Are they?

My self-introduction sessions (to the twelve classes I'm teaching) are getting a little better each time. It was kind of scary the first class yesterday, what with rowdy 15-16 y.o. teenagers alternately thinking I'm "CUUUUUUUUTE" and looking at me with complete bewilderment/suspicion in their eyes, and then the five or so who were sleeping. Depending on the mood of the class and the time of day, there can be some good questions.

EVERY ONE of them asks "Do you have [a] boyfriend?" Yes. 10. of course. "Maaaji de??" Here I use my finger swinging along with narration to indicate "before," "date," "now," "break up," "but," "okay."

Also lots of kids clip the "konnichiwa" greeting to just -- "chiwa." At least, to the Japanese teachers. When I am flanked by the two other foreign English teachers, both blondies, it is invariably "haroooooooooooooo!" It's extremely cute. So even though I had originally expected that I'd teach elementary school adorables in small rural towns, city high schoolers are cute. Bananas are cute. I'm cute. You're cute. Everything is cute. Welcome to 1970s-and-onward Japan.