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

Extra Reading Diary: Stories from Congo

Stories from Congo:

How the wives restored their husband to life:
Ndoza'ntu has a very impressive skill - but Songa'nzila knowing which road without having the dream?  That's really crazy!  I wonder if the man didn't even consider mixing the pots - I wouldn't have necessarily thought of that on the spot after coming back to life.  After all, all three of his wives played an important role in helping him come back to life and they should all be thanked in their own special yet different ways if he doesn't want to thank them the same way.

How gazelle got married:
Why would the father declare war on his daughters' new husbands?  I feel like that would be the last thing he'd want to do because of their new husband lost, he would not be able to provide for his wives and they'd starve.  I could understand the father declaring war before the new husband took them to be wives but after?  And also, they have terrible memories - that's very frustrating.  It's nice that they took care of the dog though.  I find it interesting that they'd take care of the dog yet declare war on the owner, though.

Another Vanishing Wife:
I hate that Mavungu was treated so terribly as a child but find it very interesting that for each leaf he pulled off, a beautiful man or woman appeared.  I think that's very strange yet neat.  Was there some sort of witch that trapped the people in that form?  That would be what I was wondering.

The Jealous Wife:
I can't believe this elder wife would kill a child.  That's so disgusting.  And the other child had to witness it - that's so scarring.  I'm sure the new wife is scared as well.  It's too bad her husband didn't believe her at first but I suppose if he did, that would be a bit alarming as well.

The Wicked Husband:
Ugh, this is a nasty story.  I really don't like it.  I wonder why the people of the Congo tell such terrible, dark stories.  I can't believe that they'd do anyone any good to hear them.

The Twin Brothers:
First off, I like how the story starts off at the beginning - at their births.  Are these the same brothers from before?  Where one was abused?  Oh, guess not.  Maybe those are simply common names for this time/culture?  Anyways, there's so many charms in this story.  It is a bit confusing.

Congo, on a map

Source:  Wikipedia

Reading Diary B: Tibetan Folk Tales

Tibetan Folk Tales:

How the rabbit killed the lion:
This is an interesting story - based on the proverb, I didn't foresee this lion killing himself.  I don't like that the lion drowned.  I wonder if the rabbit knew/thought he would.  I also wonder what kowtow means.  I'll have to look that up.

The Story of the Three Hunters:
I think it's a quite drastic measure to kill someone based off the piece of meat they got.  Surely, this must have been a building hatred but why?  The third wife didn't hate her, so I'm guessing the brothers couldn't have been treating the sister that much better anyways.  If anything, they should pity the sister for not having her own man to take care of her anyways (not that women need men to take care of them...).  It's really quite terrible the men killed their own wives and then shared the third - was the third wife even okay with that?

How the Raven Saved the Hunter:
This is a sad story - the raven sacrificed his life to warn the hunter and to save his. I'm glad the hunter lived regardless, but I hope the hunter vowed to not hunt ravens at all anymore or something as a way to honor the raven who died on his behalf.

The man with five friends with different colored eyes:
I'm so glad the man had a friend to back him up.  I feel it was a bit ridiculous for the man to have had 10 children with a woman in order to tell her secrets though.  Did people commonly have that many children?  Perhaps, the father simply meant to never trust women?  Either way, I can't believe the wife would so easily give up on her husband.  Surely she knew the consequences of her actions.

A Rabbit Story:
Man, this must be the fiercest little rabbit that I've ever read about.  Most of the stories that I've read presents them as nice, soft, cuddle-y little animals.  I wonder why the author chose to present the rabbit as such an evil-doer this time.  It certainly is unique though.

European rabbit relaxing in the grass

Source:  Wikipedia

Reading Diary A: Tibetan Folk Tales

Tibetan Folk Tales:

The Tiger and the Frog:
I really like how clever the frog is - convincing the tiger he beat him at jumping and also would give him a match in a strength competition - very sneaky.  I also think the frog is quite brave for having the guts to bite a tiger's tail in order to latch on for the jump.  It was also clever that the frog addressed the fox in a way so that the tiger was under the impression the fox was on his side.  I imagine the tiger ran so fast the fox didn't have time to explain himself and probably couldn't later since he was being dragged along.

The Cony who got into bad Company:
I think this is a very important lesson to learn.  Since I'm an RA, I see this situation played out a lot of different ways in the residence halls.  On just about any set of rounds, I find residents breaking the rules and anyone in the room is written up for it and they can then plead their case to student conduct.  Those in bad company often get in trouble just like those who were performing the "bad deed."  We are told this lesson since the time we're young, but there's so much truth to it.  It's not a promise, but it is certainly a probability.

The Donkey and the Rock:
This was a great ending.  I wish I had a better perspective on how valuable half a cent would be to the people of this time, but I really like how the king handled it.  It's an important lesson to learn to not be so caught up and entertained by the gossip and other people's hardships but instead support them, which the king made them all do (essentially).

How the fox fell a victim to his own deceit:
Although I feel like death was not a good way to teach the fox a lesson, I do hate how he tried to turn the friends against one another.  I mean, what does that even accomplish?  As ridiculous as it may seem, this happens a lot in real life as well, whether intentionally or unintentionally.  Gossip has this power and can be so destructive.

Covetousness:
This tale is not my favorite, although I admire the moral lesson that it teaches/entails.  It is never a good thing to covet another person, or their stuff, but it is also very tempting and oftentimes we don't realize we do it.  The harm was very apparent in this story but in real life, we don't always realize its harm until later.

