Me Duhs a Eenglush Festuh Vall

This past Friday, November 18th, I helped out with an English Festival for 4 schools, along with another English Teacher. I am told for a while that really all I have to do is have a short introduction of myself, and come up with a riddle for the students. Note to self: Koreans do not know what a riddle is. They think it is simply a question, like "What color is grass?" and not something with a twist or some sort of enigma. Anyway, as the Festival comes closer, I discover my time slot is 5 minutes, so my riddle needs to be longer, and I should throw in a couple more just in case. Okay, easy. I already have a whole list from before (I used some for my classes).

Fast forward to the event. I have 30 minutes beforehand, which the other English speaker uses to go over everything we're supposed to do, none of which I have seen before. However, most of it is straightforward and simple enough to wing it. That improv class I did back in Summer '03 really got its money's worth!

Fast forward to 5 minutes before. The coordinator for it all, who speaks pretty good English, tells me I need a microphone, and fits me with one of those infomercial, clip-to-the-tie microphones. Only, there's too much interference to have it on my shirt, so I have to hold the tiny mic in my hand. Pretty funny, to be honest.

Fast forward to the act just BEFORE my slot. Coordinator says I should have around 10 riddles, because she has 10 prizes for me to give out and doesn't want any left over. "Is that okay?" This is when I start feeling inadequate as a teacher and human being, because I can't think of riddles at the top of my head while children dance and sing in the background. Then she gives me the suggestion "What color is my shirt?", and I begin to think she is not familiar with the word "riddle." 

Long story short, the whole event is riddled with tech errors (knee-slapping pun intended), so when I get up there and the mic is between a shrill scream and fuzziness, I think it goes slightly unnoticed. It's over before I know it, everyone gives us a hurrah, and we're on our way.

Side note: We did a scavenger hunt at one point, and it was pretty cool to see my students push through the masses to find me for help, and not one of the other Korean teachers like I would've assumed. Pretty neat.