cultural differences

so, the major cultural difference i've noticed so far is obviously the disciplining of children.

tonight in my last class (who are soooo well behaved) i had a girl ask me about my eyebrow ring. she pointed at it and asked me when i got it. i told her 7 years ago (give or take). she then asked me if my teacher hit me when i got it. i was confused and said no, and asked her why she asked. she said that here in korea, if you get a piercing the teachers hit you. this is even if the parents let it happen. i asked the class as a whole to confirm this for me and they all said yes.

then they all wanted to know what punishments kids in canada get. i told them that teachers used to hit kids a long time ago but today that's not allowed. that a teacher can get fired or sometimes go to jail if they hurt a child. they were all very surprised by this.

kids here also have school, plus they go to different private academies. also, and this kills me, on vacation (like summer or other holidays) they have vacation homework!

kids in canada have it soooooooooooooo easy. (in comparison that is)