More humor

[B. A. Lugo De Fabritz]

On Wed, 9 Aug 2000, Dean Worth wrote:

> I personally don't find it interesting, funny, or scary. But then I come
> from a time when my best friend in Moscow was beaten to death by the secret
> police. While you are chortling at these jokes, bear in mind that this
> humor still drips blood. Dean Worth


Hmmm. This, obviously, is absolutely true. However, in my opinion,
emphasizing the list of gruesome data for the Slavic world, while
historically interesting and filling up volumes, can also take away from
the reasons for why people LIVE in such places. It seems very interesting
to me that coming from the Latin American world, which has also had its
share of bloody episodes, somehow humor is a more socially acceptable form
of social coping.

I went to the museum with a student of mine last night who actually has
lived as a teacher in Kiev for over three years, and came to us to study
Russian so she could finally read what she said and understand the grammar
behind it. (I'll let the political scientists on the list discuss why
Russian and not Ukrainian). I showed her this list, and I have to admit we
were both about to fall off our seats on the bus. She even started to add
her own to the list. My favorites were:

You know you have lived in Kiev (but I think these examples may apply to
Russia as well) when you know when summer cabbage, instead of winter
cabbage, come into season and you hold out for a week for the summer
cabbage.

You know you have lived in Kiev too long when the little old lady at the
front bench knows your exact schedule and the mail you have received for
the last month, and you do not find this strange any more.


Regards,
Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz
graduate student, University of Washington
whose student was about to get back to teaching in Kiev after a summer in
the US without going to the mall until I pointed out the local express to
the mall

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