Being a 'Sotan

I was listening to a different morning show that usual on the radio this morning, and the show was discussing what one needs to do to earn his/her "Minnesota Card" if he or she isn't a native to the area.  Some of the things that were mentioned were eating hotdish or goulash, going ice fishing, seeing a Twins game, seeing  a Vikings game, eating walleye, admitting "Duck, Duck, Gray Duck" is superior to "Duck, Duck, Goose,"  sticking up for the weather and being Minnesota Nice, waiting too long for your turn at four-way stops because you are suggesting everyone else goes first, and the list went on.  I thought this was an outstanding example of defining a culture! We won't get to cultures until chapter 2, but I couldn't help but share since most of us can relate to this list.

Nonverbals of a Server

As I was driving in this morning, I overheard a conversation on the Dave Ryan Show about waiters and watiressess that cannot pick up on nonverbal and verbal cues.  I was a waitress at a small diner for four years, and I could relate with the experiences that were being shared. Dave was sharing that it is a servers job to be able to pick up on the verbals and nonverbals at a table to know whether he/she is needed, if the table wants to chat, or if the table just wants to be left alone to eat.  I can think of a quite a few experiences from my years as a waitress where reading these cues was vital to both the satisfaction of the guests at the table as well as my tip.  Thinking back, I was really surprised at how much was communicated nonverbally though a gesture, eye contact, or lack of eye contact.  I found that by the time I got to school I was fully siding with Dave Ryan that it is the servers responsibility to pick up on those cues just as it is up to the guest at the restaurant to make his/her needs clear.

Up or down?

Yesterday I was chatting with a teacher in the media center about the impending wintery weather.  We both commute from Rochester, so we were talking about how there seems to be a magical line between Byron and Kasson where the roads go from okay to crappy.  She was sharing that her husband was driving the two of them to Kasson recently, and when she approached that "magical line," she insisted her husband "slow up."  When I was sharing how I had driving to Mantorville for a birthday party recently, I said that I made sure to "slow down" when I got to that line.

 Later on it occurred to me how awkward "slow up" sounded to me.  Our verbal language is very fascinating. It is crazy how the same message can be relayed using such a variety of different word and word combinations.

Image source: http://www.slowup-ticino.ch/interna.asp?idarticolo=20530

Image source: http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Plastic-Reflective-Sign-12/dp/B0055DOSK0

Horns? Horns. Horns!

The English language can be so ambiguous. My son taught me this after seeing Frozen over break. We were talking about Sven, the reindeer. 

source: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/frozen/images/35894655/title/sven-wallapapers-wallpaper

We were talking about his big "horns" (antlers) and other animals that have horns like deer, moose, etc.  Then, my son looked at me and asked if I knew why they had horns. I paused for a moment to sculpt my answer.  Before I could get a word out, my son looked at me and said,"So they can get people out of their way. Honk! Honk! Beep!"  I couldn't hold back my laughter. What a great example of an ambiguous word. I learn so much from my three-year-old.