"Will you be my girlfriend?"

This afternoon most of the teachers were in meetings and I didn't have any work to do so I sat at my desk researching Thailand for my next adventure. Two young guys were in the room waiting for a teacher. A couple times I overheard parts of their conversation & could tell that I was the topic. After awhile, one of them came up to me, paper in hand, and said, "Hello." He read a script off his paper (in English), asking me where I am from, what my name is, and the like. He told me his name, that he graduated from Oigawa high school 2 years ago, and that now he lives in Osaka. He said, "I am 20 years old. How old are you?" I told him to guess. This guy looked at me and said, "19?"




I tried not to laugh in his face, but really! C'mon!




I told him my real age, but it didn't distract him at all, "Do you have many boyfriends?" he asked with a smile. I considered fibbing to save his ego and saying, "Not many, just one." But I couldn't lie, and in response to my "no" he very boldly, very un-Japanese (still reading from his notes!) said, "Will you be my girlfriend?"



I'm flattered, Kid. Really. But......ah, there are just so many buts.