One of the students I work with in the dorm is a fifteen year old girl. She has offered me some interesting tidbits of wisdom, which I will now share with you;
-"You should wear more make-up. You would look really pretty if you wore more make-up. And why don't you pluck your eyebrows? You should dye your hair red, because if you don't do it now, when will you do it? When you are a grandmother?"
I responded to all of this with "well, I'll think about it." She sighed and said "Don't think about it. Just do it."
- "Are you going to get married soon? Why not? At home, girls get married when they are fifteen, and they start families."
She has told me this four times so far. I don't know how I'm supposed to react. Maybe I should feel horrified that I'm a twenty-two year old Old Maid. Maybe I should ask her why she isn't married. In any case, I'm not starting any families. Seventy-four adolescents and a cat is already more than enough.
-"Do your parents know you have a boyfriend? They DO? In my country, parents never know about boyfriends, because they hate boyfriends. Parents only like husbands."
Huh. Interesting. How do they feel about fiancees, then?
-"At home, the worst thing that can happen to a girl is breaking up with her boyfriend. If you break up, people say you are a bad girl. At home, we say that women are like electricians. One mistake, and your life is over."
Well. I guess I am glad that I do not live in her part of the world. Actually, I confess that I really don't get the electrician analogy. Would anyone like to (heehee) enlighten me?
-"Don't step on the black caterpillars, because they are messengers from Satan, and if you kill them, Satan will come after you."
This might be my favorite bit of advice. It definitely wins the Most Bizarre award, although it is in competition with a piece of advice I once received from a Russian student (not a dorm resident). He said "don't sit on the cold stone steps, because you will get syphilis, and if you have a penis it will turn black and fall off." If this were actually true, I suspect there would be a lot of syphilitic people out there.
And with that, I'm off to Athens for a few days!
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7 comments:
RE: the electrician analogy
Emily, if an electrician makes a mistake then his life is over because he is dead (electrocuted).
I'm glad I'm not Albanian too! Such attitudes are really difficult for me to understand, because they are so centered on the idea that a woman is not "complete" if she doesn't have a man, or has lost her man.
As to the makeup, well, you can tell her you don't wear more makeup because you don't want to end up looking 60 when you are 40 (there was a close up shot of Teri Hatcher's face at the Grammy Awards that proves that). That crap has the equivalent of a chemical plant in it.
Your other post gave me an idea to open up a tyropita/bougatsa/spanakopita/frappe/etc shop somewhere in Manhattan.
After reading this post, investing in a cosmetic chain in Albania sounds promising
It also gave me another idea...An invention that would protect against the "Russian syphillis". It could be an instant hit in the Russian market which, by the way, is huge compared to the Albanian market for cosmetics
I wont share this idea here though 'cause it will sound silly. :)
Hey, is the "Doggy Steps" idea(steps that allow dogs to reach beds, couches and cars for only $39.99) any better? Don't think so, yet its ads are all over the NYC subway.
Now, the electrician-woman analogy made me think for a possible product/service that may sell in Albania and other places where such analogies exist. Howeever, all I came up with are titles for x-rated movies.
Yesterday, the Albanian girl told me that I would be attractive if I was black.
She also said she'd "set me up" with a friend of hers who lives in town.
She's a constant source of amusement, though I don't think she's representative of all Albanians.
Just make sure her friend's not 15 Brad or we'll be looking for ya.
Hi Emily,
Love your blog! Just a general question, how did you find this program for teaching in Greece and what qualifications do you need to have?
Efharisto!
Emily, great blog on "Greece courtship" I'm having to do a report for my university on dating in Greece, if you could offer me any more information about it, that would be great! Thanks!
mtiller15@yahoo.com
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