Funny for some, senseless for others

Humor is the specific thing that reflects cultures of different countries. Let’s think a bit why the same joke can seem to be very funny for one person and meaningless or even offensive for another.
What is going on inside the country determines the kinds of jokes that are popular there. Americans are very independent and laugh about their routine lives most of the time (traffic, food, girls or boys, and so on).




Only in America...do people order double cheeseburgers, a large fry, and a Diet Coke...

Only in America...do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and leave useless things and junk in boxes in the garage...


Charles was getting annoyed and shouted upstairs to his wife,"Hurry up or we'll be late."
"Oh, be quiet," replied his wife. "Haven't I been telling you for the last hour that I'll be ready in a minute?"

Russians, on the other hand, think about the whole country’s problems like corruption, politics, freedom of the press, drunken people, etc. That’s the way to make all bad things look better - finding something funny in them.

Which is more useful, a Russian radio broadcast or a Russian newspaper?
-The newspaper, of course... you can use it to wrap herring.

Question: What is permitted and what is prohibited?
Answer: In England, what is permitted, is permitted, and what is prohibited, is prohibited.
In America everything is permitted except for what is prohibited.
In Germany everything is prohibited except for what is permitted.
In France everything is permitted, even what is prohibited.
In the Russia everything is prohibited, even what is permitted.

Night. A cop stops a drunk man in the street and asks:
- Where you going?
- I'm going to listen to the lecture about the harm of drunkenness and alcoholism.
- At night? And who will give the lecture?
- My wife and mother-in-law!
One more thing about Russian humor topics is that we never make jokes about our parents…I mean black humor. As a rule, relationships with older family members are very strong. It seems to be disrespectful to laugh at them. On the contrary it’s pretty common for some people from the US:
Yo momma's so stupid, she thought Fleetwood Mac was a new hamburger at McDonalds!


Yo momma's so stupid, she got hit by a cup and told cops she got mugged.


Yo momma's so stupid, she thought Sherlock Holmes was a housing project.

You get the idea.
Another interesting feature of any culture is humor in cartoons. Comparing Russian and American ones, I found so many differences. Russian characters always teach children to be kind, honest, study hard and show that lazy, rude people or liars will never be successful. The great example is a very old Soviet cartoon “Vinni Puh” that my mom watched, I and all my nephews watch now.


If you watch American cartoons like “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” most of the time the main character is a very lazy fat man without any goal in life. I still cannot understand this phenomenon. Americans create this stereotype about their country by themselves. Now I know it’s not true, but what will foreigners think after watching “South Park” or “The Simpsons”?



I want to offer you 2 stories about our countries’ stereotypes (the first one I found on Facebook Russia):

How Americans imagine a Russian family: Husband: Dear, I’m home! Wife: Why are you so late? Husband: The bear dislocated his leg on the way home. I had to give him vodka as medicine. Wife: OK. Let’s sit all together and drink some vodka before doing our stuff. Son: Mom, can I go to play with the bear? Wife: OK. But drink vodka before. Wife: Where is our grandfather by the way? Husband: He’s staying in the line for two weeks trying to get a ticket for food. Wife: Thank God he drank vodka before going there. And you shouldn’t waste the time! Go and drink vodka! Wife: OK son. You can go for a walk and don’t forget to wear your fur cap with ear flaps. It’s pretty warm today-about 10 F. And also don’t forget to write the report to KGB. And buy more vodka on the way home. Husband: Dear, it’s too hot at home. Please, turn off the nuclear reactor. Wife: I’ll finish my vodka and will do it.

