Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Funny Stuff

Living and working overseas gives new perspective into humor. What's funny in America isn't funny here; what's funny here wouldn't always be considered humorous in the U.S. As for me, (a person who likes to laugh and easily cracks herself up) I've found plenty of reasons to laugh. Here are a few short recollections I've had in my first 50 days abroad:

1) I like it when students give me answers on tests that they assume are completely legitimate... but aren't anywhere in the realm of correctness. Here is one of my favorites: My final exam has a bonus question about the American holiday Thanksgiving. The bonus is to "name the American holiday that we celebrate by eating roast turkey"... The best (incorrect) answer yet is when a female student wrote: my wedding day.
I had so many questions after reading this answer! Is your wedding day a holiday in America? Did you/will you eat turkey on your wedding day?

2) Living and working in the same "bubble" as a handful of other people can make for some insane moments. We have decided that if there were a camera crew following us around, we'd have a top-rated reality show (or even sitcom) in the U.S. Seriously. I kid you not. You ALL would watch these train wreck moments. One of the funny things you'd all enjoy watching is the mess I made while baking a cake one afternoon. I had flour and batter everywhere. Different people kept walking into the kitchen and just laughing and shaking their head at me. If there were cameras to show HOW I clumsily made such a mess, much laughter would ensue. 

3) Working within a culture that most of the world sees as a threat (while in actuality, they are kind, funny, friendly and hospitable) has given me a unique point of view. Sometimes I see the irony and injustice in a humorous light. We had our students watch The Princess Diaries at a movie event to practice listening and then discussing (all in English). In a room full of mostly men, (in a culture that most of the world views warily) these guys absolutely CRACKED UP and howled with laughter at this movie! I loved it. I enjoyed it. And it was a breath of fresh air as I laughed along with them. Sitting in the middle of one of the most dangerous places in the world right now, we watched a silly, heartwarming movie and we laughed together. It was cathartic.

As you can see, I'm certainly enjoying my time here so far. I'm learning. I'm living. I'm growing. And hopefully I'm making a difference in my teeny part of the world.