Monthly Archives: March 2024

Lynn Ranch Elementary School Ghost

Age: 21

Text:

There is a ghost that haunts the girl’s bathroom at Lynn Ranch Elementary School.

Context:

My informant told me that she and her friend made up a rumor that the girls bathroom was haunted because the door would open and close due to a draft. This rumor overtook the school to the point that everyone was afraid of the bathroom and would not go in. The teachers intervened and had to address the rumor and that it was not true.

Analysis:

My analysis of this is more a broad question of why is the go-to place of a ghost at school is a door? At my elementary school, we decided that the door that opened and closed with a draft was also a ghost. I decided to ask people if this was a thing at their elementary schools too and 9 out of 10 said yes. Thus, the door ghost is very common in elementary schools.

ICUP

Age: 21

Text:

Person 1: “Hey, spell ICUP!” Person 2: “I. C. U. P” Person 1: “Hahahaha I see you pee!!!”

Context:

My informant says this is a joke that was told in elementary school, and it was very, very common; everyone was doing it until, finally, everyone caught on, and no one wanted to spell ICUP.

Analysis:

I think this joke was very common; my informant and I grew up in the same area, and both our elementary schools were obsessed with this joke; I don’t know the origin of it, but in southern California, ICUP was a very popular joke in elementary schools.

Lemonade Crunchy Ice

Age: 20

Text:

Lemonade, Crunchy Ice, Sip it once (Up Down Clap), Sip it twice (Up Down Clap), Lemonade (Up Down Clap), Crunchy Ice (Up Down Clap), Made it once (Up Down Clap), Made it twice (Up Down Clap), Turn around (Turn Around), Touch the ground (Touch the ground), Kick your boyfriend out of town! Freeze!

Context:

My informant told me she encountered and played this game in elementary school in Irvine on the playground/blacktop. She says this could be a jumprope game or a hand game.

Analysis:

Personally, I also grew up in Southern California but in Westlake Village which is about 3 hours from Irvine and I never heard about this game as a kid. I think that this is an various of the typical songs elementary school kids sing to play jumprope but it might be more common/popular in the Irvine/Orange County area.

Wilderness Therapy Community Initiation

Age: 20

Text:

Saying “I love you guys” to everyone at the top of your voice before bed at night.

Context:

My informant practiced this during his time in a wilderness therapy program during high school; the program is located in Colorado. In this program, you would be with a group of people of the same gender, and you would hike from the camp in Colorado to the camp in Utah over a couple of months. When you first get there, you have to shout “I love you guys!” to your group, and then as the months go on, every night, everyone would yell “I love you” to one another before they all retired to their tents. The reason for this initiation is that you immediately become vulnerable with your group, creating a level of comfort with your peers in the program.

Analysis:

The use of this initiation is by making the participant uncomfortable, as saying I love you to a bunch of strangers your age is not a normal thing to do. But since the group is going to be together for a few months, the vulnerability expressed breaks the tension and makes the group more comfortable with one another. As the group says it every night before going to bed, it creates a good vibe, and even though the program can be taxing, the group is getting through it together with positive energy.

Hindi Proverb: Zameen aasmaan ka farak hai

Text: ज़मीन आसमान का फर्क है

Romanization: Zameen aasmaan ka farak hai

Transliteration: zameen → land / aasmaan → the sky / ka →  of / farak → difference / hai → is

Transcription: It’s like the difference between the land and the sky

Translation: There is a world of difference

Context: My informant – a 20-year old international student from Kolkata, India – explained to me that this is a common Hindi phrase spoken in India. When translating for me, he said that it means “it’s like the difference between the ground and sky” and it would be used when you are comparing two things that are extremely different. He couldn’t remember where he heard it for the first time, but he said it is a very common proverb used in day-to-day colloquial conversations where he is from. While he has heard it from his elders, he says that it is predominantly used among friends and in informal settings.

Analysis: While the literal translation of this phrase might be “there is a world of difference,” my informant interpreted it to be “it’s like the difference between the ground and sky,” leading me to believe there ought to be cultural factors that play into his interpretation. The proverb comes from India, a country in which the dominant religion is Hinduism. In the chapter “Riddles and Proverbs” by F. A. de Caro in Elliot Oring’s Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: An Introduction, Caro writes that “the four Hindu castes are said to have sprung from the body parts of the creator god and in social status they also descend from head to foot” (191). He proceeds to emphasize the importance of the head, as the multiple heads on a single body are emblematic of the divine power of the Gods (Head: Symbolism and Ritual Use). Considering this, I believe that there is a connection to be made between my informant’s phrase and the Hindu religion that is a major part of the society from which the phrase originated. As the head is closer to the sky – a representation of divine authority in Hinduism (Symbolism of Sky in Hinduism) – and the feet are on the ground – a realm without divine authority – the two spaces are vastly different from each other and cannot be conflated. So, when someone attempts to compare two drastically different things in conversation, responding with “zameen aasmaan ka farak hai” is to not only showcase the dissimilarity between them, but to also emphasize that one is potentially of greater importance than the other, pulling on the Hindu belief of the sky’s superiority to the ground.

References:

De Caro, F. A.. “Riddles and Proverbs.” In Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: An Introduction, edited by Elliot Oring, 175-197. Utah State University Press, 1986.

Meslin, Michel. “Head: Symbolism and Ritual Use,” Encyclopedia.com, https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/head-symbolism-and-ritual-use. 

V, Jayaram. “Symbolism of Sky in Hinduism,” Hinduwebsite.com, https://www.hinduwebsite.com/symbolism/symbols/sky.asp.