KID ETHNIC IS WRITTEN BY:
saleem
who is currently moving around East Asia.
kidethnic@gmail.com
ALSO BY KID ETHNIC:
The Alpaca Song
I wrote and recorded this for you. Because you <em>need</em> a song about alpacas, don’t you?
SEAWEED BREAKFAST
A weekly column about Japan that I wrote for Glimpse.org.
The Whiteboard Videos
Music+Whiteboard Markers+Friends=Good ways to spend weekends
100JapaneseThings
A collaborative site to help folks (and each other) find Japanese stuff.
Twitter
I twitter infrequently. But hope we can stay friends.
The Annual Kid Ethnic Valentine
Because I love you so much.
It Was Like a Cuteworld Abby Road · 24 August 04
Witnessed from the bicycle on a recent Sunday afternoon:
Every fifteen seconds or so, the tall lady in blue would blow a rhythm on a little referee’s whistle. This action caused the pink-suited children to shout phrases in unison.
I did not know why.
I asked around, and was told that a festival day was being observed by local children.
When little aspects of life here in Cuteworld confuse me, I often relax my mind by imagining parallel scenarios for a fictional opposite of myself.
(I know this is getting weird, but stay with me).
This Imaginary Anti-Saleem would have recently begun full-time employment in America but would have arrived in the U.S. stupidly ignorant of local language or customs.
(It’s hard to imagine someone arriving in America as ignorantly as I arrived in Japan. Please indulge my wacky fantasy world for a few sentences more.)
Imaginary Anti-Saleem might have experienced a situation like this on a Sunday afternoon:
IMAGINARY ANTI-SALEEM: Um, holy crap guys, what the hell’s going on here?
SOME LOCAL AMERICAN DUDE: Uh, what do you mean.
IAS: There are frighteningly gigantic fuzzy bunnies distributing rations to children in the mall food court.
SLAD: Um, Imaginary Anti-Saleem, dude, relax. It’s called Easter.
IAS: Okay, sure. ‘Eeee-stur’. Giant rabbits and increased church attendance. Cool, yo. I can roll with that.
Somehow, thinking thinking about Imaginary Anti-Saleem makes me feel better about my silly lack of common sense here.
(See? It all ended rationally, right? See how thinking of Imaginary Anti-Saleem makes the real me seem like I’m not in that abnormal a situation? A little bit? Maybe?)
COMING NEXT POST: A return to coherence. I promise.
* * *
I Scare Small Children | Today's Post Contains Bees. And Profanity.
— Ela 2166 days ago #
— Brant 2136 days ago #
— fasd 1719 days ago #