Monthly Archives: March 2011

Proverb – Vancouver, Canada

Nationality: Canadian
Age: 46
Occupation: Stay at Home Mom
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 30, 2008
Primary Language: English

“A stitch in time saves nine”

Joanne told me that she learned this proverb from her mom who likes to saw and knit a lot. The first time she heard this proverb was when she was about eleven years of age and at that time she was living in Vancouver, Canada. She said that it is used to express that it is better to plan ahead and start early if there are signs of trouble instead of waiting for disaster to happen. She told me that her mom used to say this proverb to her to give her advice that some early work can go the extra mile. She also said that it is used to tell people that they should take care of a problem now instead of later when it might be too late. One example she gave me was when her mother’s friend had a small problem with her car. She heard her mother told the friend to have the car checked before it was too late. The friend did not reacted and she ended up paying a much higher price because of that.

This proverb has a special meaning for me as I always end up procrastinating and have to pay a higher price as a consequence. I have to agree with her meaning of the proverb as well. If one does not take care of problem in an early stage, when they are easier, they might have to work double or triple the amount to solve the same problem. For every one stitch that you not complete, you will have to do nine later on. This is a perfect proverb to be given to procrastinators; they have to see that putting minimal effort can help them a lot in the future. It can be said to many taxpayers that wait until the night of April 15 to do their taxes. If they had planned ahead and done some work earlier, they would not be in the whole they are now.

Annotation: this proverb can also be found in the online book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sewing.

Wills, Lydia. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sewing. Lynda Stephenson, Inc NetLibrary. Page 93

Proverb – Canada

Nationality: Canadian
Age: 77
Occupation: Retired Entrepreneur
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 30, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Ukranian

“Once bitten twice shy”

Joe is my roommate’s grandfather from Canada and he told me this proverb when he came to visit us. He told me that he learned this proverb when he was a teenager, about 14 years old and while living in a farm. Joe said that the proverb symbolizes that once someone does you wrong, it is hard to trust them again. He said that farm work is very had and everyone needs to do their part and trust is a very big part of that life style. He remembers that his parents would tell him that trust is very important and would use the proverb to prove their point. The proverb tries to communicate if someone gets “bitten”, they will be very careful with their moves and actions in the future. Joe told me that the proverb is usually used when someone is doing a job for someone else.

I have to agree with Joe. This proverb seems very useful in order to tell someone that trust is very important and once that is gone, it is really hard to recover. If one person gets done wrong, they will practice more caution in the future. I think is shall be useful to use this in places were pranks are being used. These pranksters need to realize that if their prank goes too far, they will lose the trust of the person and will be hard to recover. Culture has adapted to this proverb so much that is has made it popular, it has been used over and over again. In 1989 there was a song by Great White. The plot of the song was that this guy found his girlfriend cheating and now it will be hard trust again. Also, there was a book title “Once bitten twice shy.” I did some research and found that the book is part of the Buffy-vampire slayer series. Also, there is a movie called Once Bitten staring Jim Carrey, which has a plot following the proverb.

Annotation: This proverb can be found in Great White hit song Once Bitten, Twice Shy. 1989

Proverb – Finland

Nationality: Finish
Age: 35
Occupation: Technology Administrator
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 14, 2008
Primary Language: English

“Minulla on oma lechmä ojassa”

“You have your own cow in a ditch”

Sari told me that she learned this proverb when she was about seven years old when she was living in Finland. She was just a little girl but was interested in adult conversations. She told me that she first remember hearing the proverb when her mother and father where having a discussion with some neighbors. The neighbors had a friend of them stay in their house for a long time just because the friend was a business associate and the neighbors did not wanted to ruin the relationship. She then heard her father use the expression to tell the neighbors that they only allowed the friend stay because they had the business reputation to protect. In this case she remembers that the reputation was the cow as it made them react in a certain way because they could not move out of the ditch. She told me that this proverb indicated when people vote in a certain direction just because they have their own investment in the matter. Some restrain make the person react in a certain way. Sari told me that the proverb needs to be used at people that are making forced decisions. She also said that the proverb can make people understand why other people acted the way they did.

