Happy Halloween from Maine!

Pumpkin Graveyard at Rocky Ridge Orchard.

Remember, remember to wear don't-shoot-me orange in November!

Grammar, Identity and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive with Phuc Tran

Imagine life without WHAT IF...

Phuc Tran was a child refugee from the Vietnam War, moving with his family to Pennsylvania in 1975. He now lives in Maine, where he teaches Latin and works as a tattoo artist too. Phuc is one of the most interesting and articulate people I've ever known. He's also modest. I've only just learned of his TEDx talk in which he shared his experience of immigration and assimilation. In the clip below Phuc explains how living without the subjunctive tense can change the way you approach life.

"The subjunctive allows us to be creative, but it also allows us to become mired in regret." - Phuc Tran

The talk is 14 minutes long so pour yourself a cup of tea. Be careful not to choke on laughter.

Daleks Hack MIT: tales from a college road trip

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.)

After years of living by a college campus, passing tours of engaged parents and bored teens, I have crossed the line. Over April break I became one of those parents. To minimize ennui, I let my 17-year-old son take the driver’s seat, both metaphorically and literally. We drove a thousand miles in a week. My son set the itinerary, mapped our route and split the driving. We visited only one college per day to allow for in-depth exploration. Our sample ranged from small liberal arts schools in the mountains to big, urban universities.

My favorite moment was on a tour of MIT: my son pointed up at a building and whispered, “Is that a Dalek up there?” Daleks are evil cyborgs from the British sci fi series, Dr. Who. A full size replica was indeed perched on a tower. It was hack week at MIT. Another year, the students constructed a replica of a police cruiser and installed it on the dome of the main building with a parking ticket. MIT offers a Pirate Certification if you take pistol, archery, fencing and sailing for the Phys Ed requirement. You’ve got to love geek humor.

Back when I was a graduate student at MIT, women were a small minority, but now the gender ratio is near even. Our tour guide was an attractive sorority sister from Dallas, majoring in material engineering. Diversity had improved too: there is no single majority race on campus. Daleks, however, are still under represented, but given their mission of universal conquest, that might not be a shortcoming. Without visiting, we wouldn’t have realized how much the campus atmosphere had changed. I’m using MIT as an example, but all of our campus visits produced surprises, both good and bad, and lots of helpful information. Fit is such a personal thing.

My son strongly recommends attending classes to get a flavor of both the teaching style and the student body. Some admission departments list classes prospective students can visit and others link to the course catalog and ask you to contact the professor. Your child (not you) should email professors 2 weeks in advance. My husband is always pleased to have prospective students attend his lectures at Bowdoin College. As much as I wanted to visit classes with our son, I foraged for food so he could blend in with the students and approach professors. We met up for lunch and the helpful tour/info session.

The road trip was worth it not just for college applications; it was also a good bonding experience. I still anticipate a stressful senior year ahead of us. Any tips from survivors?

Translating British Humor

The Eagle and Child is a pub in Oxford where C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and other literary pals met weekly for a drink. The so called Inklings nicknamed their watering hole “The Bird and Baby.” Funny or sick?

My work in progress, A MATCH FOR EVE, is about an American teenager who goes to school in England for a year. As I consider her reactions and the British boys’ response to her, my focus is on attraction, miscommunication and culture clash, often with hilarious results. British humor can be witty and dry, but it can also be crass.

My English husband, an expert on public broadcasting politics and killing time on YouTube, passed on two BBC clips:


These animal voice overs went viral at Bowdoin College and our kids’ school in Maine, showing some humor translates well. If you can make it past the farting gorilla . . .


This political satire requires some familiarity with 80’s music and British prime ministers.

One thing I love about the Brits (as opposed to most Americans) is they don't take themselves too seriously. Also just about anything sounds both funnier and more believable with an English accent. A secret to a happy marriage (20 years and still counting) is laughter . . . and proofreading manuscripts, feeding a manic writer and putting up with this blog. Thanks, Henry!

For more on Oxford and expat life, see my Sabbatical in England posts. Do you have any amusing culture clash stories to share, especially about the UK?

Multi-Cultural Blog Watch:

* Reading in Color had a thought provoking post on racial stereotypes in fiction "Latinos Don't Fall in Love and Asians Don't Tell Jokes."

* Travels with Persephone urges us to slow down to look at the texture of travel. Amanda takes us to Italy, Croatia and Greece, focusing on walkways and rooftops.

* Author Barrie Summy celebrated Valentine’s Day with her adopted daughter and shared how Koreans observe Valentine's Day in their country.

* Through the Sapphire Sky shared Chinese New Year in Japan.

Note: I'm taking a one week blog vacation for the kids' February Break.  Next post Wednesday, March 2nd.

Popham Beach in December

Season's Greetings from Maine! 

Book Blog Watch: The Perpetual Page-Turner has a link list to 2010 Book Surveys from multiple book bloggers, including my Gift Book Suggestions from 2010. Steph Su is listing best 2010 books by genre, craft etc. Happy Reading!

Holiday Humor: The Digital Story of Nativity on YouTube

2 week blog vacation: next post January 5, 2011. This post is my holiday card.