Destroyer's "Garbages"

Destroyer loves to bring his friends to my English Zone classroom daily, especially to my Lunch Club everyday. He's the reason why my group has grown twice the original size. Also, since he is one of the prime English speakers of the school, he likes to daily come to my room for chatting, and he does a good job of it and holds his own in a conversation, way better than any of the other students put together.

My Lunch Club group consists of mainly 1st and 2nd grade level high school students, and since Destroyer is my main recruiter, I get most of his friends to sit in on these 15 minute lunch sessions where we free talk, do a song, or talk about American culture. It's really fun to do a class with people who actually want to try English for a change, then forcing 40 students to shut up and listen to me sometimes (Boys are boys).

Destroyer's favorite past-time is to give his fellow friends that he calls "the Garbages," nicknames. First, he calls them "Garbages" because they do not speak English as well as he does and lovingly hits them, yet I have grown fond of the group name because the way he says it, "Garbage-ee" (Koreans add "eee" or "uuu" to any English noun, because of the way their lettering system, the Hangul works, but that takes too long to explain) and it has an endearing tone to it because these guys have been good friends since high school started for them.

So, his nicknames are somewhat deserving, and some of them the guys have given nicknames themselves, but they are funny as anything. You will be seeing their names for now on in future blogs:

1. Destroyer - their leader. If they get out of line, he hits them, or kicks them. Very decent English speaker.
2. T.H. - Kim Tae-hwa, very avid learner of English and wants to enroll in the speech contest. Him and Destroyer usually argue over dumb stuff like who has better pronunciation.
3. Ham - Ham is actually his last name! He has an unusual Korean clan name that is pronounced "Hahm," but its spelled Ham in English. He is short, goofy, and wears the biggest grin on his face. He once said, "I am unique" in perfect English.
4. Togo - he is a Korean boy whose skin is darker than mine! Believe it or not, this boy can tan, but he still retains his Korean looks. He's just dark. Destroyer explains his life story: "The King of Togo let him go to study in Korea." Nice. Togo it is. This boy is tall, goofy looking like Ham, and always wear a grin on his face.
5. Bang-Bang: A normal looking guy with a funny sense of humor. His family name is "Bang," pronounced "Bahng," and him and Destroyer always go at it. Wears army-esque glasses (think MASH).
6. Kevin: Tall, glasses kid who is part of the Newspaper Club at Yeonsu High. Very shy, but recently has tried his English more and more. Has a huge crush on Yeonsu's youngest math teacher, Ms. Choi.
7. Sandbag: a big guy. Destroyer likes to hit him for fun, but he doesn't budge. You get it?
8. Rock: another big guy who could play high school football. Not that tall, but has a big body.
9. Brad Pitt: doesn't anything look like his namesake, but during club introductions he decided he wanted to be Brad Pitt. Well, he needs to start adopting foreign children now.

As time goes on, Destroyer recruits more members for my English Zone Lunch Club by recruiting "Garbages." In fact, I decided today to name the entire group to be "the Garbages," (including the 1st graders who don't even know Destroyer) until they can proficiently speak better English. Then they'll be promoted from "Garbages," to "Street Trash." Kidding.

But, one funny story about one of the Garbages, Ham. It was for my first introduction, as he comes into my classroom with his goofy smile. Destroyer was with him. Destroyer explains that this is his new Garbage, and he introduces him as "Ham," which Ham rejects because it is pronounced "Hahm." I told him: "Ham it is buddy, I like it." I asked him about his family name, which is a rare clan name for a Korean. (Most Koreans are named Kim, Lee, or Pak, then comes Hwang, Song, Yoon, or Choi, BTW, my mom is a Pak)

The only thing that was off about him was his high school uniform. He was wearing his gray suit jacket for Yeonsu, but he was wearing his green pants from his gym uniform, so he was out of dress code.

I asked him, "Ham! Where are your pants?!" (I usually yell at them in a funny way to try to make them speak)

Ham: "I don't know, I don't know."
Destroyer: "He sold his pants for 1,000 W ($1) so he can buy a hamburger."
Mark: "YOU SOLD YOUR PANTS!?" (I'm messing with him)
Ham: "No no! (Totally misunderstanding my question) See, I'm NOT wearing any pants."

Then out of nowhere, he pulls down his pants down halfway from the side, so I can see underwear.

Mark: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? I know you don't have any pants! I am asking WHERE did you put your pants, you didn't have to show me!"
Destroyer: (In Korean) What are you doing you moron? (Smacks him on his head)
Ham: "No, I left them in classroom."
Destroyer and Mark: "No, you sold them for 1,000W did you?" (We're teasing the poor fellow, but keep in mind, he's still keeping that silly grin on his face the whole time we're talking)
Mark: "Did you really buy a hamburger?"

By this time, we give up trying to get a decent conversation out of him, and let him go.

As he walks off Bang-bang tells me, "Don't listen to Destroyer, he's a Garbage! He has no friends, he's always alone!" (Runs off while Destroyer runs after him)

It's good to have something like this happen in our school.