::A Geek in Korea::

My freshman conversation classes got another survey related activity for their group discussion portion of the week. We had been practicing “Have you ever…” present perfect tense questions for the week, and I had found an awesome list to modify and share. Here are some of the best answers:

1. When asked, “Have you ever been in a fist fight?” The majority of people said no. The amount of people that admit to being in a fist fight, and admit to being in a fist fight while not drunk is the same. The only question I heard about this question was, “What is a fist?”

2. When asked, “Have you ever seen a car accident?” The majority of people said no. Most of the class is filled with people too young to drive, but growing up in any city in Korea it shouldn’t be hard to spot traffic accidents. I’ve seen tons of accidents myself, and I don’t drive.

3. When asked, “Have you ever fallen asleep while talking on the phone?” The majority of people with girlfriends or boyfriends admitted to having it happen.

4. The most controversial question was, “Have you ever saved a piece of chewing gum to eat later?” The vast majority of people thought the idea was totally disgusting. Only a few brave people admitted doing this. These people were then treated with much disgust.

5. People with ex-girlfriends often answered the questions, “Have you ever called your girlfriend the wrong name?” and “Have you ever forgotten someone’s birthday” positively. Obvious.

6. Most people that answered the question, “Did you ever expect to hate a food, only to end up liking it once you tried it?” thought that oysters looked disgusting, but tasted better than they expected. Both raw and cooked oysters had similar answers.

7. Almost everyone has, “Hit someone accidentally while walking and sending a text message on their phone.”

8. No one admitted to, “Have you ever changed your appearance suddenly with a make over or cosmetic surgery?” If the girls had something done, they weren’t telling.

9. Somehow responding to the question, “Have you ever woken up outdoors?”, or “Have you ever fallen asleep and forgotten where you were?” …”Yes, while drunk,” got a more sympathetic response than if you simply were really tired. One student told me about getting really drunk, trying to walk home, falling asleep under a bridge, getting busted by police officers for vagrancy, and then having to call his father to post bail.

10. Most students haven’t been on television, but a Turkish guy was featured on a regular television program once. I’m not sure if he had a speaking part or was just a bystander. No one has ever been in a newspaper or magazine before.

It was a pretty fun class learning about my students. I’m working on names and personalities now that we’ve had a few weeks to get to know one another. I’m surprised how different this group of people is compared to my last semester. These students seem to be much more willing to talk with each other.