1 Word, 3 Syllables. Sounds Like...

Living and teaching in another country is like an endless game of Pictionary and charades.  In class, I cling to the whiteboard in hopes of getting my ideas across.  Explaining the conflict between the British and the colonists to a handful of Korean sixth graders can only be done through a series of quick sketches.  Unfortunately, my stick figure of George Washington bears little resemblance to the actual father of our country.  The tea boats from the Boston Massacre look like nothing more than a child's paper sailboat in the sink. Amused at my efforts, the students turn their glazed-over eyes in my direction and pretend to understand the events of America's history.  

Out in the streets, and without a whiteboard I must rely on my natural talents. Charades was always a game I enjoyed playing as a child, and the practice is finally paying off.  Fingers turn into numbers when ordering food, and hand gestures aid in the request for small, medium, or large.  Ordering one mini ice cream from Baskin' Robbins takes an extra 20 seconds with the addition of my gesturing, but the outcome is always delicious.  One evening, Andrea and I went to a store in search of an alarm clock.  Unsure of how to translate our request verbally, I whipped out my hands.  While pointing to my watch, and then miming a small box the saleswoman shook her head and furrowed her brow.  I was determined to make her understand so I repeated the process and added a "beep, beep, beep."  She smiled and a wave of understanding washed across her face.  Success.

At the end of my year abroad I may not know much Korean, but I'll be able to gesture my way across the world.