8th meeting-Sina

       On Tuesday, November 6th Sina and I had our last meeting (although we're definitely still going to hang out)! While eating dinner at the BLUU, I noticed that Harry Potter was playing on TV. I asked Sina who her favorite character was, to which she replied, "Draco Malfoy." After thinking a little more, she said, "Maybe Bellatrix...or Hermione." Gotta love the Harry Potter characters. :)
Since it was Election Day, we obviously had to talk about politics. She asked, "How old do you have to be to vote in America?" I told her and then she informed me about the voting process in Germany. Apparently you can vote 4 times-one for all of Europe,one for your town  (16), one for your 'state', and one for your country! They aren't all on the same ballot, but I thought that was really cool. She couldn't remember exactly how old you had to be to vote for each one, but it fell within the 16-18 age range.
     Sina plans to take the SAT in January, just to see where she is because she hopes to be accepted at a community collge next semester. She told me about when she moved here (July 31st) and how ever since she started school (August 17th), she's wanted to actually attend TCU. Students in the IEP program aren't considered to be even freshman! They have to graduate from the program to enter the university, so she's trying to do that. She's upset because her parents don't understand that she wants to go to college, since her aunt (from Arlington) is the only family member who completed college. I was upset when she said she wanted to go to a community college-although I was happy at the same time-because I would never get to see her! However, she said she would come back to see her friend, play on the polo team, and go to parties...she does that a lot because she has free time.
     As we were getting ready to leave, she told me that she was going to see the new James Bond movie that night, Skyfall. She was quite excited.
Well, I don't really know howto end my blog series. So...I have thoroughly enjoyed having a conversation partner. I think Sina and I were a wonderful match and I'm glad we got to have this experience.

Sina (7th meeting)

     On Thursday night, Sina came to my room to chat. She told me everything that happened within the last few weeks since I've seen her. One major thing she did in that time was get her belly button pierced! I asked her why she did that and she said, "Because I got a coupon from TCU saying I could get it done for $10!" I thought that was really strange, but didn't say anything. When I asked her if it hurt, she said, "Yeah, but not too bad. I would never get a tatto, though." I guess tattoos hurt more than piercings? I wouldn't know. Then she told me about how she "is a roll." When I asked her what she meant by that, she said she was "rolling everywhere." I finally figured out she meant that she felt bloated from eating so much Halloween candy last night! She went trick or treating with her cousin, uncle and uncle's brother. She didn't have a pumpkin 'basket' to collect candy from trick or treating, but her cousin let her share his candy. :) Her costume was really cool...she wore a wig and a pink outfit. She didn't know what she was, so I decided to give her the name "Pink Fairy Princess." She laughed and said, "I love it!"

     Next we discussed group projects and how much we loathe them (sometimes). At the beginning of the year, all of her peers were trying and focused on learning English, but their motivation has quickly died down. She says they "aren't trying" and she always ends up having to do all of the work. I commiserated and we found something else that we have in common. After we finished discussing these very important topics, she asked me to explain what SAC (Senseless Acts of Comedy) is. I had decided to invite her to see SAC (which performs every Thursday night at 9:00) with one of my roommates and me. I didn't tell her my reasoning behind the invite. I wanted to see if she laughed as much as I do...if she "got it" and decided to use her as a case study...in the nicest way possible. I was pleased with the results. The show was hilarious as always, but alas, she didn't laugh as much as the rest of our peers in the auditorium. Her favorite part was the skit where 3 improvisors joined together as a body with 3 heads. Each of them were only allowed to say 1 word and they had to participate in a conversation with each other. It was really funny (especially when one of the 'heads' said four words), and she laughed a lot there. At the end, she singled out three of the improvisors as her favorites and stated that one of them reminded her of one of her friends in Germany! I wonder if she is homesick... Overall, I hope she enjoyed it. It was good to see Sina again...we've both been very busy, so we hadn't been able to meet in a while. I'm glad we got a chance to catch up.

