AGE: 19 

Date of performance: 02/18/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student 

Primary Language: English

Title- ‘Eat one apple, 3 eggs, and 3 glasses a milk a day and you won’t have to see the doctor’ 

Context- J is a student studying Business & Econ. She tells me that whenever she talks to her grandmother, who resides in Shanghai, she always sends a text that translates to “Eat one apple, 3 eggs, and 3 glasses a milk a day and you won’t have to see the doctor” in order to make sure J stays healthy. 

Analysis- The phrase that J’s grandmother consistently tells her is a twist on the commonly known proverb “An apple a day keeps the doctor away’. However, J’s grandma has added her own advice to the phrase such as 3 eggs and 3 glasses of milk. The way that J’s grandmother, who lives on the opposite side of the globe, knows of the common proverb and decides to add her own twist to it is a prime example of how flexible and applicable pieces of folklore can be to apply to certain demographics and cultures. Specifically within East Asian culture, eggs and milk are seen as valuable sources of nutrition as they provide protein through easily attainable resources.