Korean kids have to be some of the toughest little ones the world has to offer.
Example 1: Lily, a 7 year old, is leaning back in her chair. She loses her balance, falling backwards to the floor, hitting her head squarely on the wall in the process. I assume there is going to be a huge stream of tears and a messy situation. Oh no. Everyone starts laughing at Lily's misfortune and she gets up laughing. I'm 23 years old and if I fall backwards in a chair and smack my head on the wall I certainly don't get up smiling but a 7 year old Korean girl who weights 50 lb. soaking wet thought it was hilarous.
Example 2: One day my students were lining up at the end of class and completely out of the blue one student punched another boy in the face. And I mean he really punched him with everything he had and caught the kid squarely on the cheak. Obviously my first reaction was to send him to the office and try to figure out what the hell ignited the incident. My second reaction was, "Holy hell, how isn't he crying?" Cosmo (great name, by the way) just stood there with a bewildered look on his face. He didn't cry, he didn't even rub the spot where he was punched. It was just such a shock to me that a 9 or 10 year old could take a punch and sort of shrug it off.
I could list more examples but I think you get the point: stuff happens where I fully expect tears and they just laugh and carry on. I can say confidently that these things would not happen in the U.S. Our kids cry for attention and apparently have very low pain tolerances. Now, this isn't to say that I haven't seen kids in Korea cry, they just have a much higher threshold for what will induce tears. Why is still a mystery to me. It must be a cultural thing but I'm completely unsure as to why Korean kids are tougher, but trust me, they are.
Two blogs in one day, some kind of record?
Take it easy, but take it.
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