In the "Are Small town girls.." topic, Ralph29 wrote: I showed my wife "Napoleon Dynamite" last night. She didn't get it. But it reminded me of someone when Kip stated he's getting pretty serious with his woman. "We were online for like, over two hours!"
That is a favorite movie of mine. So you'll understand when I tell you that the liger is pretty much my favorite animal; it's bred for its skills in magic.
I can certainly can understand why your wife didn't get the movie; especially someone from another culture. (People I know either adore or hate the movie)
I once worked with a Russian man who told me Russian jokes--they were horrible!
So to the experts: How does FSU humor differ from western humor?
she liked 'Death At A Funeral', 'No Time For Sergeants' and a couple other comedies.
didn't like 'Sleeper' but they were talking too fast and no sub-titles.
absolutely hates anything 'Monty Python' and anything with Will Ferrel.
and she hates it if I wear a golf cap in the house!!!!!
But I will say this. We went to walmart today to pick up a few bags of mulch and such. I was wearing a nasty t-shirt from a rock concert and checked shorts I only wear to do yard work. Totally goofy looking outfit. I asked her if she minded if I wore these clothes. She looked and and said, "It's walmart." Now that was funny!!!!! I just hope I don't show up on 'The People of Walmart' emails.
Batman --- I think it will take some time before she's ready for 'The Big Lebowsky'. And maybe in a year she'll get ND. I mean, I did catch a delicious bass for her!
Batman --- I think it will take some time before she's ready for 'The Big Lebowsky'. And maybe in a year she'll get ND. I mean, I did catch a delicious bass for her!
The next time you try ND, have her slowly bring her fist up to her chin and imagine herself in a school of tiny seahorses. If that fails, tell her I can through a pigskin a quarter mile and that grandma broke her coccyx.
No, I bet I can throw a pigskin over those mountains. Funny thing... we just finished dinner and I did some fresh coho on a cedar plank. But since we blew off the steak last night it was double pleasure on the grill. Here's the thing... I asked her to put the other slab of salmon in a plastic container. As I sat there she appeared with a plastic bag and bagged the salmon. I didn't say anything until later. I explained 'Tupperware' to her. Plastic containers that people historically call Tupperware. Just as many people ask for a 'kleenex' instead of a tissue. Anyway, I referenced Uncle Rico selling 'Tupperware' to her. All I needed was a good reference. Soon she will be out looking for the 24 piece set! She actually did laugh out loud at that scene with Rico getting his picture took!
Okay - went to the 'PA Renaissance Faire' yesterday. Good for a day with the kids. Okay for a couple adults looking for something different. If you're into dragons, spells and witchcraft, dressing up in period clothing as well as the whole spirit of the thing (think a serious bunch of nerds) then you were in your glory. A bunch of people walking around in 'costume' with fake accents, jugglers, magic acts and the typical revere' of the day. And of course her royal majesty Queen Elizabeth was there. The jousts were entertaining and the human chess match was interesting. O'Mauley's Pour House had a stellar IPA at $5.50 a pop. She wouldn't let me drive home because I had three pints spread out over the course of 7 hours. :)
There was a group, The Mudders, who did a skit. It was set up in a mud pit and of course slapstick and visual were part of the show. However, the speaking part of the show which was geared toward adults was a bust. There were references to old TV characters and news makers from over a decade ago. Many times word play was used to inject humor. I myself thought it was pretty funny. But my wife sat there stone faced - I did catch her smiling at something once or twice. She was amazed when she asked me if I thought it was funny and I replied yes. A song parody to the 'Brady Bunch' theme and few other older references seemed totally out there to someone who had never before heard of this. Plus the fact that not being a native speaker is a big disadvantage. I realize it could take a couple years before she learns the slang and off color references to be able to enjoy much of the comedy and stand up comics. I think a night at the comedy club will be a total waste of time. As for her sense of humor, she has a keen sense of humor and can use a bit of sarcasm herself at times. But never mean spirited. Judging from her responses to humor I'd say it is on par with a typical American. However, it is difficult for her to understand rapid fire banter. Especially when it involves cultural or newsworthy events.
