Practicing English

We are the only white people in our neighborhood, as far as we know, so we get a lot of attention when we are out in public. Children and adults alike will literally follow us around when we do our grocery shopping. The kids usually yell out "Gaijin?!" which basically means "white person", which they don't see a lot of on this small island of Shikoku. Our neighbors are really nice and always try to talk to us in the little English that they know. The elementary students that see us in passing usually yell out "Hello!" and "How are you?" and then giggle hysterically with their friends. They get a big kick out of practicing their English.
Well, yesterday, Cash and I were walking around our neighborhood and were passing some 6th grade boys coming home from school on their bikes. One of the boys started staring at us, so I figured he would say hello. Out of nowhere, he yells, "This is a pen!" (No pens in sight, mind you. The boys were just riding along.) And then of course, he and his friend started laughing and peddled away. It was so random, but, hey, way to go for practicing your English on a gaijin!