Internet Laughs

A number of the books we read in class talked about how people usually don't laugh alone.  I have to disagree.  I often laugh alone, especially when I watch funny videos.  Whenever I need a feel stressed or just need a study break, I'll often go watch some funny videos on Youtube.  This would fit into Release Theory.  If I find a video I think is really funny or one that I feel like one of my friends will particularly enjoy, I'll often send it to them.  Barats and Bereta are two guys that have made a bunch of funny videos.  I thought that this video, called Hypnosis was quite clever.

This video is filled with our favorite class term...you guessed it...cognitive shift.  We don't expect Joe to get on his hands and knees and bark like a dog just because Luke says the word.  The video would already be funny if Joe were the only one hypnotized, but then we find out that Joe hypnotized Luke as well.  Then there is also fact that they both have been hypnotized for a year and are just now figuring that out, and then they go into a chain reaction of "triggering" each other.  It is also funny to see what each of the guys chose to hypnotize the other to do.  The best is the ending when their friend says the phrase that brings them both back to consciousness after he stops trying to come up with it, and both of them are left in a confused state, just as Joe predicted.  I hope this video gives you a small break for a laugh or two amidst all of the studying for finals.  Have a great day! 

Well That's Embarrassing

It was bound to happen eventually.
Last night I was walking back to Milton from Union Grounds, after a Red Bull run in preparation for finals week.  Somehow my flipflop caught on the bottom step and yanked my foot back, but my body kept propelling forward.  My Red Bull cans went flying as I landed on the steps.  After a few seconds of me lying there, realizing what had just happened and thinking "well this is embarrassing," I crawled to my feet, retrieved my shoe, and collected my cans that were still rolling down the stairs.  I then went up the rest of the steps, trying to retain what little bit of dignity I had left by not limping.  

Anyone who witnessed my fall probably chuckled to themselves.  I can't tell you how many saw me fall because I purposely didn't turn around.  In accordance with the superiority theory, they were probably quite glad they weren't the one lying on the steps as cans clanged on the ground.  I know I personally thought the situation was pretty funny.  I smiled to myself, but avoided looking like a crazy person by cracking up laughing there all alone.  The situation wasn't all too bad, but I did wish I had a friend there to laugh with me.  I feel like things like this are less awkward if you have someone you can laugh about it with, rather than just the silent stares of strangers to deal with.  When I reached the room I told my friends about my little ordeal and we all had a good laugh.  If nothing else, perhaps I at least added a little entertainment to someone's evening.

Last Conversation

I met with Giovanka for lunch for the last time the other day.  Since it was our last official meeting, I came up with some questions to ask her to some up her experiences at TCU and in the U.S. this year.  I'll list them in question answer format.

Something you learned: Giovanka talked about how in her time at TCU she has really learned what it is like to live with people from all different places.  She talked about a number of negative attributes that she often associated with people from other countries, simply because that is what she always heard about.  She named off a few (all of which I am familiar with): people from Panama are all drug dealers, Saudi's are terrorists, the Chinese only eat dogs.  She talked about how in IEP she had classes with all of these people, and she saw how they actually have a lot in common.  There is much more to them than the stereotypes she had heard before.  I talked to her about how she got to make friends with far more other international students than I did by being in the English program, which is really neat.

Weirdest thing you have done/seen here: She had not heard of people just going to shooting ranges for fun or as a hobby before coming to the U.S.  She said that she went to a range with a friend's family one weekend and she enjoyed it.

Something you really like that isn't in Brazil: They eat avocados in Brazil, but they are normally eaten them with sweets.  Giovanka thought it was interesting that we eat avocado with many "regular" foods, such as sandwiches.  She said she really likes avocado on all the different foods and wishes it was served like that in Brazil.

Do you listen to more country music: I was a bit surprised to hear that she listened to country music in Brazil, so she already liked it.  I guess she came to the right place.

