However, there was also another topic that was trending. As I walked around the room and checked in with my students to see what they were writing, I noticed that numerous boys included some version of airplanes in their holiday. There was 'playing with airplanes', 'writing messages on the plane', and 'find a girl to play with the plane'. This spanned two different Junior 2 (8th grade) classes.
So I asked my Chinese friend, does 'playing with the plane' mean something dirty in Chinese? She confirmed my suspicions. 打飞机 or 'hitting the plane' is slang for male masturbation in Chinese.
Aiya! My students are so bad!
So last week the students were given time in class to write about their new holiday. This week the students had to stand up and present their new holiday to the class. The first boy in my class to present this morning ended his speech by saying that "You can find a girl to help you hit your plane." All the boys put their heads down and giggled like little girls.
I immediately stood up and said, "I know what that means." All the boys who were previously giggling started to laugh uncontrollably. I continued "You will not talk about planes in my class or I will tell your Chinese teacher!"
A few more students went before I eventually called on a boy named Sam to present. Sam didn't go to the podium though. Instead, he walked over to me with his head down and said he couldn't go. He had crumpled his paper into a ball and was clenching it in his hand.
I made him give me his paper. I flatten it out and learned his holiday is called "International Hit Plane Day". I told him to sit down. I gave him a new piece of paper and told him to redo the assignment. This is what he had originally wrote:
International Hit Plane Day
This wonderful holiday is on November 11th. All boys around the world will celebrate it! On November 11, all boys around the world will be very excited. They will go to the street and hit their planes. All the girls will see them, also many boys will protect themselves.
I have created this holiday because all boys old twos will show their endless energies.
NOT only did this boy talk about hitting the plane, but he also said 'boy's old two'. 老二 or old two in Chinese can mean little brother. 'Little brother' is slang for penis in Chinese. And 玩老二 or playing with little brother is also slang for jerking off. The students know I don't speak Chinese, but they clearly have underestimated my common sense. A quick look at wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese_profanity tells you all you need to know about Chinese profanity.
At least Sam had some sense not to present his holiday after I chastised and threatened his class for being inappropriate. Not all students are so smart. A kid by the name of Toby actually presented his holiday, entitled 'National Planes Day'. It went as follows:
The day is coming before the Lover's Day [Valentine's Day]. People who have no girlfriend or boyfriend celebrate this day on the National Planes Day. You should make a lot of planes which are made from anything. You can write some sentences on it and throw it out. When a girl or a boy pick up the plane, you may celebrate the Lover's Day with that person together on the following day. You can only play your plane when you need a girlfriend.