How Russians imagine an American family: Wife: Dear go to play outside. The weather is so nice. Son: Are you crazy mom? I’m too lazy to move. I’d rather play Play Station. And give me more chips, please. Husband: Dear, I’m home! Wife: Why are you so late? Husband: I went to the bar to drink beer, eat some chips and watch football with the guys. Wife: Let’s eat our dinner. I bought hamburgers and chips. Husband and son: Yeeeeeeas! Our favorite food! Wife:  Did you hear we are going to bring democracy to Iran? Our solders, tanks and fighters are ready for a PEACEFUL mission. Husband: That’s great! We need to help other poor countries. I think we also should send our army to Africa and Asian countries. Only we can show people there how they MUST live.  Wife: OK. We talked too much. Let’s go eat chips and drink beer.

By the way, I don’t like these stereotypes. Since I’ve come here I’ve met very nice people. So don’t rely on stereotypes. It’s better to come and see everything with your own eyes!

International GALA

International GALA in April is the biggest event at Clark University. Students present national dances at this concert celebrating Clark’s diversity. Twenty countries presented their dances this year.

From my very first days at Clark I heard a lot of exciting comments about GALA. That’s why when my friend has asked to me to participate in it for Ukraine I was very happy. It was interesting and surprising to find out that most of dancers were from all over the world and only one originally from Ukraine. Then our trainer said that people only need to have a desire to present any country and that’s all. So, as a result our GALA team had people from Mexico, Albania, Mozambique, Senegal, Belarus, Slovenia, Singapore and so on.

I think one of the most interesting parts of this event was our practices. We worked hard for two months, fell down a lot, and slept just a few hours every day…but it was real fun at the same time.

One day guys needed to hold us on their hands and continue to dance but they couldn’t on the first attempt. So the boys made a joke that the girls need to be on a diet and we answered that the boys need to go to the gym every day... But, of course, nobody went on a diet and nobody went to the gym so often.

Another moment which makes me smile occurred at another practice. The idea was to move in a circle so fast that it would look like the girls don’t touch the floor. After two days without any success we did it at last. I believe everyone could hear a crazy scream “I’m flying! I’m flying!” at Atwood Hall.

Of course, there were some obstacles too. Sometimes it was even impossible to find a free room for practice. Then we had to dance in the hall. Actually, we danced anywhere at any time.

And costumes were a big problem for us. Without enough money to buy them we had to make them by ourselves. It was funny because that’s exactly what women in Ukraine did a hundred years ago. They sewed clothes while men worked outside. So we learned not only a national Ukrainian dance but also a part of the culture.

The last challenge was mainly for our trainer Ira. She had to explain to us the necessity of special makeup and hairstyle for the stage. If you know girls you can imagine how they are serious about such things. “This color doesn’t fit me!” or “I look ugly without my bangs!” But Ira assured everyone that it’s an essential part of success. Great job, trainer!

And finally the day of the concert came. While we’d been very nervous and tired after sleepless nights, the dance was great. To hear the audience’s applause at the end of the dance was the best reward. The feeling of satisfaction for us was so nice. I’ll never forget this moment. I believe everyone should see or even better participate in such a show. It’s a really great experience!

our practice:

More Russians at Clark

A delegation from a number of Russian universities came to Clark a couple of weeks ago. Organizers of this event asked me to show to them the campus and tell about education and life here. During our conversation they reminded me about some funny moments I’ve experienced.

Looking how they were frustrated trying to find the right buildings I saw myself 3 months ago. My friends laughed at me as the first a couple of weeks I mixed up AC, JC, UC …and others C’s. And how many times I went to the wrong exit from JC! So it was nice to find out that I’m not the only one who barely distinguished the halls one from another in the beginning.

Another interesting moment was when one of the professors told me about “very strange” American hospitality. When they arrived, one of the organizers (who is originally Russian but lived here for decades) gave a list of advice. One item was: “Don’t say no if you mean yes.” That can sound very weird so I’ll try to explain. She told them that, for example, if you’re a guest at an American house and you’re hungry, don’t reject the offered food. Nobody is going to ask you one more time! In Russia to say “no” in response to the first offer is a politeness and often means “yes, but ask me a little bit later.”  In the US people say what they mean and expect the same from others. So when you come here you’d better be ready!