Acne

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Participant – “Mix apple cider vinegar and water in a little bottle… and then put it on like the little cotton pad thing and rub it on your face like a toner and it gets rid of your acne”

Context:

This was collected after the participant and I were with our friend who began complaining about her complexion, the participant offered her this piece of advice.

Background:

The participant was born and raised in Mill Valley, California and is currently a second semester freshman engineering student at the University of Southern California. This acne remedy was passes on to the participant by a friend from home.   

Analysis:

Acne cures are another large sector of the folk medicine category. Though many of them are not recommended by real dermatologists, they are extremely popular and often attempted anyways. These remedies can often be completely false and randomly made up by someone that ended up spreading it around, or they can occasionally have some sort of logical scientific basis.

Cold Remedy

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Participant – “If you’re sick you put… you get hot water…. And then put honey in it and you put like a quarter of a lemon and you squeeze the lemon but then you also put the lemon in it and then a little bit of cayenne pepper and it gets rid of your cold. It actually works, I mean it doesn’t actually work but… it works… it makes you feel better.”

Context:

Participant and I were sitting in her dorm, sharing random personal home remedies.

Background:

Participant was born and raised in Mill Valley, California and is currently a second semester freshman engineering student at the University of Southern California. Participant was given this advice from her mother who has always made this for her when she was sick as a child. Now the participant makes this for herself and her friends to help them feel better.

Analysis:         

I have heard many home remedies similar to this one in order to help sooth someone’s throat while they are sick. Although the recipe varies slightly from person to person as everyone puts their own spin on it, many people, especially online, claim this folk medicine works.

El Pez Muere

Nationality: Columbian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Main Piece:

Participant – “Growing up my mom’s always been very out there and has always expressed her opinion through her fashion and through what she wears and everything, so she’s always been very out there, she doesn’t care what people thing but she’s always told me that you have to be careful what you say because, essentially in Spanish you say…

 

‘el pez muere por la boca’

 

…which means ‘the fish dies through the mouth’ which is kind of like think before you speak and watching what you say. She’s always said you don’t want to do things to other people that you don’t want to be done to you. Like taking everyone into consideration and essentially like don’t be a mean person, and just thinking about everything before you say it.”

Context:

I asked the participant and some friends if they grew up hearing any common proverbs or life lessons from the people around them. The participant shared this with me after some of our other friends shared proverbs as well.

Background:

The participant has grown up in many parts of the world, she was originally born in Columbia but moved to the California Bay Area and grew up there until she was 12. After that, her family moved to Paris, France where she went to high school until at age 16 her family moved to Hong Kong. Now the participant is a second semester student at the University of Southern California in the School of Dramatic Arts. Both of her parents were born in Columbia and her family goes back every Christmas and Summer. This proverb has been told to the participant her entire life by her mother and it has always stuck with her.          

Analysis:

Proverbs are a simple and easy way to share and remember life lessons. Extensive meaning is packed into a little phrase that can effortlessly be passed from person to person. The participant learned this proverb from her mom making it more personal and leaving a lasting impression. The participant now utilizes this message in her day to day life, the way proverbs are intended to be thought of.

Columbian Drinking Chant

Nationality: Columbian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Main Piece: 

Participant – “In Columbia we would um… we would have a… like in Christmas we would drink a lot like in December, in the summer like it’s just a social thing and everyone…to gather around everyone knows this one chant, which is…

 

‘Pa’riba, pa’bajo, pa’centro, pa’dentro’

 

…which essentially, it rhymes, and it means ‘up, down, to the middle, and then in’ so like you would all, like everyone would put their glasses up and put their hand up, hand down, and then you would cheers in the middle and then just down it, and I don’t know it’s just always been like even if the moods down a little bit, once one person starts it, it just brings the whole party up and like the atmosphere just completely gets like super hype.”

Context:

The participant shared this chant with me after another one of our friends showed us a drinking song that everyone sang at home. Even though the participant is no longer in Columbia I have still seen her do this chant here and teach it to friends, sharing the tradition.

Background:

The participant has grown up in many parts of the world, she was originally born in Columbia but moved to the California Bay Area and grew up there until she was 12. After that, her family moved to Paris, France where she went to high school until at age 16 her family moved to Hong Kong. Now the participant is a second semester student at the University of Southern California in the School of Dramatic Arts. Both of her parents were born in Columbia and her family goes back every Christmas and Summer. This chant is common knowledge among all of the participants family and is common all over Columbia.           

Analysis:

Although this could be seen as just a drinking chant, the importance comes through in the meaning it holds to the participants. They all find it to be a common source of bonding and it helps them feel more connected in social situations. This is common with many drinking songs as it creates a sense of togetherness and makes you feel part of a group.

Recesses Pieces

Nationality: White/Indian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Participant – “So, we would always sing at recess in California the song that goes…

 

‘Brick wall waterfall

girl you think you know it all

you don’t, I do

so boom with that attitude

recesses pieces, 7-up

you mess with me, I’ll mess you up’

 

…and a lot of people have different endings to that”                

Context:

The participant was in my room with a few of my other friends, we discussed the games we used to play as kids. She shared this common song from her childhood that the girls would often sing to one another while playing games.

Background:

The participant was born in the California Bay Area and grew up there until she was 8. Her family then moved to Minnetonka Minnesota where she lived until she moved to Los Angeles to join the University of Southern California’s class of 2021. The participant has a half White and half Indian background. This folk song was passed onto the participant by other girls in her elementary school, almost every girl in school knew the song.          

Analysis:

The participant shared this song and my friends and I all knew the beginning of it but had different variations for the ending. This often happens with folk music, it has a similar base and tone, but can have big differences from place to place. This song varied from friend group to friend group and as kids you could tell if someone went to your school based on what version of the song they knew.