A Boatload of Questions From My Japanese Students

Ah Friday lunch with the kids…it’s soooo funny. So I walk into class today, and the kids are all excited saying “Donaldo Sensei koko…koko…koko.” In other words, “Donald sit here!” Of course I can only sit in one place so as with most important things in life, it was decided by Janken, じゃんけん, (rock, scissors, paper in English). One of the girls won the janken series today and I got to sit with a table full of elementary school girls. In general (at lunch time anyway) I find the girls to be more willing to talk and ask questions than the boys. So what kinds of things would a third grader ask me?:

The most common question I get from elementary school girls is “Are you married?” (けっこんしますか?) When I tell them no, they always follow up with Sukina hito? (すきなひと?) Short for “Sukina hito ga imasu ka? Is there a person you like. I always tell them yes and then turn the question around and ask them. They always respond with a “no” that almost seems like an “of course not.” Other fascinating questions that I’ve gotten are: “Do you like jet coasters (roller coasters)?” (I love them) “What’s your favorite anime?” (Naruto) “Where do you live?”(Tsukuba) “Do you like toilets (I kid you not…and I was like “Ummm…they’re okay…”)” “What’s your least favorite food?” (Liver or uni) “What’s your favorite food?” (pizza) “Jibun ga ski? Do you like yourself” (In my head I’m thinking what is this, psychology class…but I answered yes). Some time when I walk into a classroom, kids will reach up and say あたま? Which means head. Can I touch your head? I’m pretty cool about it, so every now and again I say okay.

The kids are SO inquisitive. It’s really cute, though.

In addition to the questions something interesting always happens at lunch. For example I thought I was being stylish by wearing my all white tie. Some of the staff members thought it was cool and original:

My best "Blue Steel" Impression. Did you ever see Zoolander? Funny stuff 🙂

The kids immediately took notice of my all white tie, and one of the girls said “Magician mitai,” “You look like a magician. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Of course she didn’t say it to be insulting, but I really found it funny for some reason. Another kid held up a picture of a cartoon bear wearing a suit, pointed to it and said “Donaldo Sensei!” Sigh…this little girl thinks I’m a bear…sigh.

Classes are funny and fun.

See you tomorrow,

Donald