Hokum pgs 191-200 (6th response)

     I thoroughly enjoyed Bambara's short story, "The Lesson." The narrator catches the readers' attention with the words, "Back in the days when everyone was old andstupid or young and foolish and me and Sugar were the only ones just right, this lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup." You can tell right away that the narrator will take us on a journey starring these two characters-Sugar and the lady, named Miss moore. The picture Sylvia (the narrator) portrays of this woman is not pleasant, to say the least. She planned "boring-ass things for us to do", had a college degree and took the liberty to teach the kids during the summer. Needless to say, they don't like her but she has a plan. Miss Moore was always telling the kids about how poor they are and how money "ain't divided up right in this country." As children, they just hear "blah-blah-blah" like she is the teacher from Charlie Brown. She proves to have a greater purpose than just taking away their pool time fun and games. She hails two cabs and hustles half of the kids in with her, asking our narrator to calculate a 10% tip for the driver. They get off on Fifth Avenue and go inside a store called F.A.O. Schwartz, but not before gazing at the beautiful toys in the window. As I realized later, the main idea of the story focuses on a "handcrafted sailboat of fiberglass" that costs $1,195. The kids are flabbergasted and in awe of the magnificent creation. The 'class' argues about who would pay that much for a toy and how you could get a sailboat set for much cheaper without comprehending that they had just learned Miss Moore's lesson. Once they get home, she asks them what they thought of the store. Sugar says, "I don't think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs." Miss Moore is excited that someone had hit the nail on the head and prompts her further by asking, "Imagine...what kind of society it is in which some peoplecan spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven." She hopes that the kids finally realize the inequality of the 'democracy' they live in. Bambara leaves Sylvia on her way to the West End to 'think this day through,' suggesting that Sylvia understands, at least in part, the lesson for the day.
     While reading this, I kept imaging Miss Frizzle and the Magic School Bus. This wonderful TV show had a teacher take kids on adventures, which is what Miss Moore does in our short story. I don't know why images of that kept popping in my head, but I suppose there are some interrelated concepts. The quote that Miss Moore says at the end of their day really stuck out to me. It brought back some guilty feelings about how those who are not poor really do (sometimes) spend a lot of money on expensive toys (like myself) that could be used to a much greater purpose. This story didn't make me laugh out loud and had a more serious tone than some of its counterparts, but I found it to be an enjoyable read.

6th meeting with Sina

Last night, Sina and I met for dinner at the BLUU. She was wearing a cute American flag cardigan. When we sat down and I asked her where she got it, she actually said, “Germany!” and laughed. Apparently, it was a huge craze over there for a while. She asked me about my week, as usual, and then talked about moustaches using hand gestures. Sina thinks that many professors have moustaches now and used  her fingers to describe

She told me that she’s been able to stick to her diet, even though she’s quite fit. She goes to the Rec for about three hours every other day for cardio. After eating a salad, Sina went on to tell me about a German restaurant about five minutes away from Hogwarts that had delicious pasta! She also told me that she likes pancakes (although they have a different taste here). Sina thinks the pancakes here are more delicious. I asked her what they have for breakfast in Germany-like eggs, toast, pancakes, etc. but she said they don’t eat breakfast food for breakfast over there. She said they have biscuits that they open to put bagel-like shmear on it and it’s wonderful. They also eat yogurt. After that, I wanted to get a fruit smoothie and we discussed the different personnel who work at the smoothie line in the BLUU. One lady is less-than-friendly and Sina told me about a time when the lady actually yelled at her! Apparently, she couldn’t understand Sina’s accent when she responded ‘Yes’ for yogurt and “screamed” at her.

After I got my smoothie-a friendly worker made it for me J-Sina asked me what my parent’s names were. She laughed when I said my dad’s name-Bobby-and said, “like the doll!” I guess there’s a bobby doll… Her mother’s name is Andrea, but she says she likes the way we pronounce it in America better.

I had another great dinner conversation with Sina!

