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"Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"

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Laulau
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
I haven't watched the whole movie, so this is just based on the clips, but (a) I didn't see the culture clash between the (in herself quite awkward) Dickinson employee and the mom - parents sometimes cry when they leave their children at college, and she was just going into her spiel (in an awkward manner, no doubt), and (b) I didn't think it was the normal variety of obnoxious exoticism when the roommate touched Rocky's hair. I mean, they're roommates and clearly friendly as well. My roommates used to brush my hair, touch my face for random reasons, etc. Nothing like sharing a tiny dorm room with two other women for cultivating immediate intimacy.
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PrisonBreakShaker
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
As some one who's BARELY multi-racial, VERY fair-skinned (and who's well aware that hair has been addressed a million times here on Jez), WHY DO PEOPLE TOUCH YOUR HAIR!?! I think them assuming I'm totally white or Asian (hello, it's not only Asian people who have epi-canthic folds) makes them feel even MORE comfortable randomly touching my hair rather than some one who is more obviously "black". (It also makes them feel more comfortable asking why I don't flat-iron it or perm it straight, but that's a whole other bag).

I don't know, maybe they're really close friends- it seems that way, but it was still awkward and weird to watch. Or maybe I'm just being sensitive because a grown woman actually touched my hair without asking today. I've just never seen anyone do that to silky straight hair.
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sequined promoted this comment Edited by PrisonBreakShaker at 09/23/09 7:25 PM PrisonBreakShaker was starred

RoughHouser
09/23/09

@PrisonBreakShaker: It happens... throughout my life I have ranged from red, to blonde, back to red, all natural. As a child traveling through Greece and Turkey, I was terrified, because strangers - children, women, men - would just begin stroking my hair. Then, I began working in Kenya on a regular basis, and I have found myself actually crying because sometimes people can tug so firmly on my hair trying to "touch" it.

I learned to tolerate, and somewhat even enjoy it - despite the clumps that would fall out when it would be braided - when I realized that it is just curiosity. Wanting to learn about something different from what you see in the mirror everyday is an all-senses experience.
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sequined
09/23/09

@PrisonBreakShaker: I have "silky straight" hair, and I've had strangers touch it. It's weird.
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Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
09/24/09

@RoughHouser: Oh god. Don't get me started on blond and red-haired women I know working in Kenya and Senegal. Not only do some people want to touch it – others fear touching it because they think the women have had some horrible accident that made them that way.
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dietgrrl
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
One of the girls in my psych class this year is a princess from Nigeria (if I recall correctly)...I kinda want to ask her about it, but it might seem intrusive and creepy. Then again, SHE was the one who brought it up on the first day as one of her "fun facts".
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thePrototype
09/23/09

@dietgrrl: did she start off her fun fact by saying 'dear kindest sirs'?

Maybe it is her brother that keeps sending me e-mails about the money I have won, can you ask for me?
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Sophie needs to study...damn promoted this comment thePrototype was starred thePrototype was unstarred

KnickersFace
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
aha, I got confused when I read the title.. in my house, a Fufu was your ladybits.
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LaComtesse
09/23/09

@KnickersFace: My sister’s term for vagina was "wookie" so when Han Solo refers to Chewbacca as "a big hairy wookie" it always got a giggle out of us…
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LaComtesse
09/23/09

@KnickersFace: WHOOPS! Double post. Sorry.
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Edited by LaComtesse at 09/23/09 5:56 PM LaComtesse was starred LaComtesse was unstarred

Plum-Pie
09/23/09

@KnickersFace: I have a friend who called it that and managed to live in London for about 3 years before she saw a bag of fufu flour!
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TheUptightMidwesterner
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
I just loved this show last night. I learned so much from it and I have been doing Wiki stuff all day about Ghana and chiefs, and Dickinson college and so on.
Like my mom would say "It was just really neat!"
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LaComtesse
09/23/09

@TheUptightMidwesterner: Dickinson?! Get the shit out of here! Two of my friends went there. I visited--it's beyond beautiful.
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wilmawonker
09/23/09

@LaComtesse: I used to go to summer camp there. So I have a weird relation with that place. It is gorgeous though!
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CommodoreLane
09/23/09

@wilmawonker: Weird question, but was that summer camp CTY? Because I went there, too, and kept yipping "Quad 8! ATS!" during key moments in the film.
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formergr
09/24/09

@CommodoreLane: Waaa, CTYers unite!! I went to the Dickinson campus 3 out of my 4 years attending. Around 1990-1994. Awesome!

