English Cafe

Last Saturday Thaddeus and his co-teacher hosted an "English Cafe" where students could spend their fake US dollars (earned by good performance throughout the semester) on food, beverages, notebooks, sketchbooks, candies, pencils, etc.

Malachi and I came to help, or to be inspiring, or inspired, or overwhelming, or overwhelmed...or cute, all depending on your perspective.

The children were proud of the money they had earned and many were hesitant to let it go. We noticed that about half of the students kept some money for keepsakes...or maybe in the hope that it's real currency....

Thaddeus and I hosted the "Stationary" (non-food) table, and, overall, I thought it was (exhaustingly) great fun.

I observed that many of the students were going through the exact same range of emotions and shortcuts I encounter when first using foreign currency - for example, when in doubt use the largest denomination, or the temptation to buy something you don't want just because you understand how much it is, etc. Suckers were a popular purchase. They were $1. Easy.

In the midst of it, Malachi discovered that he can sprint cheerily - which is different from walking - with placebo-assistance.

The end. Sorry it's a bit outdated.

Malachi's Accomplishments

Mom asked me if I had compiled a list of Malachi's vocabulary and accomplishments. So I did. It follows:

Malachi-to-English -Dictionary:

Assat?/! - "what's that?,"" How exciting!," "This is the same as that other thing is some fashion!"
Baby (and accompanying sign) - Malachi, exclusively. For other babies, see "Assat?"
Bundy - "Bunny!" Very proud of himself for this one, though he continues to work on nasalizing.
Bye-bye -good-bye, Leave me alone already, Korean admirers, why aren't we leaving yet? etc, along similar themes.
Cot - Cat. Only on rare occaions and with much prompting. strong (untraceable) british accent.
Dadda (and accompanying sign) - male parent, as in 'when is male parent coming home' or 'male parent would allow me to touch the television with impunity; why won't you?' or "My father has arrived!
Dakka - Thank you... and you're welcome.
Dog/dok - Canine. Or, animals in general.
doggididogididogidida, or gogidigogidigogidida - gibberish mocking the Korean language. Most useful when someone begins speaking Korean in earnest - Malachi responds (or interupts) resolutely with one or the other of these words.
Duckkkk - duck
EYEEEEE - Eye. Must involve stabbing someone's eye while saying it...
Ffffshss - Fish.
FFFSHKKK - Infant profanity.
Hi - self explanatory. But sometimes he just repeats it for no conceivable reason. It's newly acquired, so presumably that's the reason.
MMMM - I intend to kiss you; prepare yourself.
Momma - Mother, I'm lost, where are you, I'm upset, why is life so horrible, etc.
Nonono - usually directed at the mother, to inform her that what he is doing is unsuitable. He still engages in the behavior, but accompanies it with a firm 'nonono,' to let us know that he is aware of his misconduct. It is exasperating.
NOSSSsss - nose. Russian pronunciation preferred, because otherwise he thinks it's 'no.'
Num-num - interesting history. It began as "yummy" but has now become representative for food or drink in general - so, now it can mean "i'm hungry," "i'm thirsty" or "this is tasty"
OOFFF (or roof) - The bark of the dog.
Whersa? - where is that? Where did it go? Useful in hide-and-seek (or pookooh) games.

Can't think of any more at the moment, but thought these would be appreciated...