What A Swahill-billy

(My mom is a German teacher, and runs an exchange program. This means she goes to Germany for almost a month every two years, and has taught me German from birth. I have just turned six, and she takes me with her on that trip. Having no childcare overseas, she talks to colleagues and gets me temporarily put in a German kindergarten rather than have me be bored in the high school classes she runs. My German skills are good, which is great because English isn’t yet taught to kids that young in Germany, but I’m socially awkward.)

Kindergarten Teacher: “So, class, we have a special visitor joining us for a few weeks, from America!” *to me* “Can you say something in another language, dear?”

(English isn’t another language, as I speak English and German with no problems. So I wrack my brain, and come up with something I had heard at an assembly before my US school let out.)

Me: *sings children’s song… in Swahili*

Kindergarten Teacher: “I meant… ‘hello’ or something! In English!”