Greeting Children

The school is about a mile from my house. To get there, I take a path that cuts through my neighborhood. About 30 seconds into my walk the first kid sees me. “Good morning!!” he or she shouts to me. I respond. The kids in the next house hear and come to the path to yell good morning, which alerts the kids in the following house that I’m coming, who then come to greet me, which signals to the kids in the house after that to come out, and so on and so forth. All in all, there are about 3-4 solid minutes of greeting kids as a walk through my neighborhood. The main road that goes to the school doesn’t have many houses, so the only greetings there are with the people who pass going the other way, but seeing as how those people change every day the greetings aren’t as enthusiastic.
Now most young kids in Nacaroa don’t know how to speak Portuguese, or they know how to say certain phrases, but don’t know exactly what each one means. Therefore, common greetings with these children go as follows:

Me: Good morning!
Kid: Good morning!
Me: How are you?
Kid: How are you?
Me: I’m fine.
Kid: I’m fine.

Kid: Good morning!
Me: Good morning!
Kid: Good afternoon!
Me: Good MORNING!

Kid: Good morning!
Me: Good morning!
Kid: How are you?
Me: I’m fine!
Kid: Good morning!
Me: Good morning...again!

Sometimes we greet in Macua, but I think the kids (and their parents) enjoy it more when they greet me in Portuguese. And once isn’t enough! When I come across a group of them they all should “good morning” together. I respond. But they don’t know which one the response was for, so they all keep shouting “good morning, good morning” repeatedly as I walk by. The kids on the way to the school are used to seeing me every day and get excited to come greet me. Kids who I come across in random places have various reactions. Some hide behind the other people they’re with. Others cry. Others wait until I’ve passed, and then yell good morning after me. Others respond normally, but then giggle excitedly with their friends once I’ve passed. Others yell “good morning,” but then run away and hide without waiting for a response. Others just stop and stare at me.