Monthly Archives: May 2018

Eyelash Wishes

Nationality: Brazilian/American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 04/18/2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Portuguese

One habit that I have is when an eyelash falls on my cheek or in someone else’s cheek; I blow it or tell them to blow it and make a wish. The first time I did that I was in middle school and an eyelash had fallen on my cheek and I hadn’t noticed. A girl came up to me and took it off my cheek and put it on her finger and told me to blow it. She told me to make a wish. And that’s how I started. I liked that girl so I kept doing it. It is meaningful because (pause) I think it was a start of a beautiful friendship, and after that happened I really became close friends with that girl. It just kept me doing it, with different people. And coming from her I think it was nice because now I actually think that my wishes will come true.

I think Thomas was more concerned about the relationship he built with the girl than the consequence of making a wish and realizing it. I actually have this same superstition of making a wish after an eyelash falls in my cheek or in front of me but instead of blowing it I put it in my chest. That’s how my mom told me to do in order for the wish to become a reality. I am not very superstitious with these things but I do it because everyone does it too. Even though I perhaps have a positive feeling that sometimes it might become a reality, I don’t really have a lot of faith on these things. However, it became an automatic response to an eyelash falling.

Same Socks

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: USC Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California; NY
Performance Date: 04/19/2018
Primary Language: English

When I played football in high school, for our games I liked to wear the same socks every time. First of all they were comfortable, but I was also superstitious and it made me feel better and confident going into each game. It was just a tradition I had that, you know, I kept throughout middle school and high school. It wasn’t the same pair of socks throughout the whole time; it was basically one for every season. And it was just the consistency that made me feel confident going in each and every weekend in the games against the opponents. I think it’s really important to keep a superstition like that because it’s something psychological and I believe that there are studies that show that your performance does increase when you have something like that.

I believe that having a kind of superstition will actually increase your performance. As he said, there are studies that show that you do better when you have these kind of psychological motivations. I used to do something similar during my soccer games, listening to the same song during the warm-ups. It worked pretty well because I got into the game hyped up and thinking I would win. Of course that there is no direct impact on the way you play but rather an indirect consequence that will help your mind put yourself in the game. I highly recommend doing something similar to this.

Salvadoran joke, El Salvador

Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/24/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

This joke was collected from a friend, who was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador and is 21 years old. It goes like this:

 

A German, a Frenchman, an Englishman and a Salvadoran, comment on a picture of Adam and Eve in Paradise. The German says, “look at the perfection of bodies; she, slender and spiky; he, with that athletic body and profiled muscles. They must be German!” The French man immediately responds, “I do not believe it. The eroticism that emerges from both figures is clear. She, so feminine; he, so masculine; they know that temptation will soon come. They must be French!” Shaking his head no, the Englishman comments, “not at all. Notice the serenity of their faces, the gracefulness of the pose, the sobriety of the gesture. They can only be English!” After a few more seconds of contemplation, the Salvadoran exclaims, “I do not agree, Look carefully: they do not have any clothes, they do not have shoes, they do not have a house, they only have a sad apple to eat, they do not protest and they still think they are in Paradise. Those idiots can only be Salvadorans!” My friend told me this was a very popular joke that she heard many times, the first one being from her dad, and she genuinely finds it very funny.

 

I find it really interesting that religion is even incorporated into the humor of El Salvador, but not surprisingly since most of the population is Catholic. I also thought the punchline speaks to how classist Latin America and be, and how politically incorrect our jokes are in comparison to American ones.

August vacation, El Salvador

Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/24/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

This custom was collected from a friend, who was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador and is 21 years old.

 

She told me that during the first week of August, all companies, schools, and pretty much every single business is closed to commemorate Jesus Christ’s transfiguration. She says that about 90% of the country is Catholic, and everyone does it even if they are not religious. She says a lot of people go to the lake during does days, including her, and she gets to spend time with family and friends.

 

I think this is really interesting; we don’t have anything like that where I grew up, probably because there is a lot more of a variety in terms of religion.

Sunday family dinners, El Salvador

Nationality: El Salvador
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/24/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

This custom was collected from a friend, who was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador and is 21 years old.

 

She told me that every Sunday night, it is a tradition for all families across the country regardless of their social status to sit together and eat pupusas, a thick stuffed corn tortilla from El Salvador. She told me that her own family doesn’t really follow this tradition often, since her parents did not grow up in El Salvador, but that every time it does happen it is great quality time and she enjoys it very much.

 

I think this is a very beautiful tradition that speaks to Latin Americans’ importance on family time. It reminds me of the weekly lunches that my parents made me and my siblings go to every Sunday as an excuse to spend more time together.