Response: John Hughes's Vacation '58 (5th response)

          To start off with, I can only hope this is a fictional story. This was one of the funniest stories I've read in this class. This short story is filled to the brim with the misfortunes of a family on their way to Disneyland from Michigan. From the very beginning description of the six hour car ride in a station wagon, it didn't sound appealing. As the story unfolded, everything continued to get worse and worse! They had a late start due to everyone oversleeping, had to take their Aunt Edythe-described as a "Mummy with a wig on"-to her son's house, they fell off a cliff, had to sleep on the side of the road, stole money from a motel, were hit by missiles, and attacked by Indians, to name just a few problems they encountered. At first, I felt sorry for the troubled family but as I kept reading, I just had to laugh at the ridiculous situations they found themselves in. They decided to take the car trip because of their mother's insistence, but the end has an ironic twist. When they finally made it to Disneyland, they thought they were golden because there was no one in the parking lot and they had the whole park "to themselves." Unfortunately, there was a sign that said, "Closed for repairs and cleaning," at which the father became furious. They raced over to Hollywood and the dad jumped over the fence where a few men were sitting around a pool, chatting. He had bought a revolver at a convenience store, and now used it to threaten one of the men who happened to be Walt Disney! In his rage, he chased Disney and shot him in the leg, which earned him a spot in jail. Since he couldn't leave before his many charges were dissolved, the rest of the family took an airplane home. Ironically, the mom said, "Maybe this is the way to see the country" and it was she who was being stubborn in the first place.
        My family went to Disneyland and it was really fun, although I'm sure my dad wouldn't shoot Walt Disney if the park was closed! I thoroughly enjoyed this story and found myself groaning along to the ridiculous situations that this poor family kept running into.

Day at the Fair with Sina--5th 'meeting'

Today, my roommate Ava, her friend Sarah, Sina and I went to the Texas State Fair! Ava, Sarah and I left TCU around 9:30 but Sina couldn't join us until around 1:30. It was really fun, but I'll just tell you about the last 3 hours with Sina since I know that's the part you care about. :)
When she got here, we rode on a really cool roller coaster and right when we sat down, Sina noticed that there was German writing in the cars! She thought that was great. Then, we went to go get some food. She had fries with ketchup and mayonaise (she asked if that was what "you people" did) and asked if she could just pick it up with her fingers. Sarah, Ava and I split a funnel cake!
After that, it was time to ride the ferris wheel. We got many great pictures and got to sit in a purple car. Go Frogs. Then, we went to a Greenhouse (because Ava's an Environmental Science major) and there was a scary guy on stilts dressed like a tree with emeralds for his eyes! Sina and Ava took a picture with him, but I was too creeped out.
We went on a few more rides-one called the Crazy Mouse was extremely rickety, but fun-and after that, it was time to use up the rest of our tickets. Ava and I bought cotton candy, while Sina bought Fat-free Hershey's Chocolate Ice Cream and fried oreos. She was way more adventurous than me! We asked a kind lady in front of Big Tex to take a picture of us, and then we said goodbye.


It was a really wonderful experience to get to hang out with Sina outside of the school enviornment!

