Big Nose

The other day some of the younger children came into my office. I don't teach them because they are in a really basic class, but they like to come in and talk to me.

They typically come in to say 'hello' and exchange a few of the English phrases they have memorized before heading off to their class. If I am completely honest after about five or ten minutes I am ready for peace and quite and an opportunity to get back to my book, but most days they are unassailable cute. They smile, jump around, and generally make a ruckus.

I don't know what was different about today. I don't know if they learned new words or if they were in a playful mood, but things did not follow their normal routine. After the customary 'hello' and 'how are you today?' they said, "Teacher has a big nose." This was followed by a chorus of 'big nose'.

I have never been been self continuous, at least not about my nose, but after this episode I checked my nose out in a mirror. It is a little big, at least by Korean standards. The kids who made the comments had freakishly small noses. (I thought about making fun of their small noses, but decided against it. It would be a little immature to make fun of some kindergarteners because they called me mean names.)

Yesterday, some of my high school students told me I had I 'high nose', and compared my nose with a shark fin. I think I need to get out of this country before I develop a complex.