Five cents worth

I'm in a stuffy room of on the quiet side of a modest hotel. The room has two bunkbeds for four foreign exchange students working the summer in our tourist town. Nearly 10 students from Turkey adn Russia crowd the room, watching me, the only American.
"Who has five pennies?" I announce to the group of boys and girls.
A murmur goes thorugh the audience, as I clarify which coins are pennies. Five cents is gathered and I proceed to explain homonyms with an illustration. Erdom, a Turkish boy with the least English skill, is my example.
"Hold out your hand," I tell him. He glances at his peer group, who nods. He obeys.
I place a penny in his open palm.
 "Do you smell anything?" I say.
He looks back at the group. One of them translates in Turkish.
He shakes his head, "no."
"You have a scent," I say.
Now it's my turn to look at the group. "Do you understand?" I say, slowly. "Scent means smell. And this little coin is known as a cent. The two words sound the same in English, but have a different meaning."
Nods and sounds of affirmation and realization waft through the group. Erdom appears confused, but tries to act as if he, too, understands.
I place another penny in his open palm.




 "Do you see any fruit?" I say. He answers, "Fruit?"
I use hand gestures like I am eating something. "You know, fruit?" Someone jabbers something in Turkish. "Oh, yes. I mean, no. No fruit." Erdom smiles.
"You have a pair," I say.
The room discusses this. Nods and words of acknowledgement. The more fluent explaining in their respective languages to the less.
Third coin. "Do you see any snakes?"
"You have three copperheads."
One of the Russian boys asks the proper spelling for the poinsonous snake name, writing it down when I tell him.
Four pennies now in Edom's palm. "Do you see any cars?"
"You have four Lincolns."
And now, the finale... the fifth and final penny placed in his hand. "Do you see any naked women?"
A pause.
Erdom isn't sure what this means. His delighted counterparts explain.
He smiles, embarrassed. "No."
"And you won't see any for just five cents!"