Why Can't We Sound Like the French?

My Poverty and Welfare class spends one day a week going to downtown Cleveland to learn more about ASIA inc.  (Asian Services in Action).
Yesterday the supervisor we work with at ASIA inc. was explaining issues the refugee youth deal with when they're placed in their new American high school.  Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their homeland due to reasons out of their control.  The ages completely vary, but we were focusing on the students yesterday.  Suddenly they're immersed into our culture wide-eyed and terrified.  They slowly begin to pick up our language and are expected to be able to complete their school work to a satisfactory point within a few months.  ASIA works with a program that helps these students become more accustomed.
Part of the reason I love being a sociology major is because we study people of all cultures, of all socioeconomic backgrounds.  It's a constant reality check of where we stand in the world.  I studied abroad in Australia because it was the furthest away from Erie, and I wanted to see the other side of the world.  Not to mention they spoke English so I knew I would have a way to communicate my basic needs.  I cannot even begin to imagine being forced to leave my  home, being stuck in a camp with thousand upon thousands of other people in extremely poor living conditions, small rations of food, and simply waiting.  The estimated amount of refugees in the world is 43 million people.  The average wait in these camps is 17 years before you're given permission to enter another country (not knowing their culture or language) to attempt to build a new life for you and your family.  Terrifying.

 I envy those who know more than one language.  I used to think I was good at Spanish, then I went to Mexico and was personally convinced that language was not the one I spent 50 minutes every other day learning.  Being fluent in a language is not the same as knowing words on flashcards.  If I was fluent in a language other than English, I would most certainly talk it in America.  Hopefully I was friends with people who spoke the other language too so I wouldn't have to just talk out loud to myself like a weirdo all the time (I'd still do that).  I think it's terribly ignorant when people hear others speaking in a language other than English in America and say it's rude and they're in America, speak English.  I've heard this happen far too many times and my brain always has the same response.

Really? Are you afraid they're talking about you?  Please. Pretty sure people talk shit on you whether they're speaking your language or not.

Watch this YouTube video (the link is below).  It's crazy.  And pretty short.  We watched it in class yesterday.  It's an idea of what English sounds like to non-English speakers.  And how you can still get the gist of things through context, and many people are forced to use more than words to understand when immersed into a foreign culture.  Something I think everyone should experience at some point in life.

What Non-English Speakers Think We Sound Like

We don't sound nearly as pretty as the French.  Boo.

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If Your Ass Itches...

Alas, the week of Fall Break has arrived.  Conveniently it has arrived during an "I need to grocery shop week".  For that reasoning I am trying to make it through until I go home Wednesday evening without purchasing groceries.  I'm not sure I see the point in stocking a fridge just to let it sit for four straight days getting older and less tasty.  I made it through the day on an overpriced banana  and coffee from the gas station (for real I paid the price of a whole bushel for one banana, I'm embarrassed), snacking on almonds, and a packed tofurkey sandwich, all before 7 o clock.  This is normally not enough to sustain me and keep me from being cranky because I have the eating habit of cats where I eat small meals every couple hours.  Classes worked in my favor today regarding food consumption.  In epidemiology we were discussing infectious diseases and began talking about parasitics, specifically Taenia spp. (tapeworms).  DISGUSTING but interesting that something so weird can be alive inside us.  Almost as weirdly awesome as having a human be alive inside us (pregnancy or sex, whichever you thought of is cool, I'm not here to judge).
A person suffers from tapeworms if they somehow ingest the larvae, but it has been found that some people do ingest them as a form of weight loss.  True life, Tyra Banks interviewed them.  As you consume nutrients, the tape worm does as well and grows increasingly long inside of you.  My epi teacher was telling us about a dude who didn't know he had one until in bed one night he had an itchy anus.  Put the pieces together...yep.  She then proceeded to tell us his wife had to pull it out (that's what she said).  "That's what marriage is, guys.  Through sickness and health."  I learn so much in that class...and then go eat lunch.

Very little can stop me from eating when I have my food in front of me, and as if that wasn't bad enough, I tried reading my book for Medicine & Culture class while munchin'.  The topic was childbirth in Mali, a third world country in Africa, from a Peace Corp member's firsthand perspective.  It was very graphic and I'm ashamed I'm a young woman and couldn't read it without a grimace.  It's amazing what these women endure to have their children.  Epidurals, clean water, and rubber gloves have never seemed so appealing.