Food from Brazil you miss the most: She didn't have a hard time coming up with an answer for this question.  Giovanka said she really misses the variety of different fruits in Brazil that can't be easily found in America.  She said that at home she eats papaya every morning and she misses that.  She also talked about how the melons served at the BLUU were not the greatest, which I readily agreed.  She did mention that the strawberries here are much larger and sweeter than the ones she has in Brazil.  Giovanka also talked about how she misses Pão de Queijo, a cheese bread that is usually eaten for breakfast in Brazil.  She does like how pancakes and waffles were served normally for breakfast here, they have them in Brazil, but it is not as common for them to be servers for breakfast.  She also likes eating the oatmeal they have at the BLUU.  In Brazil it is common to eat dry oats and fruit, but not oatmeal like here.

Strangest slang or phrase: Giovanka talked about how strange it is to say someone is "nuts" to mean crazy.  I thought it was funny because I remember her saying that to me on our very first meeting.  She said she thinks it is funny how people say "sounds good" often and said that she has now adopted the phrase as well.  She also mentioned the very common phrase (especially on TCU's campus) "hi ya'll," although that phrase can seem just as foreign to out-of-staters.

It has been really neat getting to know Giovanka this year.  I have learned a number of things from Brazilian culture, and talking to her has made me think about what U.S. culture looks like from the "outside."  I have gotten to share some pieces of American culture with her as well—my favorite being the time that I had to explain knock-knock jokes.  What a cool experience!

Meeting Six

Most of this time I spent with Giovanka we talked about what is on most everyone's mind currently: the end of classes and summer.  Giovanka even showed me that she has a countdown clock on her phone that shows how much time is left, up to the seconds, until she is done with school.  I asked her about how finals work in IEP.  They still have final exams, but they are different; they are comprehensive tests to demonstrate how well they now know English.  The final tests for the program are split up by reading, writing, oral, etc.  We talked about our study habits and agreed that we preferred studying in our dorms over going to the library.

I asked her about what she was excited about doing back in Brazil.  She said that she is excited to get to meet up with her friends from back home and visit the beach.  Giovanka told me she was going to eat a bunch of the delicious fruits that she hasn't been able to have for months here in the U.S.  She showed me pictures of her new baby cousin who she will finally get to see in person when she goes back home.  This summer Giovanka will be modeling again, which she is excited for, but she also mentioned the pressure to stay thin/in shape.    She is also taking some English classes over the summer to make sure she doesn't regress any, which I thought was smart.

I mentioned that I was going to Puerto Rico over the summer and our conversation turned to the subject of travel.  I was a little surprised to learn that Giovanka had never been to any of her neighboring South American countries.  I know that Brazil is a huge country, but I thought it was interesting that she came and lived in the U.S., which is much farther away, before even visiting the other countries that are in closer proximity.  In fact, she said that she has only been to five of the twenty seven states (counting the federal district) in Brazil.  We also both expressed the desire to travel Europe eventually.

This time another friend of Giovanka and Allison ate with us, and most of the time while Giovanka and I were talking, the other two were talking away in Spanish, which I thought was funny.  Overall it was another interesting conversation.  

Twain Quote

One of the quotes from The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain that I found particularly interesting is about, of all things, laughter.  This quote is very appropriate for this class, but there is a lot of truth in what it says.  It is from an unfinished work by Twain called The Mysterious Stranger.

“Your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon—laughter.  Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution—these can lift at a colossal humbug—push it a little—weaken it a little, century by century; but only laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast.  Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” 

This quote brings up one of the points our class readings seem to keep returning to.  Laughter is powerful.   

Laughter has the capacity for breaking things down.  Laughing at someone can have terribly painful effects.  Oppressive governments keep a watchful eye on comics for a reason.  Unflattering political cartoons, or mockery by a stand-up comedian can really hurt their reputation.  A strong enough degree of ridicule can even help to spark a revolution.  So many people would not have banned laughter had they not seen its ability to tear down.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have looked at laughter's benefits.  It can help, both emotionally and physically, to heal people's wounds.  Humor is incorporated more and more in settings such as  hospitals and counseling sessions.   People use it to dispel the tension in situations.  Laughter helps us form relationships, even before we can speak, and it can show good-will across language barriers.  Laughter is quite a mysterious and powerful thing.

