1 post tagged “communication”

Florescent light gleamed off the card case I was holding against one of my flashcards, wondering if the one would fit into the other with a minimum of fuss and / or bending.  A little girl, maybe about six, walked by, wide-eyed and curious.  Her eyes stayed focused on me, even as she continued on into the next aisle.  I smiled at her and went back to my contemplations.

After a moment or two the girl came back by, this time pausing and then changing course to meet me.  She looked up at me and I saw that her chin still had a smudge of chocolate from some treat or another, giving her an almost cliche appearance.  She spoke in a soft but clear voice.  She said, "Konnichi wa."

I looked back at her, smiled and said, "Konnichi wa."

She backed up a step, speaking even softer, and to herself, in Japanese, "Wow, he spoke Japanese."  She pondered this for a moment, then stepped back up to me.  Her flipped her head to one side, looking at me from an angle.  "Can you really speak Japanese?"

"Yes," I said, "although not as well as you can."

She flipped her head to the other side, still looking thoughtful.  "Can you speak English too?"

I nodded.

She smiled, puffed out her chest and said, still speaking in Japanese, "I speak English."

"Really?"  I said, "Do you study it in school?"

She nodded.  Her hands moved in a series of gestures that I recognized from teaching school children;  she mouthed the words of the song to herself and, after a moment, said, in bright, clear English, "Hello!  How are you?"

I laughed and said, "Hello.  I'm fine, thank you, and you?"

"I'm fine!"  She giggled and ran off.  A moment later, she popped her head around the end of the aisle and said "Bye bye!" and giggled again.  As she left the store, I could hear her telling her mother, "Guess what?  I saw a foreigner and I spoke English to him!  It was so cool!"

I laughed out loud at hearing this and, smiling, went back to my cards and my boxes.