Monthly Archives: May 2017

Promises

Nationality: Singapore
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: USA
Performance Date: April 17th, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, Singaporean

Interviewee: My dad always said: always under promise and over deliver and never over promise and under deliver.

Interviewer: What does that mean to you?

Interviewee: That’s who you should be as a person. Show them you can do better and impress them. Say what they are content with and then do more.

After thoughts: This is similar to many Chinese motifs on trust and friendships, especially “guanxi” the basic dynamic in relationships with others. Reciprocal favors are the key to “guanxi” and failure to reciprocate is considered unforgivable. This is central in Chinese society and describes the importance of  personal connection between two people.

 

The Straw People

Nationality: Singapore
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: USA
Performance Date: April 17th, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Singaporean, Chinese

Interviewee: So this story is about a group of good guys fighting these bad guys but they didn’t have enough resources, so one guy was smart and so he sent out these ships…it was misty that day…he put straw people on it, and it looked like real people. The other group shot the straw people because they thought they were real and used up all their arrows. The good guys then took the arrows.

Interviewer: What does this story mean to you?

Interviewee: This is what I think of because my dad always tells it to us. At times you want to give up but you gotta keep trying and it’ll turn out fine.

The informant likes this piece because it was something her dad repeated over and over again throughout her childhood. The informant is Singaporean but grew up in Shanghai, China.

 

The Farmer

Nationality: Singapore
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: USA
Performance Date: April 17th, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Singaporean, Chinese

Interviewee: Once upon a time there was an elderly farmer. One day, his only horse ran away, That evening, all the neighbors came around and said, “Oh, we are so sorry to hear about your horse. That’s too bad.”

The farmer said, “Maybe.”

The next day, the horse came back, brining seven wild horses with it. That evening, the neighbors came and said, “What a great turn of events. You have eight horses now. You’re so lucky!

The farmer said, “Maybe.”

The day after that, the farmer’s son tried to break one of these wild horses. He was thrown off and broke his leg. That night, the neighbor’s said, “Oh, that’s too bad.”

The farmer said, “maybe.”

The following day, the recruiting officers came to the farm to draft people into the army. They rejected the father’s son, due to his condition. That night, the neighbors returned and said, “Your son doesn’t have to go to war. Isn’t that great?”

And the farmer said, “maybe.”

Interviewer: What does it mean to you?

Interviewee: My friend gave it to me at a retreat, it’s important because I know I don’t have to worry about the bad things that come my way because God will always bring good fortune.

After thoughts: Christians believe that God has a plan for his people. They believe that humans are rewarded with eternal life if they believe in his grace. They pray to thank God for everything He has given and believe that He will take care of his people.

Business

Nationality: USA
Age: 50
Occupation: Business
Residence: China
Performance Date: April 5th, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Interviewee: “When you are in a partnership where there are many shareholders, it doesn’t matter if you are a big shareholder or a small shareholder, if you are running the business, you have to take care of everyone, doesn’t matter how big of a shareholder you are”

Interviewer: What does this mean to you?

Interviewee: “what it’s saying is, even if you are a small shareholder and you have no voice, but … if you are in a position of running a business, you must be fair to everybody no matter how big or small they are.”

 

Salvadoran Proverb for Women

Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 50
Occupation: Chief Building Engineer
Residence: North Hills, California
Performance Date: 04/20/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“Las muchachas anda tan caliente, que cuando se orinen haste el sacate agarra fuego.”

Translation: Young girls are so hot (horny), then when they pee even the grass catches fire

This proverb was told to my informant by his wife. It represents the stigma that comes with women having free sexuality. it is usually told to daughters as a warning.

 

My informant is a building engineer. He migrated to the United States form El Salvador when he was 16 years old. He grew up in a city in El Salvador. Lots of the folklore he has heard has come from his family.

What is interesting is that this proverb really attack female sexuality. There is this idea in Salvadoran and most Hispanic culture that there are only two women; saints (women that are pure and do not have sexual urges) and whores (women that give into their sexual urges).