Laughter is the best medicine...

...to cure those packing blues? I hope so! Here a couple funnies from exams this time around.

Question: What slang word describes a lazy person who just sits around watching tv all day. Correct answer: couch potato.
Here's what I got instead: cough potato, couch photo, couch tomato, potato couch, and peach counter. Not so sure about that last one??

In class I kind of made a big deal about phone etiquette and making sure you say goodbye at the end of the conversation. It's common here to just hang up or end the conversation without saying goodbye or verbally ending the call. I'm not a fan of this (since apparently I'm in need of closure) and often end up still talking for a while before I realize that the other party on the line is long gone. I've also had students in the past not know exactly what to say to end the call so they just abruptly blurted out, "enough of this" and then hung up. Anyway, in class we discussed how to bring the conversation to a close and politely say goodbye.

Question: What are two things you should remember to do or to avoid when talking on the phone with a foreigner?
Correct Answer: Identify yourself if it's the first time calling, say goodbye before hanging up, etc.
Students Answers: "After taking the phone tell her or him your phone number."
"Don't talk aloud or when something is in your mouth."
"First, say Hello with a big smile. Believe me, the other side can SEE it." (haha.)
"Don't talk to a foreigner in a very loud tongue."
"Remember to say 'good light!'" (um...they meant 'good night' but sometimes 'n' and 'l' gets confused in chinese in this area and it can spill over into english too)
"You shouldn't say, 'I'll hand up.'"
"You can't say, 'I'm going to hang.'"

Well, that's all for now. Back to packing....grr.


**EDIT** I forgot to tell you about a text message that I received from one of my sweet freshmen English majors. They are so good!!

"Thank you for you written test. It's a piece of cake to us as long as we review the textbook well. You are so good to us!"

How cute is that? I got thanked for giving them their exam? Aww.