Panties and Geography

[dedalusj]

Yesterday an odd thing happened in class.  Three of my classes are all male save for a solitary girl.  In one of those classes the girl will probably fail because she never shows up.  This happened in that class and the girl was gone. In the last row (the rooms are wide but not deep so the last row is only about 3-4 meters always from me at the front) on of the boys (remember I teach college students) nonchalantly unbuttons his pants and unzips.  I see it and though I am curious as to what he could possibly be doing I also realize that a strange and unexpected line has been crossed and, curious or not, this is a moment when the teacher, me, has to step in.  I ask him what he is doing and he tells me "panties [are] not convenient."  I though it was very funny but I also knew that he meant his underwear, which are called panties, regardless of gender, was uncomfortable (Korean does not really distinguish between comfort and convenience.)  What possessed him to think that opening his pants and adjusting them in my lesson was okay is beyond me.

We are doing a geography unit in class.  I realize that Korean university freshmen are just as ignorant on this subject as most freshmen, the world over, but their answers may be more bizarre. Here are some favorites:

What is the capital of Israel? Afghanistan
What language do people speak in New Zealand?  American
What language is spoken in the Philippines?  Philish
Besides English what language is commonly spoken in the United States?  Indian

Some answers are found with the help of the internet.

Name a natural wonder of the world? Bit Torrent Monster
What is the name of the highest mountain in North America and how high is it? Rocky Mountain
The Alps are in which countries? Australia and New Zealand