The Black Eyed Peas' song, "My humps" is probably one of the 3 most overplayed songs in Thailand. But the fact is, THEY LOVE IT. They love it almost as much as they love "Zombie" by the Cranberries. Music takes about 10 times as long to get old in this country than anywhere else.
My grade 4 class, my new youngest class, asked me what "my humps" means in Thai. The content of this song is perhaps a bit PG-13ish and that class age range is 9-18. I didn't think it was a good idea to convey what was REALLY being said. Thinking about how I should appropriately answer this question, I decided the best thing to do was to draw a camel on the board and point to the hump on it's back. "This. This is the 'hump' you guys were wondering about. Understand?" It was amazing to see the looks of recognition on their faces for a few seconds and then that gradual look of confusion in their eyes. "Camels? She's singing about camels?" "That's right. Moving on,"
TODAY
*will try to get to cafe today to upload pictures
*last blog entry: i spelled appalled wrong and in all caps. that's embarassing, but I do like to know these things. Thanks!
Who is "A'? Who wants to quit their job in September and hang out in Thailand???
posted by Jamie @ 1:18 AM
4 Comments:
It's always tough to explain what certain lyrics mean to underage kids. Even when they speak the same language. When I was in 3rd grade everyone was crazy about Madonna's "like a Virgin." Kids in my class were all asking each other "are you a virgin?" The only time I'd ever heard the word was in connection with the Virgin Mary. So I said "No, I'm not any religion."
Congratulations! You have crossed one of the important "them v. us" lines in life. You are now no longer a kid. Once you have to censor life for the younguns' you are an official grown-up! I am soooo proud!
((I have my theories as to who "A" is, but I ain't tellin'!))
I remember wanting to get the single "bad girls" by Donna Summer when I was a kid, I don't think my Mom had any really good explination for what "bad girls" were, but, she did insinuate that they weren't bad girls because they forgot to make their beds, clean their rooms or eat all of their brussel sprouts. Over time, I finally figured out that the "bad girls" were hookers... The "beep-beep, toot-toot yeah" lyrics really gave it away. Live and learn. Yeah, it's not easy telling kids stuff like that, they are so curious. But it sounds like you had the right approach. Can't wait to see more pics!
i am anne-e. wood
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