Famous Last Words for Week 7

Hey, everyone! Congratulations on making it to the end of this week – I feel the need to congratulate you all because I’m not sure about you all, but this week has been rough for me and sometimes we just need a word of encouragement for doing simple things because those can be really difficult at times.  Anyways, rant over.  To be honest, I haven’t written anything besides comments for this week since I did it earlier in the semester and I can’t remember which piece of writing I was proud of for this week.  However, I did read other people’s work and was very impressed.  All the storybooks were great and I was particularly impressed by someone’s story who wrote about Yama.  The introduction was mysterious and the love stories were so wonderfully written – I was incredibly impressed.  However, all the storybooks I read were great and I was super excited to read each and every one of them.  As for my other classes, they are going.  I am anxiously awaiting spring break so I can get a little break from everything.  I moved most of my rounds to February so I could get the majority of them over with, but that means lack of sleep and dealing with some crazy situations.  I love my job, but I desperately need to catch up on sleep and that will probably have to wait until spring break.  On a happier note, spring break is only two weeks away which is hard to believe.  I feel like my classes are just starting to pick up and I’m hoping that time flies because it’s been really tough being in the full swing of things with everything going on.  Dancing in Dale started back up so I’ve been going to that and I’m looking forward to Kaleidoscope Evening with OU’s College of Arts and Sciences tomorrow evening.  It’s going to be a very fancy event, and I’m excited to meet some distinguished alumni and hear their stories alongside my fellow Leadership Scholars.  

This reminds me of Kaleidoscope Dinner - fancy tableware that I am not entirely sure how to use

Source:  Wikipedia

Extra Reading Diary: Pacific Northwest Unit

Pacific Northwest:

How Silver-Fox Created the World:
This story is rather interesting.  I have heard many theories on the creation of the world or how the world came into being, but this is the first one I have heard like this.  I wonder if the tribes of the Pacific Northwest honored coyotes and/or silver-foxes or why those were the animals chosen to be a part of this story.  It is certainly a unique tale and I haven't heard one like this before.  I'm not really sure what to think, but I'm not sure I particularly care for this tale in all honesty.

Three Coyote Stories:
The first story is interesting.  I'm not sure if there is supposed to be any sort of moral or take-away from the story, or if the story is more important in context of the others to show that the coyote doesn't have as much power.  Either way, I wonder why the coyote went after the people he had created and the silver-fox didn't.  The second story I feel like had more of a definitive purpose - to show why the coyote is the most cunning.  I was a bit confused though because the first story of the unit and the first sub-story of this story was about the coyote and silver-fox creating the world and now an old man is attributed to having done it?  The third story is strange as well.  I wonder why the coyote is getting so much heat and now dying?  What about silver-fox?  Maybe the tribe hates coyotes although the first story didn't seem so bad.

How Old Man Above Created the World:
This story is interesting as well.  One of the first things I noticed was that this story contradicts the others so it leads me to believe that these stories weren't told to children as truth since there was more than one version within one culture alone.  Some differences I saw was the old man creating the world and the fact that the grizzly bear was feared (rather than the coyote).  I like the idea that this story connects to the present and explains why smoke never rises from that location anymore.  I think stories like that are more fun and add something extra to things we could see present day.

How Beaver Stole Fire:
I like this story for the same reason I like the previous story - it provides a fun explanation for why things are the way they are (today).  I wonder why the beaver was chosen or why the beaver was the animal to have stolen the fire.  I would have expected it to be a coyote because they are supposed to be cunning.  I'm glad some more animals got to steal the show, though :)

Chinook Wind:
Same idea as some of the previous stories - it explains why things are the way they are.  I didn't like this story quite as much because it involved deceit, revenge, and death.  However, it was well-written, and I respect that.

The First Totem Pole:
This story was slightly confusing for me.  Maybe it's moreso that I'm having trouble focusing.  Either way, I found it hard to be engaged and would not say that this was my favorite story although like I said, I still respect the stories even though perhaps this unit is just not the unit of my interest.

