monkey teacher.


As Spring has attempted to peek it's head around the corner, the temps were in the high 60's a couple weeks ago & I opted to remove my fleece to reveal a short sleeved polo but what really got the kids in a tizzy was the hair on my arms. They were absolutely enthralled w/it & would do anything in their power to find an excuse to stand near me & cop a feel. I decided to give the kids at the Sangmo school the opportunity the next day & the results remained the same....sheer infatuation!

At various points, at both schools, I had kids knowingly holding my arm/hand, rubbing the hair & attempting to twist it in their fingers or caressing my arm like a precious little puppy. The whole time, I'm thinking to myself....is today the day I'm fired? I mean, something like this in FL & I'm all over the news, tapped as some sort of creepy pedophile but Korea is certainly a different beast.  It's probably not a terrible thing but I suppose it could be deemed inappropriate; either way it's pretty funny how excited these kids get over something completely different than they're used to seeing! They've also taken a liking to my brownish blond hair, especially since it continues to get longer (last haircut was the day before I left Tampa, so maybe Dec 11th - I told Sarah, the girl who trims my locks, I wasn't going to get it cut until I was back) & even though it's not as 'spikey' as usual when it's much shorter, I can still usually get some great messiness going on & they often feel the need to touch, rub, mess it up or just try to get it to stand up straight, which it's usually able to do quite naturally.


So, I've made it a habit to wear long sleeves, which is justifiable as it's still only in the mid to high 60's over here. The real dilemma comes when the heat & humidity of summer set in & I'm forced to make some serious wardrobe decisions (they do have AC, though, so I'm sure I can get around it for the most part). Guess we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it.

I have found it quite interesting how they are so intrigued by my blue eyes, too. Some of them think it's some sort of crazy, demonic thing I've got going on but either way, it makes me chuckle. They're such curious little kids looking to figure out why I have such a peculiar look, so much different than themselves. The video below is from a day when they really took an interest in eyes, mine particularly....

Either way, still having a blast, learning plenty about Korea & it's unique culture....

So, with that - Monkey Teacher, out!