running jokes

When Matt and I went paragliding, we had to list emergency contact information for our family, including emails. It seem odd to me that they might notify a family of catastrophe by email and now the joke has evolved to become any silly thing we do.
Reply to: crash@blueskyparagliding.com
Reply to: trampledbyelephant@junglewildlifecamp.org
Reply to: crocodileattack@chitwansafari.net

On South Park, the Chinese character (who owns City Wok) cannot pronounce L's. Well, it turns out that the Chinese can say L just fine and that it's only a difficulty for the Japanese. Regardless, the Tibetan phrase for "hello" is "tashi delek" which Matt and I have turned into "oh, tashi derreck." Basically, we say this at random moments and it's completely incorrect and inappropriate.

My new name is "Pants," which Matt has derived the following way: ellie > smellie > smellie pants > pants. So now he refers to me as Pants all the time.

In China, when we sometimes had TV access, Matt and I would watch CCTV9 because it's the only English language station there. The advertisements on that channel are rather amusing because alot of them are strange translations. The absolute best ad was one for a tea pillow. Now I ask you, who doesn't need a tea pillow? It's a normal pillow for your bed, but it has tea leaves inside to sooth you while you sleep. The ad for this ridiculous product begins with a strange man who looks like he's had a facelift, saying, "Imagine the combination of pillow and tea." Which he says rather slowly, as if he is proposing an absolutely genius idea that will revolutionize everyday life. Since this ad was on every five minutes on the only channel in English, it became a standard in our repertoire.

Here in Kathmandu, it feels like everybody is trying to sell you Tiger Balm. All the vendors on the street are in your face, pressuring you to buy it from them. So every time Matt and I are at a shop and notice it for sale, we always point it out to each other. "Matt, here's that Tiger Balm you've been looking for." "Oh there it is! I've been wondering where I could get some! I've been looking everywhere!"

One day, we were in a taxi, driving out of Kathmandu, when we noticed that one of the big, communal piles of garbage on the street had a dead monkey on top of it. Matt turned to me and said, "Hey Ell, where do you put your dead monkey? In the trash, with the rest of your dead monkeys!!" Humor is a fantastic way to avoid considering the reality of the situation.


All of these jokes have become routine on our trip and can be tailored to fit any occasion. They might sound ridiculous, but who are we kidding, this whole thing is ridiculous. :)