The informant learned this folk custom when traveling to Japan.
“Ok, so in Japan when you eat your sushi, you’re supposed to dip your fish first into the soy sauce, not the rice, because the rice is like white, and it’s supposed to be pure, when it goes into your mouth.”
She believes that it has a higher meaning for Japanese people but only practices it herself to be polite.
The informant uses this response whenever someone says something isn’t fair.
“Fair is where you ride rides and eat hot dogs.”
She heard the phrase from her family and continues to use it. It is employes as a snarky response to someone who has said something that annoys her using the word “fair” playing on the two meanings of the word. There seems to be a common trope of folk responses to common statements and questions. I.e. “I’m hungry.” “Hi Hungry. I’m Bob.” or “What time is it?” “Time to get a watch.” I think people enjoy displaying their cleverness through these phrases.
The informant is recounting a folk practice/superstition she learned while at a restaurant with a Chinese friend.
“It’s considered bad luck to have the teapot pointing at you.”
She doesn’t know why her friend believes this and does not believe it herself, though her best guess is just so that if it spilled, it would not spill on her.
Her explanation seems like a plausible reason behind the folklore but I wonder if there is a more spiritual reason commonly accepted.
The informant is recounting a Chinese proverb from home. He does not remember where he heard it.
“If you grow the watermelon, you will get the watermelon. If you grow the pea, you will get the pea.”
The informant says that this emphasizes the natural causal relationship of the universe.
I see the phrase as being akin to the phrase “you asked for it” meaning that you shouldn’t be surprised by the result you get when you made designs on achieving that result.
The informant is recounting a Chinese proverb from home. He does not remember where he heard it.
“Constant dripping wears away the stone.”
He interprets this to emphasize the importance of perseverance.
That this is a widespread proverb interesting is interesting due to the connection to the popular legend of Chinese water torture. As the legend has it, the Chinese would torture prisoners by slowly dripping water on their foreheads. This could be a literal interpretation of this proverb.