Tag Archives: children

Queso Hand Trick

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 23rd, 2013
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Italian

“So you write ‘Queso’ on your fingertips (Q-thumb, U-index finger, E-middle finger, S-ring finger, O-pinky). And then you would say, ‘Que’ (put down the ring finger and pinky) ‘Es’ (put down the thumb, index finger, pinky) ‘Eso?’ (put down the thumb and index finger) ‘Eso’ (put down thumb and index finger) ‘Es’ (put down thumb, index finger, and pinky) ‘Queso’ (put all fingers up). ‘What is that? That is cheese’ It’s a thing that we would do, you can come up with all these words with just one word. It doesn’t work in English because what and cheese are different, in Spanish it does.”

The informant said that when he found out about this spelling trick, he was mind-blown. He and all his friends thought it was so cool, and they would do it all the time in elementary school. It was still done in middle school sometimes, but the informant said that it would be done secretly, because in middle school kids are trying to seem cool, even though they’re not. Even now, at age 20, he seemed to enjoy playing the game and the clever spelling trick that it involves. It reminds him of his childhood and native Spanish language, which he doesn’t get to utilize as much here in America.

I remember playing similar games with other English words, such as “this”. I think the meaning of the game, “that is cheese”, is silly, but that’s probably why kids enjoy it so much. It’s fun to appropriate a language and make games out of it. This little hand game is creative and silly, so it appeals to children. I definitely understood what the informant meant when talking about the difference between elementary school and middle school. The games change a lot in middle school, when kids start becoming aware of their sexuality and the status quo. I think this spelling trick is cute and fun.

Christmas Traditions

Nationality: America
Age: 53
Occupation: Pediatrician
Residence: Edina, MN
Performance Date: April 30th, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Sign Language, Russian, French

“We have a lot of Christmas traditions in our household. First, the kids are not allowed to open anything under the tree, but they are allowed to get into their stockings while the parents are still sleeping, because the parents were most likely up all night wrapping packages.  There is an orange in each stocking for good luck—a Chinese traditional offering to Buddha.  We added the clever little trick of stuffing the stockings with time-consuming diversions, such as games, art supplies, and favorite movies on DVD, and most importantly, cooking utensils, such as a mini-frying pan and spatula, and the kids “bought in” to the idea of making breakfast in bed for the parents.  The parents act surprised, of course, when the kids come upstairs with the tray, singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.  We, then, dutifully feed the kids bites from our breakfast trays, until there is no breakfast left at all, and no excuses remain—the parents emerge sleepily out of bed, stumble downstairs, and we all enjoy the goodies under the tree.  My husband’s preference, which I happily adopted, is to take turns opening packages, one person at a time, slowly, appreciatively.  My other Christmas tradition is decorating with the little Swedish folding paper-dolls, called Tomten, on the bookshelves, mantel, and window sills.  These mischievous cheerful characters are ubiquitous in Scandinavian households at Christmas time.  There is not a drop of Swedish blood in my veins, but there was a Swedish woman who lived down the street from my mother, who regularly and reliably protected her from a terribly abusive alcoholic step-father when she was a young girl living in Maine.  The Tomten were playful figures, who could be depended upon to come out and dance every Christmas, even when life was otherwise scary and painful—and so these colorful little folding paper-dolls symbolize the power of love for children,  security and resilience in this harsh world, simple magic and good humor!”

The informant told me all of the traditions she can remember that take place on Christmas. Some of the traditions are practiced elsewhere, such as putting an orange in the stocking (which, as the informant said, is a Chinese tradition). Some however, may be unique to the informant’s family. Bringing the parents breakfast in bed, the specific order for opening the presents, and the parents feeding the children may or may not be practiced in other households, for similar or different reasons. The informant talked about the Tomten, Swedish paper dolls, which remind her of her of her mother and protect the house. Celebrations and festivals always involve many smaller details. For the informant, these details all add up to create a meaningful tradition for Christmas.

I thought it was interesting that the informant combined several diverse cultures in her own American traditions. First, she puts oranges in the stockings, which is “a Chinese traditional offering to the Buddha”. Despite the fact that the informant has no Chinese heritage, she still practices on of their traditions. Second, she decorates the house with Swedish dolls, Tomten, not because she is Swedish, but because her mother had a strong connection with a Swedish woman, and the informant wants to honor that connection. I think this shows how easily culture can be appropriated and interpreted. Furthermore, it shows that no one can own culture, because it crosses physical and psychological boundaries.