Ketchican Totem Pole

Source:  Wikipedia

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Week 9 Storytelling: A Beggar Cinderella

Years ago in the outskirts of Chicago, there lived a young woman about 17 years of age who was left to fend for herself.  This young woman, Katie, went to school everyday and was oftentimes mocked by those around her for her ratty clothes and her scuffed up shoes.  Whenever school was over, she would walk back to the dumps and took care of the cats that she lived by.  The tabby cats were particularly fond of her and she commonly would feed them any scraps she could find while also entertaining them with little wads of paper she'd throw for them to run after.  Sometimes, a kind stranger would give her a meal but usually, she was on her own.  One day, her school was hosting its annual prom.  Although she couldn't afford a dress, she always dreamed about going to her senior prom in a beautiful dress and falling in love with a boy.  The tabby cats knew about this dream since the girl told them about it often and were determined to give her the night of her life.  On the afternoon of the dance, the tabby cats appeared with a beautiful dress, jewelry, shoes, and earrings, as well as a ticket to the dance.  Katie was so excited she could hardly wait, but the tabby cats told her, "If you go, make sure you don't forget about us.  We were your first friends and have considered you one of our own." Katie promised to never forget them and was shocked that they were even concerned about this possibility.  She went to the dance, realized she didn't know how to dance, and came back to hang out with the tabby cats as if nothing had ever happened.  Katie had experienced her high school prom and realized it wasn't everything it was made out to be.  Thus, she returned back and was thankful for what she had even though it wasn't very much to begin with.

A pair of tabby cats

Source:  Wikipedia

Author's Note:  My story is based off of The Girl and the Turkeys from a book written in 1929 by Stith Thompson called Tales of the North American Indians from the Native American Marriage Tales unit.  In the original story, the girl had turkeys who she cared for and she went to a festival/dance that was customary for the people instead.  At the end, she doesn’t get back to the turkeys at a decent hour so they give up on her and leave.  I didn’t like that so I changed the ending and made it more modern.

Reading Diary B: Native American Marriage Tales

Native American Marriage Tales:

The Dog-Husband:
This is a weird story as well.  It's a nice idea that it was common for a dog to sleep at the foot of a girl's bed to protect her, perhaps, but it is a little weird that she had kids with this dog - at least he was partially man.  It would be hard to raise five kids on her own - I can't imagine.  It's neat that they can turn into human form, though.  I feel like the mom shouldn't have been so angry when she found that out though.

The Youth who Joined the Deer:
It's weird that this man was friends with deer although he was so good at hunting them - that doesn't seem to make sense.  I wonder how the deer discovered that throwing their bones in the river would revive the killed deer.  It's a little messed up for them to eat each other even though they come back to life - that would be such a weird feeling.  I'm glad that the man felt guilty and thought of his wife and child at home, but I'm very frustrated that even though he consciously thought of them, he still went with this new woman.  It's interesting that the deer wanted to help this man keep his new wife so much that they helped him beat the other bucks off for her.  It's a neat ending that he taught others about how to treat the deer.

The Girl and the Turkeys:
This story seems to be set up very well - the author described in great detail the poverty the girl lived in, her kind heart, and her relationship with the turkeys.  It stinks that the people did not show her more kindness - I'm assuming she is an orphan since there's no mention of her parents.  It's an entertaining thought that the turkeys would present her in a way that would make every man wish to marry her and hopefully then she would have someone to take care of her.  I'm really enjoying this story - how the turkeys were able to clothe her in such beautiful garments and how when she arrived, everyone's eyes were on her.  I can only imagine the commotion she caused among everyone who seems to think they had never seen her when really, they had been ignoring her this whole time (when she appeared as a beggar).  It is sad that even though she went back for them, it was too late in the eyes of the turkey and she was transformed to her old form and it was as if nothing had happened.  This time, however, she didn't even have the turkeys to watch over.

A domesticated male turkey

Source:  Wikipedia

Reading Diary A: Native American Marriage Tales

Native American Marriage Tales:

The Piqued Buffalo-Wife:
This story certainly is unique.  A man gets a cow pregnant and the boy and woman are human at first?  Then, the man strikes his wife with fire and they revert back to their original form?  I think it's very unique but also sort of disgusting.  Unique in the fact there is so much form-changing between animal and human form and then back, but it is quite disgusting that a man would mate with a cow.  Nasty.  I would be interested to know if the reason this story is told is because it is the origin of the Bull and the Horn societies (although it's not even possible) or why it would be preserved and told among generations.