Sina: New York, tattoos, and boys--4th meeting

     Today, I met with Sina for lunch. It was our fourth meeting and I’m already getting sad about (possibly) not meeting with her for lunch every week, since I’m halfway done! She texted me because we couldn’t meet last night-I had Big/Little reveal-and she couldn’t because she had to “finished a presentation.” I don’t know if I’m overthinking the syntax, but “finished” sounds like it should work in that context! If you say, “Look, I’m finished” why couldn’t you say, “I had to finished a presentation” in that context? *sigh* English is a hard language to learn, but she’s doing well. She used a lot of hand motions to communicate her intention, like when she was talking about the two tattoos she has and flapped her arms while asking, “What do you call these on a bird?” and I replied “wings.” Sina told me that she is on a diet (in addition to working out at the Rec for three hours almost every day) because she wants “to train [my] stomach up.” She's already fit, but she said she wants another tattoo. The saying, "tattoos are addiction" is somewhat true, in her opinion. Sina has to pay every time we go to the BLUU, so I’m surprised she hasn’t suggested that we meet somewhere else! Today, they were handing out cotton candy, but she didn’t know what it was because it’s a referent object. (Sorry, what I learned in my speech path classes yesterday is coming out here…) I described it as something you eat that is pure sugar, but she still had a confused look on her face. When someone walked by holding it, she said, “Ahh, we call that _____ in Germany.” When I asked her if she knew what cotton candy was, I still felt like I was talking down to her-like-a child-and didn’t like it. I’m not sure how I can change, though. She told me all about her trip to New York this past week and how her aunts' workplace payed for everything! They got to go to fancy restaurants and Sina ate lobster for the first time. (she compared it to shrimp) She said it was "really delicious." She also went to the M&M store and a wax museum (where she took a picture by 'Daniel Kregg'...she was appalled when I said I didn't know who he was and she mentioned something about Fast and Furious. 

            We sat down in a booth next to Michael Zeiser and friends. When I introduced them, he pointed out that his last name is German sounding, and she smiled. His friend said something in German (it was supposed to be, “I’m a diver”) but she didn’t understand. After I explained what a diver was-she looked at me for clarification…it made me feel good J-she said, “Oh, you’re missing a word. It’s supposed to be ____ ___ ____ _____!” She then asked me how to get to Moudy South. There’s a 2:00 German level III class and she just wanted to sit in to hear how they speak and teach. Michael explained on a map, and I hope she found it! A guy in theater was sitting on the other side of us and when he got up to get more food, Sina looked at me and was like, “I think he’s pretty.” Just then, a guy who I think is attractive walked out of the BLUU.  This led to a discussion about crushes and how attraction is treated differently in Germany than America. Apparently in Germany, the attractive people (somehow) talk to you first! She said she would never talk to someone she thinks is pretty on the outside here, because they could tell that she’s from a different country. I tried to tell her that they might find her more interesting because of that, but she didn’t seem to buy it. We ended our conversation with me inviting her to SAC tomorrow night at 9:00 after explaining what an improv group was. It was a lovely lunch.

Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia (4th response)

            The story about deploying vowels to Bosnia included in 50 Funniest American Writers was the most amusing, in my opinion. Not only is the notion of dropping letters from the sky into a country amusing, but the tone of voice in this portrayal by Borowitz was so serious. He made it seem like this was a completely logical occurence, as well as one that was desperately needed! As stated, the U.S. plan[ned] to deploy more than 75,000 vowels to the war-torn region of Bosnia," which will make the spelling of words in that region much easier. (pg 335) Who can say names like Ygrjvslhv or Grznc!? (Note: I'm currently in a phonetics class, and the pairing of these phonemes together is quite amusing, as it can't occur in the English language) Part of the reason why we might laugh is from the complete absurdity of the situation. This concept is touched on in the wonderful novel, Comic Relief when Morreal explains the Incongruity Theory. (catch the sarcasm...?) Another reason may be that we associate things falling from planes with bombs, or other war-like things. One thing is for sure, the first thing that pops into our heads is DEFINITELY not letters when we think about falling objects from the sky. One thing that struck me as particularly amusing was when we read the "testimony" from recipients in the cities of Grznc and Sjlbvdnzv. They were very grateful for the "gift" of vowels from the United States because as Trszg Grzdnjlkn said, "I have six children and none of them has a name that is understandable to me or anyone else." This effort led by the US (and other nations like Britian or Canada) possibly has a deeper meaning. As I learned in my Speech and Hearing class, "vowels are crucial to the construction of all language" because it would be difficult to organize a coherent sentence. Thanks to America, the Bosnians will be able to say "The potatoes are ready" or "I believe it will rain" which will make communication, that much beter. :)

