The other day, in class, I noticed two of my students arguing over cookies. It was Teacher's Day, and on that day many students will give their teachers flowers (carnations, I think) and gifts, candies, and so forth. So one student brought in a bag of chocolate chip cookies. He was kind enough to share with everyone, including me, the teacher (song saengnim). The dispute came when two of the students began to argue over who would get the biggest of two cookies. To settle the argument, they played "Rock, Paper, Scissors." I was astounded by this! For some reason, I assumed that this game was marginalized to kids (and some adults) in the States. I now know that this classic and mature way of dissolving a squabble is universal.
In Korea, the rules for Rock Paper Scissors are a touch different. For one, they don't say "rock, paper, scissors," but "cowee, powee, pul." Cowee stands for scissors, powee for rock, and bo for paper. Needless to say, I get confused when playing since the order is different from what I'm accustomed. Whereas we go rock, paper, scissors they say scissors, rock, paper.
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2 comments:
the other day someone tried to tell me it was paper, rock, scissors; what an idiot
I love this story! How fascinating that this game really is universal. I would have never thought. But it makes sense. I bet no one really knows where it originated.
It is also cool to think of the other things that are consistent despite culture. Such as the fact that facial expressions do not require translation. Its physiological to smile when happy, or frown when sad; one can't even help it. I like to think of that kind of thing, helps me to remember that even though people from Korea or Africa or some other distant country seem so completely different we are connected and at the simplest levels. Your writing is reminding me that we (Americans) share many more similarities across the cultural divide than differences.
I love that you are writing about your day to day experiences -cultures are so exciting. Wow, I am so glad you are getting to experience all of this Pat. Thank you for taking the time to write so that your friends and family can learn and enjoy along with you.
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