Bear-Woman and Deer-Woman:
This story is sort of messed up, too.  It does not seem to be a marriage tale, either.  It simply is a tale of friends betraying one another and animals eating other animals.  I would have thought that the point of this story was to show why certain animals are no longer friends (sort of like the cat and dog story I read earlier - I think it was from the Chinese Fairy Tale unit).

Splinter-Foot-Girl:
This is a very strange story.  I was hoping the bull was simply a name given to a man but apparently not.  It  is also weird that the child came out of someone's leg - I wish there was more explanation for this and wasn't brushed off so lightly - that would have been interesting to read about.  The bird is clever to send a different bird to convince the guys to let them have their daughter.  I wonder if the bird was trying to protect the people from the buffalo's rage.  I think that this is an interesting take on why buffalo are now considered to be "under men's control."  Again, I'm surprised this is a marriage tale since it seems that the main focus is more on the men fighting the buffalo and why they're no longer friends.  I'm glad the fathers were willing to accept hardship and danger in order to keep their daughter safe from crazy guys.

The Fox-Woman:
This is a very strange story.  This man had unknowingly married a fox who would do nice things for him such as cook, clean, and do laundry.  It would be creepy to see fox skin hanging and creepy that suddenly a woman would appear.  I'm surprised the man wasn't more alarmed.  I think it's sort of neat though that someone (the fox) would be so helpful without looking for credit or any sort of reward for the nice things she did especially since they weren't married (in reality) or anything.  If she was under that illusion, though, it was still nice.

The Woman stolen by Killer Whales:
I wonder why this story chose to portray killer whales and sharks in these different lights.  I'm also surprised the Native Americans knew about killer whales and sharks since these are salt-water animals found in the deep - certainly not in shallow water and not inland where many Native American tribes would be.

The Bear-Woman:
This is a super weird story.  It would be very comfortable to see a human/bear set of lovers.  I also wonder if the older sister had this bear-transforming ability before she met her bear-husband or if she gained it afterwards.  This is a cool explanation for the stars in the shape that they are - I wonder if other cultures have their own explanations or if this one is simply accepted and not many others think of a need to explain it.

A brown bear running across the grass.

Source:  Wikipedia

Extra Reading Diary: Native American Hero Tales

Native American Hero Tales:

The Jealous Uncle:
I haven't gotten too far in this story and already have a few things I want to say.  One, why in the world does the wife and families continue let this man get away with murder?  He's not un-touchable or elusive.  Simply put, no one stands up to him (or at least it seems to be that way).  Two, it will mess up the child if they make him pretend to be a girl for so long - that would be confusing and then he will switch genders like a flick of the light switch?  Three - why do they let the boy go see the uncle when they already think they know the fate? The boy is clever to escape the wood - but seriously, what are his parents thinking to let him go in the first place?  It's neat that the boy was rescued and that he even found a wife out of this experience, but it's so sad that he didn't mention going back to visit his parents for so long.  I would have thought that would have been one of his first things he mentioned/asked for.  It's nice, in a way, that he lets his uncle have a chance at his life - somewhat merciful while also not entirely merciful.  I didn't completely understand the whole eagle thing - was he disguised as an eagle and used large eagle wings to fly and he was concealed under the feathers or was it believed that these people could transform into eagles?  I think it was the first thing I mentioned, but I wasn't completely clear on that.  I also was wondering if the tribe chose eagles because they are majestic or if because practically speaking, they were really good at killing them.  I don't know very much about Native American culture but it certainly is interesting and it'd be neat to learn more about it.  I'm surprised this is one of the hero tales - the boy doesn't really save anyone except for himself.  It's a cool story, but I wouldn't have necessarily categorized it this way.

Dug-From-Ground:
I wonder if the grandmother knew from personal experience not to dig double-stalked roots or if she was just cautioned not to do so and followed the instruction given to her.  I understand that it's sort of crazy that this young woman found this baby but especially after she went through the trouble of running after it as if it was hers, she then decides to not even look at what she's been looking for?  Anyways, it's pretty crazy that she avoids looking at him for so long and only is home when it's dark.  I would have thought that maybe she has some past story about losing a son but the story already said she was a virgin so it's not possible for her to already have had a son.  At the end, I don't understand who he marries.  Is it not mentioned (perhaps he marries someone he meets on the other side of the world) or does he marry one of the women (grandmother or mother)?