I agree with Sari. Sometimes one just has no choice but to follow their constraints. As the proverb states, you have your cow in a ditch. A cow is a very heavy animal and it will be almost impossible to move a cow out of a ditch. Sometimes people need to understand that some actions aren’t being made just because the other person wanted to, but sometimes, there are constraints that make other people act in way that could be unimaginable for them. Also, this proverb is good to show people that they should reconsider some part of their life. If a constraint does not let them vote a certain direction, is it worth having that part of your life? It is like a reality check, people need to realize that a cow will be hard to move so they need to make sure they are making good decisions since the beginning so they don’t have too many cows in ditches.

Proverb – Ukraine

Nationality: Russian
Age: 25
Occupation: Assitant Technology Administrator
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 14, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Russian

?? ???? ? ???????, ?????? ??????????.

“Not spit in the pit, could be useful”

“Don’t spit in the well, you might need the water later”

Tatyana told me that she learn this proverb when she was about seventeen or eighteen years old. She said that she learn it before moving to the United States, while living in Russia. She said that this is mostly used within teens while they are talking about dating. She first heard the proverb when she was talking with her friends about having the idea of dumping her boyfriend. One of her friend told her the proverb and what she meant was that to be careful while dumping this guy, you never know when you will need him later in life. She said that even though she was going to dump him; she should be careful with her tone and the excuses that she uses and try not to make him mad because if you do, you will end the relationship forever. She told me that this was a great advice and she was able to remain friends with this guy. Tatyana also mentioned that this proverb is usually used to tell people to be careful on how they treat other people and that hurting someone could actually hurt you in the future as you might need their help.

I think that this is a great advice. You should never treat anyone badly; don’t ruin your chances with them as you might need them in the future. It symbolizes human beings as being the water of the well and your maltreatment being the spit. If you spit in a well, the water will turn bad and you will not be able to use it in the future. I think that Tatyana gave me the example of a situation that best fit this proverb. If one is about to break up with someone, they should be really careful not to damage the relationships between them. This proverb could be use in many places in the United States; many people treat other bad as they think they will never see them again. I am a good example of that, if I think I will ever see the person again, I just don’t care what I look like or act like. Relationships might end in a better note if people would hear this proverb. Couples could end the relationships better and create better chances of helping each other out.

Proverb – Ukraine

Nationality: Russian
Age: 25
Occupation: Assistant Technology Administrator
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 14, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Russian

?????? ????????, ???? ? ??????? ??????

“Love ride, love and carry sled”

“If you like to ride the sled, you should also like to drag it”

Tatyana said that she learned this proverb when she was in her teens and living in Russia. She would usually go shopping with her friends and would get tired of carrying all the bags with the merchandise. One day, one of her friends told her the proverb and from that point on, she started to complaint less. She realized that because she likes to shop, she should learn to love to carry all those heavy bags. She told me that the proverb symbolizes that if you love doing an activity, you should ignore and not complaint about the consequences of doing the activity. If you like to slide down the hill, going up the hill should be just as fun. She told me that this proverb is usually told to people that are being hypocrite and it just to show them that they should not be complaining.

I agree with the proverb and with Tatyana’s interpretation of the proverb. If someone wants to have fun, they should not be a hypocrite and complain about the consequences of the activity. An example of this is kids that want their parent to buy them Bionicles. I have 2 cousins that always want Bionicles for Christmas and their birthday. Bionicles are action figures that are part of the LEGO family. They are very cool and have many interesting parts but usually take a while to build. My uncle and I always spent time trying to build these action figures while my cousins are yelling at us that we are not putting them together fast enough. The reason my cousins don’t put them together is that they are too young and get very frustrate very easily as they are young and can not follow directions. We tell them that they need to be patient and should try to built them because that is also part of owning a Bionicle.

The proverb is a great example on how we should not complaint as much as we do. Many college students like to party and sometimes do not work on their homework, for this situation their grades fail and then blame the professors or the university. However, the proverb specifically says that if you want to enjoy your self, you should also enjoy the consequences.