about singing

One of the things I enjoy about our language school is the well roundedness of the program. We spend a little time everyday doing things that might seem silly but if your goal is to weave into a culture naturally these are the things you should know. We spend a little time in singing, memorizing a portion of a book, and sharing our daily experiences. The singing was initially very offputting as I really don't sing and its been noted by others that I don't sing.

Throughout unit 1 we learned a lot of children's songs. The songs you teach your kids to help them learn the days of the week, their colors, right and left, body parts, counting etc. These were fun songs to sing and I would bring them home and sing them with @ and our houseworker. She really got a kick out of head, shoulders, knees and toes; it had been a while since she'd thought about that one.

Unit 2 we're learning more cultural songs. Songs about pride in your nation, historic battles and heroic people. Songs about whooing a girl. But when you translate out these songs word for word well they just sound silly. Today's song translates to:

Where does the leech come from?
Down the rice paddy to the river.
Where does love come from?
Down from the eyes to the heart.

Feeling love, feeling love, love, Ehh. The region is a leech of love from my heart.

The last little bit I can't get the right english wording on. But its something about missing this particular region. But leeches. Are we really singing about leeches? Yep.