Ephron's Short Story pgs 201-213 (3rd response)

        Although the detailed writing of Ephrom's short story was a little awkward at parts (especially for the guys in the class, I can imagine), it did bring back some not-so-fond memories! I remember in Junior high feeling the exact same way, although not about the part that the way you sit or thread a needle could possibly switch your gender. This story made me wince in sympathy for the narrator, as I established a connection. Her honesty made this more fun to read. One of the parts that I most enjoyed was when she was talking about cramps and how she couldn't go swimming during that "time." I've seen so many young, teenage girls just sitting by the pool, dangling their feet in the water, and some of them have even proudly whispered to me that they "started." I found it interesting that Ephron's mother didn't wear a bra until after her fourth child. This makes me want to research if bras weren't as important back in the day or if her mom was just a rebel, of sorts. I also found the suggestions that people told our narrator to do to help her situation quite intriging (I'd never heard the last one before).
       Her humor was portrayed in such a manner-of-fact way, that reading this story made me laugh many times! Two possible reasons are that 1) I have thought many of the same things she wrote about or 2) I know someone who has thought those same things. (I also know some girls who have the opposite "problem.") Although I felt sorry that Ephron thinks she "brings out the competitiveness" in other women-because they comment on her bust size-I don't think it is as big a deal today. I certainly haven't heard anyone go up to a girl at a party and talk about that! I really liked the last sentence, even though I don't approve of cussing, because it was so honest. I can picture her putting herself in the other girls' shoes and thinking, "...really!?" I'm interested in hearing what the guys in our class think about this short story!

3rd meeting with Sina :)

       So tonight, Sina and I met for the third time. She actually texted me this morning seeing if I wanted to get together! :) We stopped to pet the bunnies in the Commons (and take a picture with the human "bunny") on our way to the BLUU. Then we stopped by the smoothie line-yum-and proceeded to get our dinner. As we sat down, she told me all about her trip to New York that she embarks on tomorrow. I told her to take lots of pictures! After that, I told her all about Big/Little week which started today for my sorority (and pointed out my little who I saw in the BLUU) and she seemed really excited for me, after she understood what it meant. She said they don't do stuff like that in Germany...
       After that, I asked her to answer the question "What makes you laugh?" She was a little confused at first and so I rephrased it a couple of times, but here's what she came up with:
1) If people do something stupid
       ~I asked, "like people falling down?" and she laughed and said yes
2) Flashbacks
       ~Like when she happens to remember something funny that occured earlier but something in the present reminded her of it
3) When people in her class are confused (I get the feeling she's at the top of her class...) and they ask a silly question
       ~She had a hard time describing this to me
4) "What do you call it here? Funny Videos at Home? When people fall while skiing?"
       ~I figured out that she was talking about Youtube clips of America's Funniest Home Videos
5) She doesn't laugh at jokes but can laugh at herself
       ~GREAT quality

The rest of our conversation was spent talking about TV shows. My favorite TV show, NCIS, premiered tonight and I was SO EXCITED! (except I couldn't watch it, because I had a HIS meeting. :(...) But, it came on at 7:00, when we still happened to be eating in the BLUU. Apparently I gasped and sort of jumped up in my seat because Sina looked up, startled and asked if I was ok. I told her about how it was my favorite show and I was really looking forward to this episode because the cliffhanger of last season was all of the characters and their situations after a bomb just blew up in their office complex! It also showed poor Ducky having a heart attack on a beach...I still don't know if he's alive! haha But Sina said they have NCIS (and The Big Bang Theory) in Germany with the same actors and actresses but different voices (because it's in German). As we were walking to put away our dishes, I said, "Sorry, I just really love NCIS" and she said, "I can feel that!" hahaha
Hope I didn't scare her too much...
When we walked out, I proceeded to ask her about her favorite movies, but she said she doesn't see a lot of movies because she doesn't have time. However, she did tell me that she likes Fast and Furious.
Can't wait to see her next time and hear all about New York!