So here I am at dinner eating scrambled eggs (that may or may not have been cooked with spoiled milk) on a cinny raisin bagel that's been frozen since the end of August.  I was vegan for a while, I don't remember what the signs for spoiled milk are...and I smelled the milk five times before I decided it was ok.  There wasn't chunk or discolor.  Whatever.  I'm banking on it lasting till at least tomorrow because I'm going to need it for my oatmeal which no doubt lasts forever.

Completely different topic.  That awkward moment when you're having an intimate moment and it's interrupted with hilarity and uncertainty with what to do when your iTunes starts playing a song that is being sung by the person you're in an intimate moment with. #buzzkill #mylifeisaverage

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How to Not Spend Time Wisely

There was so much studying that I should have done this weekend.  I've probably clocked 3 hours in so far, and that's even an exaggeration.  I have a midterm in Sex and Gender on Monday and a midterm in Poverty and Welfare on Wednesday.  I had important things to do this weekend though, and I find it very hard to not do fun things when they're an option over studying.  What is that called?  Self discipline?  I don't have that.  My mom was making marshmallow ghost cupcakes yesterday and she made this vanilla wafer sandwich with frosting and sprinkles.  She told me to eat and I said no.  Half an hour later it was gone.  Weird.  

In more exciting and non-studying news, today is Jenna's birthday!  We went out together pretty much every weekend over summer with our friend Gina so it had been a while since our last shindig downtown, and it was lovely.  ( Except Gina didn't come last night because she was too busy getting wastey for the Edinboro homecoming, understandably so.)  I was going to get meet all of Jenna's new LECOM (Lake Erie College of OM...I forget) friends, which is obviously intimidating because that means they're all very smart and med students.  I am far from a med student but I can hold my own in a smart conversation unless it truly does become medical.  A few high school friends were there too, John and Derek, and it's always nice seeing them.  Her LECOM friends were all super nice though and I definitely approved from the protective long term friend standpoint which is weird that I'm even acknowledging that should be a standpoint.  

Best Text I Received Today: From John at 1:02am  

"i went to say bye to jenna and shes up dancing on the bar ahahaha"

So from that text I would guess and hope that her birthday night ended up being very successful.  Unfortunately she had to be at work by 9 am this morning.  While I slept in with my boyfriend being a lazy ass when I should have been studying (I have all day today guys, relax).  I do remember her saying that  she hopes work is super shitty because that means she had a great night.  I like how she thinks.
Side note...if you've ever seen the super cute YouTube video of Marcell the Shell  <<< watch it, it'll make you smile.  Then look at this picture of what Jenna's boy interest whom I will remain unnamed gave her for her birthday.  This gift screams Jenna.  Brilliant.

Homemade Marcell on a Piece of Bread

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Sister's Shitty Situation

I'm so proud of her.  Her story of stealth that she came home with from school today could have brought tears to my eyes if I had just watched Marlee and Me or My Dog Skip.  It began with a basic comment about how doing #2 in public can always be awkward.  Sometimes, you just gotta do it, but we all know we'd prefer the comfort of our own bathroom.
She was in the middle of gym class and well, the urge hit.  I think she believed she hit a prime moment of opportunity because no one else was in the locker room and every stall was free. Jackpot.  She was all up in there doing her business not bothering anyone when it happens.  *Footsteps*  Shit.  In more ways than one.  Ha.  No but seriously I can only imagine what that felt like to her.  Probably one of the worst situations one can be confronted with.  And once you start it's that in between feeling of should I just finish or just save it for later.  Crude, I know, but everyone shits.  President Obama.  Emma Watson.  Dr. Phil.  Even Angelina Jolie.  Although she probably manages to do that sexy.  I'm so jealous.  I'd like to be a sexy shitter.  How sexy do you have to be to even have that image be appealing?  This is getting very gross if you start putting images in your head.  Sorry.

The footsteps stop at the mirror in front of the sink and Mack hears,
"What is that smell?  Why can't people wait until they get home?  You really have to do that kind of stuff at school.  No."

  Once she got past the initial mortification of the situation, she thought quick.  I still don't comprehend how she managed to do this, but she slid out of the stall and swiftly ran to the other side of the bathroom behind the lockers.  Then casually walked back to the sink to wash her hands, says hi to the girl and proceeds to say,
"What the hell is that smell?"

The girl agrees with her enthusiastically and they share an exchange of words about the nerve of people shitting during school hours.
I can't express enough how much this identifies my sister as being my sister.
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