Rubber Ducky River Race

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: USC Undergrad Student
Residence: Los Angeles; Florence, Oregon in the Summer
Performance Date: 4/21/19
Primary Language: English
Language: bits of German

Main Piece

“So, every July 4thin Florence Oregon, they have the annual Rubber duck race. You buy a rubber duck. And usually there are hundreds of people that do this, so it’s like hundreds of rubber ducks. They load them into these trucks. So, you have like, your number and your duck. They put them into this dump truck and they dump them all into the Siuslaw River. And they have this little course. Whosever duck crosses the finish line first gets the prize. I don’t know what the prize is because I’ve never won. But yeah, it’s this nice little tradition we have and it’s a nice, little town too so everyone plays.”

 

Context

The informant told me this story as a fun memory from the informant’s childhood. It is a fun tradition that is nostalgic to the informant because it is a time of the year where everyone in the town gets together.

This is a fun Fourth of July tradition the informant’s town held every year to celebrate the independence of the United States. She was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. She lived in Germany, Kansas, Virginia – but went back to Oregon to live at her family’s main house in Oregon. She only speaks English, but can speak parts of languages like Germany. Both parents are lawyers in the military (jags).

 

Notes

I have never heard of a town having such a large rubber duck race. My hometown has a fair every year and one of the games is a rubber duck race. But dumping an entire truckload of rubber ducks sounds like a fun and extra way to bring everyone in a small town together. It also creates a topic of discussion for everyone in that town to connect on.

The Boy Who Defeated China

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 80
Occupation: Grandma
Residence: Anaheim, CA
Performance Date: 3/23/19
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

Context

While at my grandma’s house, she was serving me lunch. She used to live in Vietnam and came to the U.S. during the Vietnam War. I asked her to tell me a story she used to tell me when I was little and spend the day at her house. First, she told me the story of why ducks sleep on one leg and then she told me the tale of a young boy who defeated the Chinese army that was attacking Vietnam.

 

Main Piece

Grandma: In Saigon, there is a statue of a young boy on top of a horse. There was a woman who lived by herself. One day she went into her garden and saw a huge footstep and she said, “Whose footstep is this?”

 

She put her foot inside the foot step to see how big it was. So, she went home and all of a sudden, she was pregnant. She gave birth to a baby boy.

 

She raised her child and always tried to get him to talk. But even when he turned 3 he couldn’t talk, he just wanted to eat! That year, the North Vietnam was invaded by a group of Chinese soldiers. So, the Vietnamese king sent out people and tried to recruit them to come fight the Chinese army. One of the king’s ambassadors came to the woman’s village and recruited people. The mother came home and said, “My dear boy, grow up so you can help the king with the Chinese invaders.”

 

The boy spoke for the first time and said, “Go and tell the ambassador and tell him I need to talk to him.”

 

His mother replied, “This is the ambassador, you shouldn’t bother him.”

 

But the boy insisted, “You need to go and tell them, you need to go and tell them!”

 

The neighbors heard and the old woman said, “Ok, I’ll tell the ambassador.”

 

She told the ambassador and the ambassador came and said, “This boy is only 3…how can he fight?”

 

The boy said, speaking like an adult, “You need to tell the king he needs to bring me a horse made of steel, a sword made of steel, and armor and a helmet and I’ll help the king fight.”

 

Everyone was so surprised! The ambassador told the king and the king thought this was the will of God. So, he had the steel horse, the steel sword, the helmet, and armor made and brought to the boy. When the boy saw that, he told his mother, “You need to cook me some rice so I can eat.”

 

She cooked pots and pots and pots of rice and as he eats, he grows and grows and touched her ceiling. He told his mother to make him clothes, she found fabric and made him clothes. He put on his armor and jumped on the horse. After, he said, “I am a general sent to you from God.”

 

He jumped on the horse and the horse reared, breathed out fire, and galloped off. The general fought the Chinese army and of course the Chinese army ran away.

 

Until this day, there are 3 villages in North Vietnam, and in those 3 villages, they have a lot of round ponds in a line and the legend said that those are the horse’s hoof prints. There were also woods in the forest where there are leftovers of burnt trees and that was from the fire from the horse. There is also this bamboo tree, that when it’s young, it’s green, and when it’s old, it’s yellow with dark spots, which is also from the horse’s fire because it burned the bamboo forest.”

 

Notes

This story incorporates the rule of 3s that is common in the U.S. In this story, the boy begins talking when he is 3 and the footprints from the horse are present as ponds in 3 villages. The story also incorporates Vietnamese mythology of kings taking orders from their god (the Jade Emperor).

A Sailor’s Proverb: Red Sky at Morning, Sailor Take Warning

Nationality: American
Age: 66
Occupation: Machinist
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/5/19
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

The following is CL’s interpretation of the proverb, “Red Sky at Morning, Sailor Take Warning; Red Sky at Night, Sailor’s Delight,” in a conversation.

 

“Red Sky at Morning, Sailor Take Warning; Red Sky at Night, Sailor’s Delight”:

 

CL: The reason why [it’s called this] is [the following]. So, think sailors setting out to port at the first daylight; if the sky was red in the morning, that meant there was a lot of dust in the air and there was a chance that as you got out to sea, you’d get rained on because of the thickness in the air. So, if you got into a storm, it was bad for the sailor. Red sky at night meant it would be safe sailing because it would probably rain that night, and in the morning, you could set sail; you’d be safe to leave the port.