Native American Chiefs in 1865

Source:  Wikipedia

Extra Reading Diary: Folklore of Laos

Folklore of Laos:

A Child of the Woods:
This is interesting - I think it's neat to see the transition from such a hateful person to somewhere who now has a special relationship with the beasts and nature, and is a much more warm person because of it.  I had to read the story an extra time to pick up everything, but I like how it is in first person - it adds a lot more than writing it in third person would (I would guess).

The Enchanted Mountain:
Oooh, I really like this story.  It made me think of the Garden of Eden although I know there are several differences.  I think it's a beautiful picture of untouched nature that is so exquisite on its own that no man could make it better or harm its beauty.  I think it's neat that those who find it do so unintentionally and those who try to find it are unable to.  It gives off a mysterious feel which is neat.  I think it's fun that not all believe - it's a legend of sorts.

The Spirit-Guarded Cave:
This story is sort of like the last one - it makes us think about this legend of sorts.  I think it was sad that the people had to be enslaved although it was the lesser of two evils.  I think it's neat that their treasure was guarded and no one has found it yet.  I think stories like this are cool because it makes us wander and dream about whatever mystical thing may/may not exist.

Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops:
The author of this story was very creative - attributing the droop of an elephant's lip to a cannibal woman madly pursuing twelve young girls whose parents don't want them anymore.  It's a sad story - I wish I knew what happened to the twelve girls.  The creativity is quite impressive, however.

The Man in the Moon:
I like how this story has a moral - appreciate what you have.  It's fascinating how the man met someone with the power to change him into so many things.  I feel like if the man could have reverted back to his original form then he could have shared what he knew and made the world a better place being in it than from afar as the moon, however.  Oh well.

The Parrot and the Minor Bird:
This is an interesting story.  I wonder if the sao bird actually ever existed (or if it still does).  The poor bird got hurt - I was afraid the man would kill it, though, and was relieved he didn't.

A map of Laos

Source:  Wikipedia

Storytelling for Week 7: Puppies vs Kitties

Back in a small town in the outskirts of London, there lived a modest family in a wooden cottage.  The family consisted of a father who was a teacher, a mother who was a nurse, and two twin boys who were in the first grade.  Although the family did not have a lot of money, they made it a point to help anyone they could.  Thus, many of the forest animals stayed around their cottage to the scraps at the end of the day.  This is how the family came to adopt a loyal mutt and a small tabby cat.  The two twin boys grew to love the cat and dog, and the boys would race home from school every day in order to teach them new tricks.  At first, the cat and dog were not used to so much attention, but they loved every minute of it and did not want to lose it.  The dog constantly went out of his way to help the boys – he would bring them big sticks to build a fort with.  The cat, on the other hand, was more concerned with the boys entertaining her and felt no need to go out of her way to help them in any way.  One rainy day, the boys found a small shivering kitten in the rain outside and asked their parents if they could take care of it until it got better.  The dog, sensing the boys’ new interest, curled around the kitten to keep it warm and licked the top of its head in a concerned way.  The cat, on the other hand, drank the warm milk that night that the boys had set aside for the kitten once the family had settled into bed.  The dog saw this and was concerned for the shivering kitten and woke the boys up to help.  However, the boys did not realize the intentions of the dog and were angry to be woken up.  Thus, the boys put the dog out in the rain for the night while the selfish cat sat inside and watched from the warmth of the fireplace.  Because of this, dogs and cats are no longer friends.

A dog and cat.

Source:  Wikipedia

Author's Note:  I chose to re-tell the "Why Dog and Cat are Enemies" story from the Chinese Fairy Tales unit The Chinese Fairy Book edited by Richard Wilhelm  and translated by Frederick Wilhelm then was published in 1921.  I kept the point of the story the same but changed the details.  I also wrote my story in third person so I could get a more over-arching view of things rather than having a limited perspective on any of the characters.

