Conversation With a 7-Year-Old: Technicality Edition

A: And I was shy to say hi to my classmate on the bus. Don't tell Dad!

Me: Was the classmate a girl?

A: Yes.

Me: Was it C?

A: Nooo!! C is Chinese, and this classmate speaks Spanish!

Me: Ah.

A: And you know, Peru and China are ... no, what is that other country where they speak Spanish?

Me: Chile? [there are a lot of Chilean kids at his school]

A: Yeah. Chile. Chile and China are, like, really far.

Me: Yep, they're both far away.

A: I mean from each other.

Me: That too.

A [conceding the point]: Well. They are far away from Canada too. And from Gerbil Land! Do you know where Gerbil Land is?

Me: Over there? [pointing at the gerbil cage]

A: No, I mean where they're from. Mongolia.

Me: Well, Mongolia is right next to China, actually.

A: No, I mean where their DNA is from. Originally.

Me: Yeah, Mongolia, which is right beside China.

A: But when their DNA began, it wasn't China, was it??

Me: Oh, I see. Probably not.

A: Right. Actually, China is so far away from where Gerbil Land was, originally, that it didn't even exist yet!