Response to Thompson's Story (2nd response)

Hunter S. Thompson   The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved

This story, as Dr. Williams said, was a little raw, but I found it somewhat enjoyable. It was a little gross and not at all in keeping with my viwes of proper etiquete. However, the very crude narrator kept us engaged and for that, I applaud him. The story starts off with the narrator conversing with a man from Houston called "Jimbo." He went on to say that he was a photographer for Playboy, which made Jimbo laugh. "What are you gonna take pictures of-nekkid horse? Haw! I guess you'll be workin' pretty hard when they run the Kentucky Oaks. That's a race just for fillies..." Jimbo thought he was hot stuf while mocking our narrator. At this, the narrator decided to play dirty. He lies and scares Jimbo by talking about a riot caused by the Black Panthers at the track (on Derby Day). After that, the narrator tries to get a rented car (to no avail) because he planned to pick up a guy named Ralph Steadman (the English illustrator from London) from the airport. That didn't work out and by noon on Friday, the narrator (worried that Steadman won't be able to adjust to the culture shock in Kentucky) is still trying to locate Steadman. Once they find each other, their next task is to obtain two sets of press pickets (which they somehow do). Something that I found really funny was that Steadman had a problem of sketching people he met in the various social situations he was dragged into and giving it to them! That causes problems at the end of this story between one of the narrator's old friends and his wife. The friend had decided that Steadman was after his wife and "the emotional effects were massive." To our narrator's horror, Steadman sketched a picture of her! As the narrator says, "from that point on-we lost all control of events and spent the rest of the weekend churning around in a sea of drunken horrors." pg 166 They stumbled around in a drunken stupor.  After the Derby and the narrator's long sleep, he is shocked at his reflection in the mirror. All during this trip, the two men wanted to find a face that resembled the terrible things that happen on Derby Day (i.e. people vomoiting on themselves, etc) and by the end of this trip, they were the models! All in all, I found this story amusing, in a sad sort of way because I sort of think that's how horse racing would be.

Second meeting with Sina!

                 So tonight, Sina and I met at the BLUU for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised and really glad that when she walked in and saw me, she acted like I was an old friend! We saw our 1 mutual friend (whom I found out we both knew through creeping on facebook...no shame) while in the salad line, which was exciting. We sat down and just started talking about her weekend! She turned 20 on Sunday and told me about how her family from Germany called and how her aunt who she stays with in Arlington (she commutes every day) threw a party for her! *I included a picture of the cake
Next, we talked about her sister, Annika (who's name is SO cool, I think) and how she's the only one in her family, other than her aunt, to go to college. She's VERY easy to talk to and so very interesting. I found out that she's going to New York next Wednesday-Friday with her aunt (and told her to take pictures!) I then asked her if she was going to see any Broadway shows and she gave me an inquisitive look. One thing I have to work on is not treating her like she's a little kid...I've noticed that I tend to say things like, "Do you know what a band is?" or "have you ever heard of ___" just because she's from a different country... When I explained what a musical was, basically a play with a bunch of music and songs throughout (terrible definition, I know), I then asked her what her favorite musical was, She replied with some German-named ones that I had never heard of, but kept naming some until I did. The winner? Mama Mia (gotta love ABBA) I also found out that she hasn't read any of the Harry Potter books (gasps) but has seen the movies. I guess I can forgive her. The FUNNIEST thing happened when I asked her about her pets at home. She and her family own horses and I asked her to show me pictures of them next time. She replied, saying that she didn't have any, so I jokingly said, "You could just pull off images from the Internet, I wouldn't know!" and she said, "but that would be lying, yes!?" hahaha I had to try my best to not burst out laughing, but I refrained and said, "That's true, you'll just have to take some when you go home over Christmas break. :)
          She's in Hyperfrogs here at TCU and by this time, it was only 7:30 and her meeting was at 8:00. I offered for her to come see my room and she accepted...I got to introduce her to my roommate, Morgan! She loved our view (we have the BEST view in King) and talked about how apartments here are different. Our common area in kind of a mess right now because my roommates and I are in the middle of crafting for Big/Little week next week (HIS), so Morgan and I explained the process to her. She found it fascinating and said she can't wait to come back!
All in all, I'm having a wonderful time so far chatting with Sina. :)