On another note, we watched "Dr. Strangelove" last night. She laughed out loud at some parts of it.
Oh! I almost forgot. SPAM! spam spam spam spam, spam spam spam spam, spammity spam!...
I picked up a can of Spam for a camping trip. Saturday I treated her to eggs, spam, potatoes, eggs, spam and spam. SHE DIDN'T LIKE SPAM! Thank goodness for that. She asked me why I even bought it. I explained for camping...
Anyway I asked her about computer spam. She of course knows what it means. Then I told her about the MP Spam skit and how spam got its name (urban legend?). I showed her the entire skit a couple times. She asked me if I really thought 'that' was funny. I will admit it was a lot funnier when I was 14.
I may tie her to the couch and make her watch every episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Coincidentally, the entire collection of MPFC are the very first DVDs I ever purchased.
I brought spam and corned beef on my trip. I brought it to the kitchen at the apartment where we were staying in Kiev. My gf opened both of them one evening and we had spam and corned beef with Ritz crackers for dinner with a bottle of wine. We ate them both from the can. I didn't know she was going to do that. Of course, the corned beef needed to be cooked and given other ingredients. She liked the spam, but not the corned beef.
(Go ahead, Ralph. Tell me how my post doesn't have anything to do with the thread title or what we are talking about.)
I think you have hit upon the key to a relationship with a new FSU bride. I once was married to a Russian lady a few years ago and when she came to America she had problems with the rapid fire jokes of stand up comics. She just did not command a good enough understanding of the English language or past events that shaped our history to be able to understand the humor. However slapstick humor is easy for everyone to understand and this is what I steered her towards. I also encouraged her to take over any parts of the home to do with as she liked. I felt she needed to exert her own thoughts and desires to express herself and feel a productive part of our family. I believe all foreign women coming to live here need to have some part... some responsibilities when they arrive. Without them finding some part of life here that they can contribute to and start to feel as an equal... they will not last, they will be humbled and loose interest unless they can feel their contributions are necessary welcomed.
I see RB, you insist on keeping it going. "Go ahead Ralph..."
I AM curious though. Is this the girlfriend who is waiting you out? How much time have you spent with her? Is this the "gf" that sits around waiting for you to send more money? Is this just a cyber gf?
I will not try to be an expert on what qualifies as slapstick. "Get Smart" surely had a little. But it was more of a cerebral type comedy. "Green Acres" ? More of the same. I think you are Eb.
I really don't want to answer too much about my gf. People here have taken what I said and made up some. I have not sent her money in months. This now opens the forum up for those who does not believe that. I will not explain it. I spent about 10 days with her in Kiev and Yalta.
My point is some people just like to laugh. This is also true with FSU women. I also spent about 10 days in Zaporozhye with another lady who did not like jokes. She just would not laugh. When I see her pictures now, she was not in all of the pictures she was with me, but she was smiling when she was taking a picture by herself.
I wrote this for you just in case it will help you in the future... I meant no disrespect, I only wanted to express my familiarity with your situation in hopes you can use my experience.
"I also encouraged her to take over any parts of the home to do with as she liked. I felt she needed to exert her own thoughts and desires to express herself and feel a productive part of our family. I believe all foreign women coming to live here need to have some part... some responsibilities when they arrive. Without them finding some part of life here that they can contribute to and start to feel as an equal... they will not last, they will be humbled and loose interest unless they can feel their contributions are necessary welcomed."
Huck -- she already hates the three stooges -- all five of them! She is a bit more refined... I only ever met one woman who loved the stooges (and the Raiders too) perfect woman!!!!!
Today we went to the local community college to enroll in (free) English classes. They gave two tests. She scored too damned high to get accepted into the classes. Only got one wrong on the reading comprehension part. And scored off the charts on the general knowledge test. Stupid woman! I told her she had to play dumb to get into the class... But we did meet another Russian gal there. Poor girl has been here for three years and is relegated to the intermediate English class. But we made a new friend.
I've always found fsu women to be much like every other nationality of women. If you're funny they laugh.
Them wot don't ...well they just have their head up their arse.