How old are you?

I always get confused when I ask my students that question. That's because the aging system works differently here. If a child says he is 11, he is actually 9 or 10 according to western thinking. He is 9 if he hasn't had his birthday yet this year.

Here's how it works. When a baby is born, they are automatically one year old. A couple students told me, however, that sometimes they refer to the babies' ages in months in their first year.

Then, on what we would consider the child's first birthday, he is really 2 years old.

But that's not all. People don't actually "age" on their birthday. Instead, on January 1st, everyone gets a year older. Birthdays are celebrated in a similar fashion here, complete with parties, presents, cakes, and candles. But, they are the same age the day before their birthday as they are the day after.

I was born in April, 1983. So, for me, last fall I would have been 24 years old in Korea (if you can do math, I was only 23). As of January, I would have become 25 years old (2 years older than my actual age). And, on my birthday in April, nothing would have changed. I would still be 25 years old, but now only a year older than my Canadian age. And next January, I would become 26. You get the idea.

So, how old are you in Korea?

My guess is that most of you would prefer to stick with your Canadian age than make yourselves sound older!

It is especially confusing to me regarding my youngest (phonics) class. They are in their first year of school, and they all tell me they are 8 years old. So they are really 6 or 7, but some of them are so small that to me they look like they are only 4 or 5!