I think the informant’s Christmas sounds fun and sweet. I like that it is centered on family and the various interactions between family members that Christmas necessitates. The children bring the parents breakfast in bed is a nice addition to the holiday, especially for the parents. I have some Tomten of my own, and they are very playful and a good holiday decoration. My family celebrates Christmas with the extended family, but we do have nuclear family events in the morning, like eating pancakes for breakfast! Family traditions help to cement Christmas as a time for family, love, reflection, and appreciation.

Christmas Pajamas

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Encinitas, CA
Performance Date: 3/24/2013
Primary Language: English

“My mom always lied to me and said Santa Claus wouldn’t come unless I wore my Christmas pajamas.  She made my brother do it too.  My Christmas pajamas consisted of a flannel nightgown with white lace around the collar with little bells on it, and it doesn’t get that cold in California so we would be sweating in it.  I would wake up in the morning and my cheeks were all flushed.  Mom would take pictures of us sweating, and I had a rash from the stupid lace.  It’s so dumb.  I’m definitely not doing that to my kids.”

The informant was not aware until later in life that her grandmother had done the same thing to her mother.  She thinks that her mother made her do it because they looked cute in Christmas pajamas, and “anything to dress to theme, my mom was all over.”  The informant does not want to continue the tradition because of the discomfort that she had to go through for all those years.

Some rituals and traditions seem to be for the parents more than the children.  Perhaps one day, she will make her kids dress in Christmas pajamas, but without kids of her own, the infliction of uncomfortable pajamas with the threat of no Santa seems cruel.

Polar Bear Underwear Song

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Saratoga, CA
Performance Date: 4/15/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

“One day someone pooped in his underwear,

couldn’t find another pair, had to wear the dirty pair.

Five days later, eaten by a polar bear,

the next day the polar bear died.”

Polar Bear Underwear Song

The informant learned this from his friend, “a church friend actually.  I think I was maybe in the 5th grade.”  He had forgotten the song, and only recently remembered it when his older sister sang it to him on their road trip together.

He likes the song because it is so nonsensical.  There is no moral to the story.  It’s just funny.  “It rhymes and its got poop in it.  I just realized.  It has a rhyme and to add to the nonsensicalness of it, the last line doesn’t rhyme.  (Laughing) Where did the polar bear come from and why did he die?  Oh my gosh.”  He really enjoys the song even though he is older now.  Sometimes the song pops into his head, but he doesn’t ever really sing it for a particular purpose or to make people laugh.

The song is just fun and silly, but it also covers the taboo of bodily functions.  The song allows them to have a tabooistic discourse even in place as sanctimonious as church.  Children perhaps use the song to talk about “gross things” in a fun way.  With songs, politeness is not necessary all the time.  I like the little song, and I know the kids in my family would really enjoy it as well.

Annotation: In a collection of children’s songs, there is a variation of this:

Five days later she couldn’t find her underwear
Couldn’t find her underwear, couldn’t find her underwear
Ten days later she was eaten by a polar bear
That was the end of her!

G., Marissa. “Children’s Songs Part Three.” N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. <http://www.kayshapero.net/child3.htm>.

Nail Worms

Nationality: Taiwanese American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/12/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin Chinese

Click here for video.

“When I was little, my parents used to tell me that if I bit my nails, I’d get worms in my stomach. But, I never did, so it’s okay. But it’s one of those things parents tell you to discourage you from doing bad things.”

Sometimes parents seem pretty desperate to discourage bad habits. As a child, I think this would have information deterred me from biting my nails. When I was young, I really enjoyed eating raw tomatoes. For some reason, this really bothered my mother who told me in graphic detail how parasites living on an uncooked tomato could bore their way through my intestinal tract and come out of my bottom. I am still hesitant to eat uncooked tomatoes to this day.

The idea that she would get worms from chewing her nails may be influenced by the fact that nails are known to carry many different species of bacteria. Since kids are constantly putting their hands into their mouths, parents would find it necessary to scare them into stopping, or teaching them to clean their hands often to prevent them from becoming ill.

When we hear about horrible things like this as a child, they really stick in your mind even after you’ve grown up even if you’ve learned otherwise. Parents hope to discourage bad habits from forming by slightly scaring their children. It makes sense why many of the folktales that the Brothers Grimm collected were so grim: so the cautionary tales children heard would stick with them.