The story of Drashup and the goddesses:
This story is pretty sad.  It starts off all the sad descriptions of Drashup and why everyone should feel super sorry for him and then his wife dies at the end.  That guy most have one of the most terrible lives.  And the fact that the wife did something bad when her husband was gone reminds me of the Aladdin story since the women just weren't informed of the reasoning behind their husbands' actions.

Cute yet cunning fox

Source:  Wikipedia

Extra Reading Diary: Georgian Folk Tales

Georgian Folk Tales:

Master and Pupil:
This is a slightly scary slightly creative story.  Making a deal with the devil - never a safe sort of thing.  I know it's just a story, but I'm surprised the boy was (or seemed to be) so composed the whole time.  I'm glad the boy could return home to his family.  Additionally, he could morph into animals which is pretty cool!

Fate:
Wow! What a story - I definitely did not see the ending coming (maybe I should have).  The whole premise - the weaver who was very poor (I thought he had nobody with him besides his daughter yet the daughter said her mother took care of her injury after the stabbing?), the prince who all the girls desired, and this strong sense of fate.  I wonder if the prince ever told his new wife the truth about what happened or if he was too afraid that she would not forgive him.

The Two Brothers:
This is a sad ending. The boy got dragged out in the end by a bear.  There's a lot of sad endings in these folk tales that I've noticed...what's up with that?  Maybe that's the biggest differences between folk and fairy tales?  Folk tales don't have to have happy endings and fairy tales usually do?

The Shepherd Judge:
This judge is certainly impressive.  It reminds me of Solomon(?) in the Bible since similarly, there were two people who had a major dispute and it didn't seem like there could be a good way to solve it but sure enough, the judge solved the problem and everyone who saw it was amazed.

Georgia:  The Priest's Youngest Son:
Based off the title, I'm guessing this is the story behind the founder of the people since he has the same name as the region/nation? Anyways, this story is nice and happy - I like it! It stinks that not all the brothers could pay enough respect to their deceased father and read to him, but at least the youngest son did it.  It's great he got a reward, but I think that based off his character, he would have done it anyways.  I'm glad he got to marry the princess and was able to heal his mother-in-law.

A white horse - this is what I picture the priest's youngest son riding when he goes to see the princess

Source:  Wikipedia

Week 5 Storytelling: Ghostbusters

Once upon a time, there were a husband and wife duo who frequently bickered.  The husband was a humble man who worked hard performing manual labor daily despite his growing age whilst his wife remained at home cooking, sewing, and socializing with other women.  One day, the wife lost her temper completely and throwing her pots and pans in her husband's direction yelled, "You don't provide for me - if I could go back in time, perhaps I would have remained with my father and mother...at least then I always had a big meal to eat and could heat the house freely.  But you barely make enough to buy flour for the bread!" The husband, blinking away tears, looked down at the ground and slowly walked out of the house.  Hurt but determined, he sought to find a better paying job to have in addition, or maybe in place of, his current occupation.  While walking down the road, he saw something white to the right of him.  When he looked, he couldn't believe his eyes! He saw a ghost!  "The government thought they got rid of them all," the man thought.  The man took a photo of the ghost and thought out loud, "Maybe, if I show this to the police, they'll pay me a reward for staying quiet and providing proof that they're not all gone!" The ghost knew this would mean his demise so he urged the man - if you be quiet, I'll give you an even greater reward! The man, realizing the profit he could gain, made a deal with the ghost, was paid, and sought to find even more ghosts.  Luckily, he did.  Just like that, he became a professional ghost hunter and made a lot of money.  It wasn't until years later that he could tell others about his stories and adventures, but we'll save that for another time.  As for his wife, when he returned with money, she apologized profusely before she even realized how much money her husband had made.  She made a promise to be more supportive and they were much happier from then on.

Author's Note:  My story is based off The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged from the Folktales of Bengals which were collected by Lal Behari Day from storytellers in the early 20th century.  I wanted to make the story more modern and change up the ending a bit.  The plot line itself has some different details but overall, the story is the same.

Haunted chateau (2009)

Source:  Wikipedia

Reading Diary B: Folktales of Bengal

Folktales of Bengal:

A Ghostly Wife:
Is this story the same guy for the previous story?  It has the same ghost theme, the man is a brahman, and he lives with both his wife and mother... Anyways, if so, what an unfortunate couple.  It's a good thing that the mother started to notice differences and that she chose to not say anything to the ghost but to confirm her suspicions with her son in order to not set off the supernatural.

The Origin of Rubies:
Man, parents who spoil one child and disregard the rest don't realize the harm.  Not only does the spoiled child grow up with serious behavior problems that have now grown pretty much permanent, but the other children and that child will not be able to get along.  Anyways, same idea for this story.  I'm anticipating the siblings to come into play somewhere.  I wonder if the king of the great land is doing that to his daughter.  Anyways, I wonder if the queen and her son have thought about going home yet... The other sons must be wondering where they are.

The Origin of Rubies (ctd):  
So this is an interesting ending - I did not see it coming.  I expected the prince to die searching for rubies or to get detained while getting more rubies but no, he gets two beautiful women as wives?  What in the world! I definitely did not expect that.  Anyways, it's definitely a creative ending - I did not see that happening.  Sort of gross imagery with the whole head separate from the body and the blood being the rubies - blah!

The Ghost who was afraid of being Bagged:
This story starts off sad but gets very interesting at the end.  In the beginning, I was very much saddened by the fact that the wife did not support the husband but abused him physically, verbally, and emotionally.  I admire the husband, however, for not leaving her altogether on the spot but doing some self-examination and realizing that he probably could/should support his wife better.  Kudos to the husband for roping two ghosts in to help him get rich.  That was pretty great!

A medieval ghost by Gallowglass

Source:  Wikipedia