         

Three most important ideas from Comic Relief

1) Humor follows a basic pattern: 1) We experience a cognitive shift (tends to be toward what is less desirable like failure, mistakes, ignorance, and vices; typically about problems; involves a set-up and a punch line; a common technique is aimed at making the audience suddenly change their interpretation of a word, phrase, or story; usually fit into “descending incongruity,” 2) are in a play mode (disengaged from conceptual/practical concerns, cognitive shifts are potentially disturbing, we can treat situations that are fictitious playfully (ex: make-believe), distance or one’s lack of role/passage of time may also help; there are times we experience amusement and negative emotions, 3)  respond to that shift by enjoying it (the pleasure in humor is social (ex: sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory), exhilarating (joking-“play of thought or tone,” amusement (involves mental gymnastics), and liberating (comic mode-->people do normally forbidden things), we can poke fun at the whole serious approach to life; in the humorous frame of mind, we can challenge any standard belief, value, or convention and challenge reason by giving free reign to imagination, and 4) we laugh (amusement-“the state of being caused to laugh or smile with pleasure,” someone’s failure to share amusement is often a matter of concern; the pleasure in humor has a natural disposition to issue in laughter).

 

2) Humor actually increases health: People who step back from problems to laugh experience less stress and/or are more resilient. Studies show that "humor serves as a buffer against stress." (pg 68) As we now know, stress is a combination of fear and anger and our bodies react as if we were physically threatened. Stress is a major contributor to heart disease, cancer, and other leading causes of death (it suppresses the immune system, leading to possible damage). Humor occurs “if there is a situation in which, according to our usual habits, we should be tempted to release a distressing affect…" Thankfully, laughter “reduces heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and stress chemicals in the blood” and is able to enhance the immune system! Since I’m into psychology, I found it interesting that hearty laughter involves several areas of the brain, nervous system, and muscle groups! The ability to laugh at oneself is essential to the development of moral perspective and can contribute to self-knowledge, integrity, and mental health. Humor can promote courage by reducing fear.

 

3) Amusement isn’t an emotion: it's more of a state of mind; amusement is being struck by the mismatch between a concept and a perception of the same thing, and enjoying the mental jolt that it gives us. Emotions typically have four components: 1) beliefs and desires cause 2) physiological changes, which together motivate 3) adaptive actions...the person’s 4) sensations of those physiological changes are the "feelings" in emotions (page 28). Those who think that amusement is an emotion defend themselves by saying that it results in physiological changes and sensations of those changes.  Emotions engage us and make us more alert, whereas laughter disengages us and leaves us unable to act. My final point is that “emotions involve cognitive and practical engagement with what is going on around us....amusement, by contrast, involves cognitive and practical disengagement from what is going on around us” (pg 32).

 

These were the three areas in Comic Relief that I found most interesting.

 

·         The Superiority Theory, Incongruity Theory, and Relief Theory are also important, but I didn't get much out of them...

First experience with my conversation partner!

                Today, November 13^th, I met my conversation partner! Her name is Sina and she’s from Germany, near Hamburg (i.e. the Northern part). She is super sweet and already adapted to the Texas way of life, as she was wearing cowboy boots! However, we had a little bit of a communication breakdown. One of the things we talked about was what she was going to do this weekend. She plans to watch a movie with some friends and I jokingly said, “You should take a vote” to pick which one they wanted to watch. She looked at me inquisitively and I tried to explain further by saying, “where you guys raise your hand to decide on something.” Sina was very polite and always asked, “Sorry?” when she needed clarification. Obviously, this is very different from Americans who say, “huh?” or “what’d you say!? when they don’t understand.” She told me all about the program she’s in here at TCU, called IP, and how she has class 10 hours a day! (although she said it was from 9:00-5:00, so I must have misunderstood her…)  She’s living with her aunt in Arlington (who actually graduated from TCU in 1999) and drives here every day! She has a 24 year old sister named Annika who works in Germany as a hotel receptionist. I asked her what she wants to do after she graduates from this program and she actually wants to work in Texas! She said something about education but I didn’t quite catch it… She and her aunt are the only studious ones in the family, so I’m guessing her sister didn’t go to college.

