student poll

Over the weekend we met a British traveler who had some strong stereotypes against Colombians. While in conversation with me, Brad and our three Colombian friends he said the following things:
"You teach Colombians? You better not make them angry or they'll bring a gun to school and shoot you!"
"This whole damn country is poor!"
"How do you teach the kids if they don't speak English?"

On Tuesday the students and I had a good laugh about this, "Oh, Ms. Sarah, we would never shoot you. NOT!"

I decided to do a poll to see if any of the stereotypes hold true and to satisfy some of my own curiosity. Here are the results:

Do you drink coffee?
14 yes
9 no

Have you ever held a gun?
8 yes
15 no
I think some of the boys fibbed on this one, it's probably more like 3 yes and 20 no. One student wrote, "Yes, but only for three seconds and it didn't have any bullets." Another indignantly responded, "NO!!! Of course not!!!!"

Have you ever seen violence?
12 yes
10 no
I didn't specify the type of violence, but this one is probably more accurate.

Have you ever left the country?
23 yes
0 no
This is true. They've all been to Miami, but some have been to every single continent, including Antarctica. They were offended that I even had to ask this question. "Pues, claro!"

What's your favorite food?
McDonald's was the big winner with 6
Sushi 3
Italian 3
Coconut rice 2
Sweets 2
Ajiaco (a Colombian stew) 2
Arab food 1
Rice and meat (standard, everyday Colombian meal, I'm sick of it!) 1
A juicy steak 1
Chinese 1
Molte de queso (I don't know what this is) 1

Do your parents speak English?
20 yes
3 no

How many servants does your family employ?
Four servants- 5
Three servants- 5
Five servants- 4
One servant- 3
Two servants- 2
Seven servants- 1
Six servants- 1
Ten servants- 1
Eight servants- 1
Servants can included maids, chauffeurs, body guards and gardeners

Do you like George W. Bush?
7 yes
16 no

Are you a good dancer?
23 yes
0 no
They are really good dancers even at the awkward, uncordinated age of 12.