i'm selfish

...That's what some of my pre-intermediate students were saying in class this Tuesday, anyway.

I forgot how we got into the conversation, but we were discussing relationships (that was not the topic of the lesson.) Relationships are very important to Vietnamese people. It's one of the first things people ask you when they meet you - sometimes they'll ask you if you are married before they ask you your name. So, needless to say, it's a subject that students find interesting and like talking about.


So, one of my students told me she wanted to introduce one of her friends to me, clearly with the hopes that we'd become an item. Now, something I should mention is that when I started teaching this class, I one of the girls asked me for my cell phone number (and it wasn't to ask me English questions) and I've had multiple girls call me handsome and whatnot, so I'm usually on the defensive when talking about these topics. So, I smiled and told her "no, that's ok" and carried on. She insisted, so I thought I'd be smart and joke about it. Some students found the joke funny - she didn't. The students started talking in Vietnamese, and then they started calling me a certain word that I guess they didn't know the exact meaning for. Eventually they gave me something -- they said I was selfish. The same girl proceeded to explain that I am selfish because I am handsome yet refuse to have a girlfriend.

...What?

Although I thought her logic was funny, she then asked me why I choose not to have a girlfriend. She even asked me if I was gay! I assured her I wasn't, and proceeded to give her the whole spiel about "finding the right one" and stuff, and not being in a hurry to get married. I don't know how pleased the students were with my answer, but at least it seemed to calm them down.


They also asked me if I didn't want a Vietnamese girlfriend.. and that resulted in yet another discussion.


As you can see, my classes get a little interesting sometimes. I love my students, even when they put me on the spot with awkward/uncomfortable questions.