Reading Diary B: Chinese Fairy Tales

Chinese Fairy Tales:

The Little Hunting Dog:
This is a fun story - I like it a lot.  It sort of remind me of the story of the guy who got tied down by mini people (Gulliver's Travels?), but these little people were helpful which was neat.  I really appreciate how the author put descriptions and compared the horses and falcons to things that I know the size of - flies, for instance.

Fox-Fire:
Although this story is certainly interesting and unlike anything I've read before, I would say that this probably isn't my favorite.  I like how the farmer boy was able to have such powers despite his humble roots, but I wish there was more details and development into the story rather than being so brief.

The Talking Silver Foxes:
This story is so strange to me.  Childless parents taking a part of a lime child and drinking it?  And then a farmer smoking a joint?  Also, this festival seems to occur somewhat frequently for how strange it is.  The note before the story was helpful, though, and it helped me understand why the author chose a fox to be the animal that gave him his magic.  I'm surprised the man whips the fox though since they were considered mystical creatures by these people.

Retribution:
I honestly don't understand what point (if any) the story is trying to make.  The whole story just seems sort of pointless and sad.  I mean, someone falls to their death and the witness is scared to come forward.  Everyone hears of the body and nine years later, It was an accident.  Yet, the witness is killed years later.  I wonder how they knew it was him all of those years later.  I wish they understood it was a mistake.

The Maiden who was Stolen Away:
That was a very strange story.  My first thought was that I didn't realize China had tornadoes but I suppose those can happen just about anywhere?  In the beginning of the story, I felt bad for the man.  But as soon as I realized he was really an ogre trying to deceive her, I felt bad for the girl and admiring her for not caving and marrying him out of desperation.  I'm really glad she got the help she needed.  I wonder how long she had been up there total.

Chinese pagoda at Tiboli Gardens

Source:  Wikipedia

The Sorcerer of the White Lotus Lodge:

Ugh, this story stinks.  It is very creative, though.  As soon as I read that the small boat was covered and the sorcerer said not to touch it, I figured it was the sorcerer's ship.  I'm surprised the students continually not only touched the stuff they were isntructed not to, but they were also clumsy enough to mess it up.  I think that it's totally evil that the one boy who insulted the sorcerer was turned into a pig and then was butchered - that's absolutely awful! I hope the boy who told on the sorcerer ended up being okay.  This is a frightening story.

The Three Evils:

Aww, this is a sad story.  The guy didn't seem evil at all - especially since he took it upon himself to risk his life many times to save his people and even left his home to protect them.  I almost wander if the informant knew that the mandarin's character and made it up to get him out of the way.  That would be a plot twist for sure.

Reading Diary A: Chinese Fairy Tales

Chinese Fairy Tales:

The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck:
This is a neat story! I think it's really cool that the princess repeatedly stood by what she believed in and did not waver - in choosing the beggar as her husband and by faithfully remaining his wife even though an apparent stranger/emperor was asking about her marital status.  I wonder how she knew (in the first place) that the beggar was the "favorite of fortune."  I'm certainly sure his appearance did not give that impression.  I was saddened by the fact that her father did not continue to love and respect her once she chose the beggar.  Thank goodness her mother took care of her, even if it was in secret.  I'm glad the beggar-husband came back to her, but I hate that the wife died.  She stayed so true and faithful - I wish she had a better ending.

The Cave of the Beasts:
I have mixed feelings about this story - I like how it ends so happily, but I also don't like that the daughters and their father pretended nothing happened - it's like they intentionally ignored the fact that he meant to leave them to die in the mountains.  The girls are smart too have not let the wolf/fox escape even though they said they'd give up some jewels - that would have lead to their destruction for sure.

Why Dog and Cat are Enemies:
This is an interesting take on cats versus dogs.  When I first started reading the story, I thought I recognized it but as I read on, I came to realize that I don't think I've read this version.  The story is easy to read and concise - with enough detail to keep it interesting but not too many details to get caught up in.  I wonder how many dog versus cat stories show the dog as the evil one - it certainly seems like the ones I've read make cats out to be the bad ones.

The Girl with the Horse's Head (Silkworm goddess):
This is such a strange story.  First of all, the promise to marry the horse didn't shock me too much - I feel like I've read enough stories that involve cross-species relationships to not be thrown for a loop too much.  As for the horse hide wrapping her up - that's super weird.  Also, it's weird she became in charge of the silkworms rather than anything related to horses.  It's also possible silkworms are somehow significant to horses, though - I do not know much about horses so maybe so.