 

EK: Interesting, so where did you learn this from?

 

CL: That is an old, old story, and I think it probably goes back to the middle ages or before. I don’t know if it’s European in nature or if it’s something that was developed here. I learned it from my mother, though, who for some reason knew everything about sailing and sailing stories.

 

EK: So, what does this story mean to you, then?

 

CL: Well I’m not really much of a sailor, I just know the proverb exists. The closest tie I have to it is from my mother, so I guess it connects me to her in some way. I’m not sure if it’s still implemented today, but I’d imagine it is or was a pretty big superstition for sailors.

 

My Interpretation:

I’ve never heard this proverb before, most likely because I’ve never come in contact with a sailor. It could be true, or maybe it was something only used back in the day, before new technology has allowed us to set sail during a little rain or thunderstorm. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a red sky; it’s possible that the redness could be from pollution- I’ve heard that the deeper the sunset, the more particles from pollution. However, it is interesting to me that this is/was such a superstition for sailors. I can only assume that in past times they would have had to be more careful when setting sail because they didn’t have the knowledge of the seas or technology that they do today that could have given them more peace of mind and less uncertainty in their travels.

The Legend of Boto Cor De Rosa- The Pink Dolphin

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/13/19
Primary Language: English
Language: Portuguese

The following is a conversation with KL that describes her interpretation of the Brazilian legend of the Pink Dolphin (In Portuguese, Boto Cor De Rosa).

 

KL: So, basically, this story is popular among all Brazilians and it’s about a man who is said to have actually been a Pink Dolphin who would come out of the river and transform into a human. So, when he would come out of the water he would be dressed in all white and he would go to parties, acting like a human, and he was a very fertile man so he would impregnate a bunch of women in the village. So, there are a lot of conspiracies in Brazil about whether or not this is true, so some people do believe this is true, as crazy as it seems.

 

EK: So how did you learn of the story?

 

KL: Yeah, so this was told to me when I was on exchange in Brazil by my host parents right before I went on a trip to the Amazon Rain Forest. It’s just something cool that a lot of Brazilians tell, I was also told the story when I was in the [Amazon] rain forest, so it’s just a story that everyone kind of knows.

 

EK: So, it’s a pretty popular oral story then.

 

KL: Yeah, it’s pretty popular, if you asked around in the area, I’m sure someone would know. It’s one of those word-of-mouth things; it started in an Amazon village, the Amazon River was where he (the dolphin) was said to come out of, and now everyone knows, and different Brazilians will tell you their version of it or what they know about it.

 

EK: So, then what do you get out of the story?

 

KL: Yeah, I think that it shows that Brazilians place a lot of cultural emphasis on nature, like humans’ connections to nature, animals, and I think it’s really cool. It’s just an interesting story that shows that their culture is very much centered around family and nature and those connections.

 

My Interpretation:

I would have to agree with KL; it seems that Brazilians have a huge cultural emphasis on nature and family. Brazil may not be the wealthiest country in the world, but with this culture, they don’t place as much value in wealth as, say, Americans do. With the Amazon Rainforest in their backyard, there is so much nature to explore and appreciate. I believe the pink dolphin is only native to the Amazon River.

The Pink Dolphin who turns into a man to impregnate the women of the village shows the emphasis on family and fertility as well. However, it is interesting to me that the dolphin/male does not stick around after impregnating the women to my knowledge, so that could also be a statement on gender roles in Brazil. In most stories that I have encountered that are like this, though, it is often the female who is stuck with the child and the male who continues to impregnate multiple women, so it could also just be a theme of these types of stories.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Nationality: American
Age: 71
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/5/19
Primary Language: English

The following is AJ’s interpretation of the proverb, “The Early Bird Gets the Worm.”

 

“The Early Bird Gets the Worm”:

The bird that is up first will get to the worm before another bird gets to it, and eats it, instead. Meaning, the earlier that one gets up, starts a project, etc., the better chance they have at having success compared to one who starts their day later. In other words, it pays to be proactive; don’t be lazy.

 

AJ doesn’t remember when she began to say this, she recalls her father saying it a lot to her when she was a kid. AJ went on to say it to her kids all the time to get them up and ready for the upcoming day, and now her kids say it as well. It’s a proverb that has been passed through the family and AJ says she will probably never stop saying it.

 

My Interpretation:

I feel like this is a very common proverb that I’ve heard said, and that I’ve said, in several different ways. I’ve heard “The early bird catches the worm,” “you don’t want to be a late bird, do you?”, “go get that worm!”, and more. There are several variations to this proverb, many of which I have never heard, but I think they all mean the same thing.

I think this proverb is also reflective of core American values, though I’m not sure when people began saying it. American values of being hard-working, ethical, energetic, and starting the day off bright and early, are all very apparent in this proverb. When AJ said the proverb, when I say it, and when others say it, it is said in a very matter-of-fact tone, like it’s a logical explanation. I believe that almost every American child grows up hearing this proverb at least once, most likely from their parents when they were trying to get them out of bed and ready for their day when they were younger.