Today in class I was handing out papers and counted one row incorrectly so they were one paper short. A girl said in Osaka-bens (Osaka slang of Japanese) that she was one paper short, or something to that affect. I said sorry, and got her another. My teacher was wowed, and asked if I understood what she said. I understood the gist of what she had said enough to answer yes, this razzle dazzled the kids that I could understand Osaka-bens. It wasn’t too hard because the word for “one” was more or less the same. The fact that I could not repeat what the girl actually said only added to the kids’ amazement. I tried to explain that it was the same with them, that they often understood me even if they could not say it themselves. But it still seemed amazing to them.
Now students are telling me that I have a “big head” and a “good head”. At first didn’t understand what they meant and wanted to say something sophisticated like, “SHUT UP! YOU have a big head!” But they mean I have a big/good brain. That is another kettle of fish entirely. Now I want to say something sophisticated like, “Well, I am Andrew Magnum: Super Genius”.
