American Life: Part 2

What do you want to be in your future?

Everyone asks themselves this question at some point in their life...

Personally, I would like to become a pilot that transforms into an airplane...

or maybe a food critic...

But along the way there are many life lessons to be learned...

1) You can always count on friends to be supportive...

2) Respect your elders...

3) How to make letters with your body...

creepy

more creepy


4) And deductive reasoning...

It's also important to learn about holidays, like April Fools' Day...

and Easter...

Still trying to find the egg in this picture

I hope you learned some things about American culture.

Disclaimer:  Unless you are a human pretzel or relative of Mr. Fantastic please do not attempt to emulate the pictures above. Transforming the human body into letters of the alphabet is very dangerous. This blog, its authors, and blogger will not be held responsible for any injuries.  

Baby on Board

During the 1980s, somewhere between pet rocks and parachute pants, the now famous "Baby on Board" sign made its debut...

It was not created to increase awareness of baby drivers, but rather to remind drivers that children ride in cars. So if a vehicle has this sign you should probably try to avoid a collision.

Not suprisingly, many parodies soon made their way onto windows...

"Baby I'm Bored"
"Elvis On Board"
"No Baby On Board Feel Free To Drive Into Me"

Many other similar signs can be found all over the world including Japan where I found this...

On some of these it says "I am safety driver" at the bottom. 


So why not create my own sign? One that would let Japanese drivers know they are amongst a foreigner. Some examples...

Yes. I realize they are a band, but they are still foreigners.

'Gaijin' is a slang term for foreigner. I must turn into this creature in public places. That would explain the staring.


And my favorite one that cuts straight to the point...

 Translated, it reads "Foreigner! Dangerous!"

White Diamonds!

The month of October means teaching colors and shapes to 1st and 2nd graders. It is complicated because many students do not know the names for the shapes in Japanese. My favorite mistake...

Daniel:  What's this?

Student:  It's a red scare.
 

I realize this is not a 'red scare' poster but it's red, could be political and is not offensive. When you think of red scare you probably think of Joseph McCarthy.

He pioneered the idea that if someone doesn't agree with you they are probably a communist.

Back to the classroom...

Daniel:  What's this?

Student:  I like white diamonds.

Though not answering the actual question, this is easily one of the best answers in English class.

This got me thinking about color and shapes. They can describe your personality, identify your body shape...

or denote potential road hazards...

So to review, stay away from red shapes and anyone with different opinions than your own (because they are probably communists).

American Stereotypes

 Sorry nose.. Yes, this is a vitally important English phrase.

Fat lady + Rude Kid = Good Old Americana

This picture is taken from the same series of books that was written about here.

American Life

While going through supplies at my school I happened upon this very informative book called 'American Life'...

Naturally, I took this opportunity to learn more about my own culture from a different perspective. And I learned many things...

1) It's never too late to reinforce gender stereotypes.

2) All Americans eat hot dogs and tater tots, but some are more thrilled about it than others.

3) An explanation as to why there was always sand in my pajamas. 

4) Sometimes...people lie.

5) Some great parenting strategies.

6) And more great parenting strategies.