Wild in Japan

One of my co-workers used to complain about how the students would all stare at her for eating her apple whole (as in not peeled, not cut up, certainly not carved into apple bunnies). It made her so uncomfortable to be stared at that she would either find somewhere secluded to eat her apple, or go for a walk off campus and eat it there. Then the boss got a comment from a neighboring school that they always see this girl out eating whole apples and they wanted to know if she belonged to us.

Seriously.

Recently. I have been eating whole apples as well. I also get stared at, but so far I've just used it as an excuse to make them think about other cultures and other ways of doing things. Most students are pretty good about recognizing that there are more than one way to do things. But then, most also start the conversation with a startled: "Jaci! Apple! Apple! Wild!!" Because I'm acting such a heathen. This has happend 3-4 times this year. I'm impressed they all know the word "wild." I haven't heard it in any other context, but everyone regardless of level seems to use it for apple eating. Oh- it was also used to describe my use of a pen to secure my hair in a bun.

The other day one of my students came to make up a class she had been late for. She was looking kind of down, and she told me that she was hungry but she had forgotten her lunch. I happened to have an apple on my desk and I had just had a large lunch, so I offered her my apple. She was super happy about it and very appreciative. Then I gave it to her. She still really wanted it, but I could see her wondering how she was going to eat it. There were two boys at the table watching her closely. She tried to take a bite, but it was tougher than she thought and the first bite failed. Embarrassed to have the boys teasing her, she gathered up her apple and bags, thanked me again profusely (which was very sweet), and headed out. About an hour later, she came back with her friend to show me the apple core.

She was very pleased with herself.

It was one of the highlights of my teaching career thus far.