                Sina is very into horseback riding and sports. She goes to the gym a lot and is on a polo team in Arlington near her aunt’s house! She described it as a sport where “we ride on little horses and have a stick where we hit a soccer ball.” She’s also in Hyperfrogs! I learned that they don’t have football or baseball in Germany.  Her English is very good. She told me that in IP, they have levels where 5 is the best and everyone is taught by 3 or 4 professors. For reading/writing, she’s in Level 4 and for speaking/comprehension, she’s Level 3 (or something like that!) She has a lot of friends in the program from China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and one guy from Africa. Sina is very good at texting, just a few little English mistakes here and there, but overall, I had a very enjoyable time getting to meet her! We’re now Facebook friends, which must mean a friendship has officially blossomed… J

Comic Relief, pages 91-145 (1st response)

            Despite the length, I actually was relieved by the comic of pages 91-145 (unlike previous chapters)! The material covered intellectual and moral virtues promoted by humor in Chapter 6 (ex: open-mindedness, honesty with oneself, and graciousness) and compared humor to philosophy in promoting a curious, imaginative, and critical attitude. (Chapter 7) The author presented some interesting ideas, like the Eight Traditional Moral Objections to laughter (humor is insincere, idle, irresponsible, hedonistic, diminishes self-control, hostile, fosters anarchy, is foolish). However, the wordiness used to elaborate on these ideas made getting through this section quite difficult.

            Some of my favorite things to learn were that “laughter not only reduces anxiety, but also reduces pain/boosts the activity of the immune system!” Humor also can be a psychologically healthy way to respond to setbacks. Not all humorous situations call for concern or action…people engage in humor to keep emotionally cool and in command of their skills. We also learned about the harmful effects of humor-1) irresponsibility, 2) blocking compassion, and 3) promoting prejudice (by doing that, we categorize all members of a group).

            In Chapter 6, Aristotle categorized 2 kinds of virtue: intellectual or moral. We learned that amusement allows us to transcend narrowly focused, emotional responses to situations and also about the benefits of being able to laugh at yourself. Learning about humor during the Holocaust was also interesting, as were the similarities between stand-up comedy and humor. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything else interesting until the end of Chapter 8 when it discussed Zen and quotes “we get by with a little help from our friends.” Beatles song, anyone!? J All through that section on page 144, I was thinking about the show, Modern Family. The author talks about how comedies often feature simultaneous interlinked plots to emphasize human interdependence and that’s exactly what that show does! All in all, the last three chapters kept my attention much better than did previous readings (even though it was really long).  

 

 

 

 

 

What makes people laugh?

Rashaun: bad hair-dos, stupid things, people laughing
Jeff: teasing/joking around, sarcasm, embarrassing situations
Lauren: the way her dog kills bugs, sarcasm, the cute way little kids sing
Allana: fun facts/trivia, otters, puns (especially corny ones), other people's laughs, when someone is clever or when there's good 'ol physical humor










http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

Two simple questions...or are they?

Julie said, "Literature is whatever is written down, expresses their culture" and "Civilization is a group of people who coexist and rely on each other."

Emi said, "Literature consists of books, reading, and poetry" and "Civilization is a society of people and a result of developing communities. ex: the Aztecs"

Abby said, "Literature is a vital part of civilization because it contains the history of human existence."

Morgan said, "Civilization influences the type of literature that's written at the time to accomodate the views and issues of a particular society."