Fatter and fatter

Back when I was in China teaching English, there was a track and field day at the school. All our kids were in running races, jump-roping competitions, and all sorts of other events. It was a fun, all-day event for everyone.

Now, most of our classes were little elementary school kids, but each of us teachers taught a couple classes of older students. In each of these classes, most of the students memorized the English words and phrases just fine, but spoke no English to save their lives. But there was always one student who spoke it brilliantly and would take on the role of conversationalist and translation representative for the class.

In my friend Sarah's class, this was a boy named Rainbow. Now, if I remember the details correctly, Rainbow was a chubby kid but one of the funnest and funniest in his class. His classmates adored him, and on the field day, he sat on the bleachers surrounded by chattering classmates.

Sarah went to talk to her students, and they all told her which events they'd been in and how they'd done. Then she asked, "Rainbow, aren't you in any events?"

And Rainbow replied in his fun Chinese accent, "No, teacher. I am fatter and fatter."

Sometimes Penny talks to me, and often I interpret for her, verbalizing what I am sure she is trying to say. And often she is saying, "Mom, I am fatter and fatter."