Author Archives: Michelle Wang

Easy comes, easy goes

Background: Ivana is a 19-year old student at USC, studying Public Policy and Diplomacy. She is from Ohio and moved to Los Angeles when she started USC as a freshman.

 

Original script: “Của thiên, trả địa.”

Translation: “Easy comes, easy goes.”

Background Information about the Piece by the informant: This phrase means that things that come easy to you can leave just as easily. You can lose or spend very easily, whereas if you work hard to get something or someone’s love, then that will not be easily lost. Ivana heard this proverb from her mother when she was younger. She forgot what context it was used in, but now this proverb is a frequently used expression in her household.

Thoughts about the piece: I think this proverb is very true. It reminds the listener to work hard to get the things they want in life. Nothing ever comes easy. Once you are an adult, nothing is spoonfed to you; you have to fight for what you want. This proverb reminds me as a student that I must work hard and tightly grasp onto the things that make me happy. Only by working hard will I ever be able to truly own or take ownership of something.

 

Korean rock paper scissors

Background: Kayla Saikaly is a 21-year-old student living in Los Angeles, CA. She is a student at UCSD. She was born and raised in Southern California.

Original script: “So I learned this game from my Korean friend. It’s basically another version of rock paper scissors. So two people do rock paper scissors and the person who has the winning hand will switch to another sign and the other person has the option of switching their hand or keeping the same sign. If the person who originally had the winning hand chooses the sign that is the same as the other person, then the person who originally had the winning hand wins. It’s kind of confusing but once you play it once with a friend, it makes perfect sense. It gets pretty competitive haha but it’s super convenient to play when you’re travelling with friends and don’t have any cards or something.”

Background Information about the Piece by the informant: My informant went to an elementary school in Cerritos, CA. It was a magnet school. Her best friend was Korean-American so she learned a lot of Korean games and words from her.

Thoughts about the piece: This game requires you to shout out Korean words while you’re playing rock paper scissors so it’s quite interesting that someone that is not Korean remembered the game so well and was able to understand the Korean words by playing the game with her friends.   

Raw Garlic for Stomachaches

Background: Ivana is a 19-year old student at USC, studying Public Policy and Diplomacy. She is from Ohio and moved to Los Angeles when she started USC as a freshman.

 

Main piece:

So what do you usually do when your stomach is hurting?

Ivana: “One time my mom gave me three cloves of RAW GARLIC and told me to eat them. At first I was like ‘what no why’ but she told me it would help my stomach hurt less and at that point, I was honestly willing to do anything to lessen the pain I was feeling. So I ate the garlic and then she gave me half a bowl of hot rice to chase away the garlic taste.”

Where did your mother learn this from?

Ivana: “Apparently she had done it when she was a child after hearing about it from her English teacher at school.”

Does it work?

Stella: “I’ve only done it twice in my life because eating raw garlic is just so intense, but honestly it has worked both times. It’s a lot to handle, but effective for sure.”

Performance Context: I interviewed the informant here at USC because she is my roommate. Apparently Ivana’s mother does not believe in taking pain killers or any sort of prescription drug unless absolutely necessary. So, she has many homemade remedies for different types of sicknesses.  

My Thoughts: 3 cloves of raw garlic seems like a little bit too much. I’m almost thinking that the stomach must have just gone into shock and that’s how the initial stomach pains went away. It’s so fascinating to see how such natural ingredients can create change in your body.

 

Mid Autumn Festival

Background: Anna Lim is a 21-year-old student living in Los Angeles, CA. She is a student at USC. She is currently studying electrical engineering.

Original script: “Hmm.. festivals that I celebrate with my family? Honestly the first one that comes to mind is the Mid Autumn Festival. It’s held on the night of a full moon but just being real with you, I don’t really remember the significance behind it. I just know that it’s a night that I go out with my family, and you know, party it up and play games and eat lots of good street food. It’s just like a carnival, but there’s something a little magical about it because it’s a full moon. My favorite part of it is the lighting of lanterns. I used to make my own lanterns with my family and go to Redondo Beach and let them go. We would write a wish on the lantern on the inside and then we weren’t allowed to tell anybody what we wished for because it wouldn’t come true if we did. I always asked for money. Never got it. And then after letting the lanterns go we would eat mooncakes!! Always super excited about the mooncakes. But yeah, it was probably my favorite holiday as a child.”

Background Information about the Piece by the informant: Her family always celebrated the Mid Autumn festival as a full day event. The family would spend time together in the day and then go to a local festival at night.

Thoughts about the piece: This holiday sounds like so much fun! I actually went to the Mid Autumn Festival in LA for the first time with my roommate this past year and it was a lot of fun, with live music, games, and delicious food. I’m pretty sure it was not truly authentic because it’s LA and it’s such a huge conglomeration of cultures, but I still was able to experience a lot.  

 

For another version of this holiday please see https://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/mid-autumn.htm

Arranging Bed Farthest from Door

Background: Shoko Nagata is a 20-year-old student living in Los Angeles, CA. She is a student at USC. She transferred to USC from community college. She has lived in Southern California for her entire life.

Original script: “My mom told me when I was younger that I had to always arrange my room so that my bed is the farthest from the door as possible, and preferably against a wall. There were a lot of specifications about where the bed was supposed to be but I don’t remember half of them because there were so many.”

Background Information about the Piece by the informant: Her mother was knowledgeable about Feng Shui and told Shoko that this was the only way to avoid bad luck and keep good vibes within her bedroom.

Thoughts about the piece: This superstition made me wonder if the layout of your bedroom really does make a difference. My mother once rearranged my room and after that, I slept much better than I did previously. Now, I wonder if it has to do with Feng Shui. 

 

For another version of this protection folklore see http://hawaiirenovation.staradvertiser.com/2011/07/improve/rest-easy-with-these-bedroom-guidelines/