Mister, mister, football?

i'm pretty sure i like iraqi kids. and they seem fascinated with us. practically everywhere we go, a crowd of iraqi children gathers to watch and sometimes talk to us. there was one i remember, must have been mid to late teens, who decided to take the opportunity to practice his english on us. he would point to various objects and ask, "mister, mister, what's this?" at first i thought he was asking us so he could learn the english word for whatever he was pointing at, but later it seemed more like he was testing us to see if we knew. if we were busy doing something else or i was scanning my sector when he asked, he'd start to give me hints. he might have just been making sure he was right, but i'm thinking he saw himself as the teacher.

one thing a lot of them have in common is that they seem to view us as a moblie charity. the most popular request is for a football(soccer ball - which we know have a box of to give out) but they'd also ask for our gloves or glasses. they're very forward about it. they'll point to or mime what they want and say, "mister, mister, you give me?" very forward, but also very polite. every sentence starts out with "mister."

anyway, i'm pretty sure i like the iraqi people, especially the kids.