It's the Same in Any Language

There are certain things that remain the same despite the culture you’re in. Here are some that I’ve noticed.

Seven year-old girls enjoy games involving slapping hands and chanting little ditties. Ashley got hold of some the first day of school and has been forcing me to play ever since. When I refuse, she sits alone, mutters the chant to herself, and slaps hands with an imaginary partner. It’s getting so bad that the wrong word from someone will set my brain on repeat as it plays and replays those stupid little rhymes

Teenagers hope they won’t be like their parents. Dealing with my fair share of teenagers, this seems to be more true than not. But here’s the real kicker: almost all the ones who say that do stuff that sets them up to be exactly like their parents. They make the same mistakes, they have the same character flaws, and none of them see it.

Three year-olds pick their noses. I was observing an English class full of tiny Spanish tots.  At one point, every single one of them was industriously mining their nostril. The basic personalities found in a group of kids this age are also universal. There was the cryer who wouldn’t leave my lap. There was the stubborn kid who didn’t like anything and didn’t want to do anything except go home. There was the weird kid that refused to tell anyone his name and called himself Dr. Monster (in English, oddly enough). And there was the know-it-all girl who told everyone what to do. (And no, for once that wasn’t me.)

Guys who say, “She’s nice,” are really saying, “She’s ugly.” Two members of our branch presidency confirmed it.

McDonalds hamburgers taste fake. It doesn’t matter what country you’re in. It doesn’t matter if they bake bits of bacon into the bun (which is really nasty, by the way). It doesn’t even matter if it’s called a hamburguesa instead of a hamburger. They’re still gross.

I guess they’re right. The more things change, the more they stay the same.