The Last of Juha

Well in finishing Tales of Juha I can't say I'm either disappointed or relieved.  While I didn't always find the jokes funny, overall it was an amusing read.  I think this last section had some of my favorite chapters.  The anecdotes in the first two chapters just show the typical Juha at it again, doing ridiculous things.  I especially enjoyed the one where Juha is trying to brag about his horsemanship skills but his friend makes sure to tell the group that he too fell off the rowdy stallion.  One of my favorite jokes in the book, though, is when Juha falls off his donkey and then tells the laughing bystanders that he'd "just decided to get off anyway."  As a horse-rider I have had (probably more than) my fair share of tumbles, so I can relate.  In fact I was a bit disappointed that I myself had never thought of using Juha's quick-witted line.

The Juha portrayed in chapter seven and nine seems to stand in pretty stark contrast with simple-minded person portrayed in a most of the stories.  In a number of the tales in these chapters, Juha out-wits the corrupt figures in power, often backing them into a corner by throwing their own words back at them.  Judge Juha proves to be a wise figure, dispelling those with false claims and properly discerning the innocent and guilty parties in the cases that come to him.  I like the one where he decides the jingle of coins is proper payment for the greedy cook who wanted to charge the poor man for using his steam.  I was also amused when Juha decides the coins belong to the butcher because of the film of fat that rises to the surface when he soaks them in water—pretty ingenious if you ask me.  I found it interesting how many of these stories involved judges taking bribes and people coming with false witnesses or cases.  Perhaps this reflects the feelings of people in the Arab world towards the judicial system.

Sandwiched between these two chapters is the good-'ole Juha we are used to, amusing us with his silly ways.  Who else decides they can't fight off a thief because their hands are too occupied just holding a variety of weapons?

The tone of very last chapter is also quite different than that of the other anecdotes.  In the stories Juha deals with Tamerlane, an oppressive and corrupted figure of power.  I couldn't help but see some political/social commentary behind these stories; a bit of a digress from the light-heartedness of the rest of the book.  Tamerlane is depicted as being set in his ways, putting the interests of the people behind his own.  In one story Tamerlane seems completely unmoved by the fact that many of his people are dying due to fires, floods, etc, even going so far as to say it was the people's fault.  Juha appears to be the only one to stand firm against Tamerlane, making his own small form of rebellion simply by refusing to just cower to Tamerlane.  Juha even outwardly mock Tamerlane at times, comparing him to kings famous for their downfalls.  It appears that for the people who pass around these stories, Juha personifies the way they wish they could stand up to oppressive rulers.  I think these anecdotes are a perfect example of a point Comic Relief discussed: people use humor to point out the shortcomings of those in power.

After seeing Juha take on a variety of roles, I found that I tended to like the stories more when Juha was cleverly exposing the foolishness of others than when he was the one doing nonsensical things.  Either way, he can be quite an interesting figure.

Reunião Cinco

At our latest lunch meeting I talked to Giovanka about her family's Easter traditions.  Like many families in america, her family all goes to church and then they have a nice lunch.  They do not eat meat during Easter so her grandma usually cooks a big meal with fish. While we often have chocolate bunnies for Easter, in Brazil they give giant chocolate eggs.  They come in different flavors and are filled with different kinds of chocolate. (pictures below)  Giovanka said that since they are so big people eat them with a spoon.  She said that at her high school in the days following Easter, people would bring their eggs to school to eat at lunch and often try bites of each other's.  The giant chocolate eggs sound delicious & I personally think that they should sell them here in the U.S.

They sometimes have Easter egg hunts, but it involves finding their big chocolate eggs, not a bunch of small ones.  She said that the little plastic eggs filled with candy that kids often hunt for here are lame in comparison, and I have to agree.  My family used to hide the real eggs that we had dyed.  Giovanka thinks it's interesting how people color eggs here because they don't do that in Brazil.

  

We talked some about what television shows we like to watch and she named off a number of shows.  I asked if she had gotten into watching those shows since living in the U.S. or if she watched any of them back in Brazil.  I was a little surprised to hear that she was already a fan of most of the shows before coming to TCU.  She said that a number of american shows are popular in Brazil on the international T.V. channels.  It's interesting to think how many people, even in countries where English is not the main language, watch american television shows.  It really shows how U.S. culture reaches people all around the world.