Me (talking to the class) : “Do you see how this literary example is full of oxymorons”
Student (noticeably irritated) : “Ms. C. are you calling us morons?”
Ever since this lesson in a Canadian classroom, I have not looked at the term in the same way. Let me tell you that in a recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I encountered many oxymorons in both my and my former student’s interpretation of the the word.
Here is a timeline of my experiences minus the workshop I attended (I don’t want to bore you with teacher talk.)
– had a Sri Lankan bud in front of me at the emigration counter
– arrived in the HUGE airport and took a terminal shuttle to baggage claim
– noticed a Burger King and immediately thought of how jealous Shaun would be right now
– stood in immigration line for over 2 hours with hundreds of women clad is full burqa’s
– passed a woman who appeared to be a prostitute eating a cob of corn from a street vendor
– bought Belgian chocolate
– ordered a burger and fries and a Corona from an Indian waiter at an Irish Pub
– walked by the Malaysian twin towers (a landmark of their economic developmental goals)
– went out to “The Beach Club” with a French girl where we danced with Australian’s to salsa music being played by a Nigerian band
– bought a fake coach bag in Chinatown
– had a Starbucks and boarded the plane back to Colombo
All in all, a pretty good weekend.
Trina
September 15, 2011 at 10:30 pm
I think you have travelled way out of oxymoron land, Dorothy, and into the land of paradox.
September 19, 2011 at 11:53 pm
Again with the Summer of ’69! I’m definitely envious of all the Bryan Adams music you get to hear in public!