The Miserly Farmer:
This is a cool story - I like how even though the farmer wouldn't give the priest a pear, a kind person paid for one for the priest - faith in humanity restored.  It would have been so neat to see the tree go so quickly - it stuck out to me that they brought hot water to pour on the planted seed though.  I'm sure the stingy farmer felt silly afterwards, and I hope he decided to be more generous from then onward.

A modern day view of "Greater China"

Source:  Wikipedia

Week 6 Storytelling: Playground Wars

Back at Lincolnwood Middle School, there was a strong dynamic between the small first graders and the intimidating and rowdy fourth graders.  The fourth graders would continually take all the good playground equipment, but the first-graders were too scared of their taunting jeers to say anything to the teacher.  After all, they didn't want to be considered a "snitch."  On day, a fourth grader named Randy offered a challenge to any one of the first graders.  He said that if someone could beat him in a treasure hunt, he would allow the first graders to have half of the playground equipment and the fourth graders vowed to keep the second and third grades from taking it from the first grade.  None of the first graders stepped up to the challenge day after day, but after listening to a month of taunting, one brave small first grader named Charlie decided he had experience enough and wanted the taunting to end.  Thus, at recess that afternoon, he approached Randy and said he'd accept the challenge.  Randy said, "Tomorrow at noon, if you can find a buried toy in the dirt before I do, you can have half of my playground kingdom." First, Charlie was upset - how was he supposed to dig up a toy?  The fourth graders had all of them - there's no way he could find one.  Even if he did, it would be really gross.  That night, when Charlie was getting ready for bed, he thought of a plan.  He decided that in the morning, he would get to school early and bury one of his own toys from home. Then, at noon, he would know where to dig the dirt up and would find it.  At noon, he did just that and won the playground back for the first graders.  Charlie soon became very popular among the first graders and as a result, he had new confidence and was no longer afraid to talk to older kids about problems the first graders had concerning the older students. Charlie served as their mediator and was loved by all  Randy respected Charlie from then on and they ended up being good teammates in high school as a part of an archaelogical recovery team.

 Typical elementary school playground

Source:  Wikipedia

Author's Note:  My story is based off of The Tiger and the Frog found in Tibetan Folk Tales which were compiled by Albert Shelton and published by his wife in 1925 based off what she found written down by him after his death three years earlier.  I wanted to make this story be more modern and between kids because it makes it more relatable and brings fond memories of childhood and the playground rivalries that most of us experienced.  I kept it third person so both characters could be talked about equally - also, the original story was in third person.

Famous Last Words for Week 3

Hey, everyone! This week hasn’t been too incredibly exciting, but I’m guessing that may be for the better (haha).  For this class, I have spent quite a bit of time reading people’s storytelling and introduction posts and am very impressed by both their writing skills, and the caliber of students in this class.  Most people seem to be seniors, but I’m also very impressed by those who are balancing school on top of family life and other major things such as jobs because they value education so much.  I’m really excited to see everyone’s storybooks/portfolios!  As for my other classes, school is going pretty well so far.  Physical Chemistry with lab is by far my hardest/most time consuming class, but I really enjoy it so far!  I don’t remember a ton of Calculus from freshman year, but I’m getting there (fingers crossed).   Speaking of time-consuming things, I also work in a research lab and spent 12 hours there this week so it’s been pretty busy, but I enjoy it.  I’ve worked in this lab on and off since freshman year and am now using it to cover my Biochemical Methods credit to graduate.  I really like working in the lab I’m in – everyone is really nice and my professor is incredibly caring and passionate about what she does.  On another note, I even had an exam already for the semester which is also crazy – immunology.  We’re nearly a month into school – it’s so unreal! Other than that, I had rounds this week a couple times and we have shadows from the RA class which is pretty fun.  Last night was the shortest weekend rounds I’ve ever had – they only went to 3:15 am rather than 6 am which I’m used to.  I also had youth group this week which was interesting – lots of discussion on perceptions of the afterlife which is always interesting to me.  I hope you guys are rooting for the Seahawks tonight! Have a great week!

Blitz, the Seattle Seahawks mascot

Source:  Wikipedia