Author Archives: Bryan Oliver

The Following Home

Nationality: Iranian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/13
Primary Language: English
Language: Farsi

My informant provided the following story/rhyme as something his grandmother would recite to him before school, which she drew from her Iranian heritage and knowledge of Persian folklore:

Alright so “The Following Home” is one that my mom’s mom, my grandma, told me in childhood. Growing up both of my parents worked and my grandma took care of me a lot, so I would spend the night often, and every morning before I went to school (I think it was either pre-school or kindergarten) uh, I, she and I would say this poem together, and the poem is kind of like, it describes a morning ritual that a child does before he goes to school, and in Farsi it goes like this:

Mamani mamani mamani joon. Chai ra bezar
ro fenjoon. Vakhti ke chai ra nooshidam,
mamani ra boosidam, miram koodakeshan
Shadam o khamdan, shadam o khamdan

what the poem is saying is, it says: “grandmother, grandmother, grandmother, dear. put the tea to steep, when I drink the tea and kiss my grandma I go to preschool with laughter and joy, with laughter and joy.” So it’s a very positive way I guess to get your children to go to school and drink their morning tea, and that’s basically it.

As it is a children’s rhyme, it makes sense that it is uplifting, and is a happy admonition to behave and go to pre-school obediently. It is likely designed to make the sometimes unpleasant activity of going to school more appealing, and my informant mentioned how he felt happier and willing to start his day cheerfully after reciting it with his grandmother. Indeed, he thinks one of the reasons he remembers it is that reciting it sticks out in his memory as an especially happy time with his grandmother and brings back pleasent familial memories.

Name Tag Designs at the Lyon Center

Nationality: Philippeano
Age: 21
Occupation: Student, Part time facilities attendant at on campus gym
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/25/13
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

At the USC Lyon center, in the membership services area, there is a large metal cabinet, on which, are the name tags of all the employees. Usually, they are organized into some sort of design, which seems to change on a semi-weekly basis. My informant is an Employee at the Lyon center, and I asked him about this:

Can you tell me about the tradition of name tags making pictures at the Lyon Center?

Sure. So, uh, a lot of times we get board, here at the Lyon center, and there happen to be a lot of name tags and a large magnetic surface so to pass the time people will make patterns such as butterflies, hearts or even words, that say, like, “fight on” or like, “have fun” or “good luck,” etc.

The idea that student employees at the Lyon center make designs out of their name tags is interesting inasmuch as it shows a general propensity to create some sort of art, even if only out of boredom, and also the fact that school spirit seems to show through this tradition with such phrases as “fight on,” USC’s motto. It is also notable that most employees seem to take part in this design tradition, rather than a select few, as the design changes almost daily.

Jump, Shake Your Booty

Nationality: American
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Residence: Norfolk, Virginia
Performance Date: 4/28/13
Primary Language: English

My informant has been a dancer since elementary school, and currently dances with her performing arts high school. She told me the following piece of folklore about a pre-performance tradition:

So, after everyone gets ready and is about to go onstage for opening night before a show, everyone like gets together in a big group, and usually we turn off the lights but not always depending on where we are, but we usually turn off the lights, and then we all like get in a circle and its quiet for a few seconds and then sort of spontaneously it starts, we all start like shouting JUMP SHAKE YOUR BOOTY, JUMP JUMP SHAKE YOUR BOOTY and we all jump up and down and shake our butts along with the chant, and I guess it’s for good luck on opening night, I’m not really sure, but, like, we all do it before opening night and I’ve done it at, like, pretty much every show I can remember.

My informant told me she and the other members of her cast would perform this tradition for good luck before a show. She does not know when or where it began, but said it has been around for as long as she can remember. Although my informant is a dancer, she said many of her other friends in other disciplines celebrate this tradition as well, and it appears to be a long standing theatrical tradition across all disciplines. It could be a way to get the cast excited before the show, and to loosen up through the motions in the chant, or simply a way to remind everyone to have fun and enforce comradeship in the cast.

A can of Spam is opened every three seconds

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student, fast food employee
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/27/13
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

My informant claimed to have heard this information through the internet community Facebook. He said that he read it as a status update, but then later found the same information on the internet site Tumblr.

Did you know that a can of Spam is opened every three seconds in the world?

Odd facts of sensationalism are common within internet communities, and my informant could recall having heard several similar facts even over the past week. He expressed some doubt as to its literal truth, assuming it was a average or approximation, but nonetheless accepted its essence as fact. Variations on this fact can be found throughout the internet community on unofficial chat boards or fact sites such as http://euw.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=697753 or http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2163808 but is also listed as fact on slightly more reputable sites such as http://forgetmagazine.com/032301.htm.

Starting Ramadan

Nationality: Syrian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/27/13
Primary Language: English
Language: French, Arabic

My informant describes how he learned to begin the religious fast of Ramadan, according to his Islamic faith:

    “So, every day, before you begin your fast at Ramadan, you have to start, um, traditionally with a sugar date and then a glass of milk, because that’s supposedly what the prophet Mohammed ate, because it gives you enough filling  and enough strength, for the smallest amount of food. And so you begin with that and no other, so to sum up, then you fast the day.”

My informant observes the Islamic fast of Ramadan, which is observed in accordance with the teachings of Mohammed. He described how he and his family have always observed it in this way, and how it carries a special religious significance for him.