Heh, and I just realized that if wilmawonker didn't go there for CTY, then she was likely in the ballerina camp (rinas!) or the soccer camp (soccer studs!).
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Edited by formergr at 09/24/09 8:06 AM formergr was starred formergr was unstarred

AdleyClotho
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
It's crazy how this mirrors my experience, even though my family is from Nigeria. My mother and I are currently having major clashes because I'm about to graduate college and I'm ready to move to another state and find a job and she wants me to move back home because that's just what you do until you get married...which by the way I need to hurry up and do because I'm about to turn 23 which means I'm old by Nigerian marriage standards!

I identify soooo well with this that it's ridiculous...can't wait to watch the whole thing from beginning to end.
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PhillyLass
09/23/09

@AdleyClotho: Awwww. My college roommate was from Nigeria, and she faced similar issues too. In her case, she didn't move back home and went on to med school and residency. Now I'm feeling nostalgic and want to call her, but she's probably saving someone's life at the moment.
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Lana Leigh loves Meryl Streep
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
Her and her roommate seem close (and a total sweetheart) though. She's not a stranger and I'm sure Rocky didn't mind.

"I do like to moisturize my feet boo!"

The mom reminds me of my aunts and grandmas. Funny.

Anyway it's nice to see postive images of black women since we always seem to get the short end of the stick in almost every category.
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RainbowBrite
09/23/09

@Lana Leigh loves Meryl Streep: Yeah I agree! It wasn't like a "woah your hair is so different!" hair touch. I mean, girl friends, especially at this age, touch each other's hair all the time - I didn't think it was weird or rude at all in this context.
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angelheadedhipster
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
Aww, the roommate scene was actually much sweeter than I thought it was going to be.
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MizJenkins
09/23/09

@angelheadedhipster: I know! I love to moisturize my feet too...that was a great gift.
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PhillyLass
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
My mom cried like that when she dropped me off at school. But the culture clash in my case was white people from blue collar New Jersey town at bucolic, convent-like women's college in New England. My mom still gets emotional when she talks about "leaving" me there. I'm 33.
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Mangoglutton
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
Ghanaian food hasn't really taken off in the US... I think that in part has to do with the consistency of Fufu, which has an acquired taste.
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PhillyLass
09/23/09

@Mangoglutton: What's the consistency? Personally, I've never met a carb I didn't like. So I can't imagine it taking much to acquire a taste for anything made from ricey goodness.
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abagatelle
09/23/09

@PhillyLass: think of a giant, smooth blob of yum thats halfway between mashed potatos and a dumpling
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PhillyLass
09/23/09

@abagatelle: Sold!
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IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
It must be some universal mom thing that makes them ask "What are they feeding you?". My mother did the same exact thing. Although instead of rice she offered to make me potatoes.
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PhillyLass
09/23/09

@IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel: Carbs are the finest form of comfort food-- in my case, the return-for-vacation meal was pasta.
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labratintraining
09/23/09

@IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel: Definitely. I think the last video was plagiarized from some of the conversations I've had with my mom, especially the "I will bring you rice every month."
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commieginge
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
Ok, the look on her mom's face in the last video, when she praises her food...aarrghhh so sweet.
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RainbowBrite
09/23/09

@commieginge: Oh totally. I must be PMSing becaues I kind of teared up when her mom smiled like that!
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futuremouse
09/23/09

In reply to "Mom, You Think They're Giving Me Fufu At School?"
When my aunt met her freshman year college roommate for the first time, upon learning my aunt was jewish, the girl asked her where her horns were. True story.
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dj_chick
09/23/09

@futuremouse: Mine are retractable. :)
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PrisonBreakShaker
09/23/09

@dj_chick: I'm only a quarter Jewish, so I didn't get the horns... just a light sulphur scent wherever I go.
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