and i made a fool of myself, again!

the chinese language is so weird. how many times have i said that? it's confusing and a lot of the time, it sounds the same and you could be saying something totally awful if you aren't careful. remember my pencil v. vagina story ? well, i did it again. but, this time, with my kids... 

for about 2 weeks the kids have been calling each other "xiao ji ji" pronounced "show (ow as in ouch) gee gee". well, the chinese word for chick, like a baby chicken, is "xiao ji".

xiao means small.

ji means chicken.

so, i thought they were being silly and calling each other baby chickens. kindergartners are silly,

and innocent.

right?

right!

on tuesday the students had picture and video day (my 5 and 6 year olds) for their graduation ceremony. when they were getting dressed up in their little uniforms some of the boys kept calling each other "xiao ji ji". being the silly and fun teacher i am, i called alvin a "xiao ji ji"when i was helping him with his mini bowtie.

the look on his face said enough. he wasn't sure if he should laugh. i knew right then, i had said something terribly wrong. 

i slowly meander over to Mark, who speaks both English and Chinese and ask, "Mark, ummm, what does xiao ji ji mean?"

again, the look on his face said enough. his eyes got kinda big.

then... he pointed down at his pants.

way to go jami, you just called a student a penis.

chinese language fail. again.