Grandma the Ghost

Nationality: United States
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/5/2023
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Text

“Near my house, there’s this really creepy entrance by the street. A lot of cars get into car crashes on that specific road. My best friend’s grandma passed away in a car crash near that entrance and every time she drives by she swears she sees her grandma as a ghost.”

Context

The informant heard about this story from her friend and trusts what her friend said. The informant is familiar with this entrance because it’s close to her house, but she has never personally experienced paranormal activity in the street. The informant interprets this as maybe a place where the deceased can watch over their loved ones since it’s on a road with a lot of crashes. 

Analysis

I think this story is about how the grandma watches over her granddaughter. She wants her granddaughter to be safe on the same road that she died on. She’s almost like a guardian angel. I honestly find this story comforting. I know that it’s considered a ghost story but to me, the grandma is peacefully watching over the granddaughter. I know that I would love to see my grandma again, even as a ghost. I hope that my grandma is watching over me, but I would like to see it happen. However, we could also view this story in a darker tone. Maybe the grandma is haunting the street entrance. Maybe she’s trying to warn people. Maybe she’s trying to send a message about something. 

Chinese New Year Traditions

Text: “On Chinese New Year, we wish for good luck for the rest of the year as well as health and mental health. Something considered bad luck is cutting your hair before the new year and cleaning before the new year. In terms of food for Chinese New Year, something that my family likes to do is make handmade dumplings. We wear qipaos, which is a traditional form of dress.”

Context: The informant is Chinese-American. Her parents immigrated from China but the informant grew up in the United States in Southern California. The informant is 20 years old and she currently attends the University of Southern California. The informant celebrates Chinese New Year every year with her family. The informant also discussed that she gets a lot of money during this holiday because all of the older family members give the younger people money. Since the entire extended family celebrates this holiday together, the informant usually gets a lot of money. The informant described that she only wears qipaos on this occasion. She also stated that they only make handmade dumplings on this holiday to preserve this tradition. Chinese New Year is based on the Lunar Calendar but it usually starts in late January or early February. 

Analysis: Chinese New Year seems to be similar to the traditional American New Year in the sense that people wish for good luck for the rest of the year. I think the Chinese New Year has more of an emphasis on wishing for good health. We don’t have the superstitions of cutting hair or cleaning before the new year as my friend described. I appreciated the informant telling me about both her family’s individual culture such as making handmade dumplings as well as her telling me about the broader culture associated with the holiday such as the qipaos and the focus on wishing for good health.

Doljanchi Tradition

Text: “In Korea, we wish for health, wealth, and intelligence. That’s something that’s really big when someone turns one year old. There are different objects that you put in front of the baby, whatever they grab signifies something. For example, a string signifies longevity in your life. If the baby reaches for a ball, that symbolizes athleticism.”

Context: The informant is Korean-American. Her parents immigrated from Korea but the informant grew up in the United States and moved around different states as a child. The informant is 21 years old and she currently attends the University of Southern California. The informant has grown up with the Korean culture of wishing for good health and intelligence. The informant participated in the activity described as a baby, also known as Doljanchi. In this ceremony, many objects are placed in front of the baby such as books, a ball, string, a paintbrush, and money. She has also seen some of her younger cousins have a Doljanchi celebration. This celebration is commonly celebrated throughout Korea and among Korean Americans. 

Analysis: This information was very intriguing to me because I hadn’t learned much about it prior to interviewing my informant. I had briefly heard about it but didn’t know a lot of the details. The Dolijanchi is so interesting to me because it brings up the question of how developed are humans at one year old. If the baby can choose an item that determines how they’ll act as an adult, how psychologically developed are they? From what I understand, the parents must love to see the Dolijanchi and then compare the result of the ceremony to how the child acts growing up. 

Traditional Korean Soups

Text: “On Korean New Year, people eat rice cake soup and on birthdays people eat seaweed soup.”

Context: The informant is Korean-American. Her parents immigrated from Korea but the informant grew up in the United States and moved around different states as a child. The informant is 21 years old and she currently attends the University of Southern California. The informant grew up with these Korean traditions. The rice cake soup is called tteokguk and is made with sliced rice cakes, beef or chicken broth, and multiple garnishes such as egg and seaweed. The soup is said to bring good luck and fortune at the start of the year. The seaweed soup is called miyeok-guk. This traditional soup is made with seaweed, beef, and various seasonings. This soup is regarded as a means of celebrating a person’s life and health for another year. This is a tradition because it’s a reminder of the value of nutrition and good health in preserving a long and happy life.

Analysis: I was very interested to learn about these traditional soups from the informant because I don’t have many food traditions like this in my culture. The closest traditional food I eat is a birthday cake. I’ve never heard of traditional soups for birthdays and New Year. I’m fascinated by the Korean traditions that are dedicated to good luck and life preservation. These seem to be common themes in Korean culture. 

Band Legend

Performance Date: March 28, 2023
Primary Language: English

Text:

Every Saturday each instrument section within the USC band gets together to practice before all the instrument sections come together. Back in the day, the tubas would practice on the roof of building facing the field where everyone could see them. To prank the rest of the band they put a plastic sousaphone on a manikin and pushed it off the roof. Everyone who watched the incident freaked out. After the prank, the tubas were prohibited from practicing on the roof and had to practice on the ground.

Context:

Apart from the USC band, A.B. explains she heard this story as a freshman getting initiated into the band. She thinks it could be a made-up story told to the band freshman to make them stop complaining about what their band initiation tasks were. at the same time, she also thinks it is true, based on the old band’s history of being intense and troublesome.

Analysis:

This is a right of passage legend to get the freshmen initiating to easily comply with the tasks given to them. The legend is more convincing due to the USC band’s past of recklessness. This right-of-passage legend strengthens the tradition of band initiation.