Topic Talk | Funerals and the loss of a loved one
1Description
In this emotional episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about funerals and the loss of a loved one.
Transcript:
Jack
Hey, A is the English podcast listeners. It's Jack here and we just want to announce that we are now on WeChat. Our WeChat ID is A-Z English podcast that is A-Z English podcast, one word all lowercase.
Jack
And if you.
Jack
Join the group. You will be able to talk with me. You'll be able to.
Jack
Talk with social.
Jack
And we can answer your questions. We can read your comments on the podcast. So we'd love for you to join us and be active in our we chat group. Our WeChat ID is A-Z English podcast. Thanks. See you on the app.
Jack
Welcome to the Ages English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And I'm going to let social introduce today's topic. So social, what would you like to talk about today?
Xochitl
Jack, I kind of want to talk about funeral traditions in different cultures. So I was going.
Xochitl
To talk about, you know.
Xochitl
Mexican traditions because I just went through that with my grandfather passing, I guess he passed.
Xochitl
Let's like a week ago now, maybe or a little less than a week ago, so.
Xochitl
Yeah, I don't know. And I've been, uh, I guess I can just get into it.
Xochitl
Sure.
Xochitl
I don't know how to kick this off actually.
Jack
Ohh no, that's alright. Maybe start with the just just the process is in. In American culture there's a I guess there's kind of two, two aspects to it, right. There's the funeral and the.
Jack
Wake.
Xochitl
Hmm.
Jack
And the wake is more like a.
Jack
A gathering where people get together and there's maybe some. Sometimes there's food, I think is if I'm not mistaken, yeah.
Xochitl
Yeah, that's true.
Jack
Yeah. So and I think the interesting thing about that in American culture and maybe this is true in, in every culture.
Jack
It seems odd to be eating at that time. You know what, I.
Xochitl
But yeah.
Jack
Mean like no one?
Jack
Has an appetite that people are grieving, they're upset. But I feel like maybe the food preparation is a distraction.
Jack
It's it's, it's focusing on our executive function of our brain, the the part that is just very analytical and just doing things. And I think that is a distraction from the pain and the grief would.
Jack
You agree with that?
Xochitl
I think so I I think.
Xochitl
That also it's because a lot of people who aren't, like, super close family come and so they're like, you know, they're they're kind of there to help in certain in a certain way or just to, you know, for emotional support. But they're they're probably going to be hungry because I don't think they're mourning.
Xochitl
And really like the same way you know on, I mean they're they're sad, I'm sure, but it's like a little different. So I think it's like it's kind of a way for the family to say thank you in Mexican tradition that happened.
Jack
Right, right.
Jack
Yeah.
Xochitl
That happens too, but it's like a two day.
Xochitl
Affair where you have to be like awake all night.
Xochitl
You're like, up for 48 hours straight basically because you can't leave the body alone.
Jack
Oh, OK, OK. Because that's different than American culture, where the the body is.
Jack
Is is in the caskets.
Jack
But you don't have to stay up all night with with the body.
Jack
Hmm.
Xochitl
Yeah, this the body was in the casket. But we do have to stay with the body because.
발표자
It's.
Xochitl
It's like I don't know. I guess it's to prevent bad spirits, like in old, in old mythology or whatever, to prevent bad spirits from like latching on to the soul of the body. So you have to stay there like 48 hours.
Xochitl
And it's really hard. My sister and I kind of were with my mom.
Xochitl
And shift. So I would like stay up.
Xochitl
The whole time and then I would go to sleep.
Xochitl
Then she would stay up.
Jack
OK.
Xochitl
Uhm, so we didn't have to do the whole 48 hours thing. I did have to stay up.
Xochitl
More than my sister because she traveled.
Xochitl
Plus, she's in that school. So she was like sleeping for a lot large portion of it.
Xochitl
But when she finally woke up, she was she stayed with the body and then I went to sleep and I woke up and so.
Xochitl
And with the his like sisters and nieces and nephews, they kind of did shifts as well. So like, one day, I think my aunt was my great aunt was there. And the other day my.
Xochitl
Cousin, I guess was there and it's like their family just kind of did shifts, I guess.
Jack
But it sounds like.
Jack
You didn't get much sleep, though. You. You sound exhausted. Yeah.
Xochitl
No. Yeah, it was very tiring and very hard because you're, like, dealing with a lot of grief. And on top of that, you're, like, serving people food and running around with serving people like.
Xochitl
Drinks, not alcoholic drinks, but just regular drinks. But you still you're you're running around serving people with soft drinks and food, and it's just only something like you have to make these two giant. You have to make.
Xochitl
Like.
Xochitl
We had cinnamon tea and coffee and then.
Xochitl
Sweet bread like.
Xochitl
Uh, like pastries at night the first night, and then the next morning. We have, like, breakfast and we had.
Xochitl
Like we also had pastries, coffee and cinnamon tea, and then we had, like Morley, which is like a, it's a chocolate based like sauce, you know. And I've tried my.
Jack
Yeah.
Jack
No, but I I you've mentioned it before in the podcast, I think.
Xochitl
Yes, I have. It's kind of different. One of the yeah, it's different because it's not. It's just like it's a completely different dish. I don't know why they share the same name, but more like the paste is like a different dish.
Xochitl
And there's a there's like seven different types of molis. This one is like a black mullet, which is kind of sweet, a little bit sweet and spicy, and is very thick.
Xochitl
It has a bunch of ingredients like chocolate, chilies, charred tortilla, peanuts, I think, and different things like that. So and we ate that with rice and chicken, and then the next day after the funeral, we also or.
Xochitl
Before the funeral, I think.
Xochitl
Or after I can't remember we served. No, it was after the funeral. We served eggs and salsa Verde and black beans. But it's like kind of crazy because you're, like, running on no sleep and making all these meals for people. So it's kind of like.
Xochitl
And it was kind of wild. And then, like the family, like my mom, I think was up like the whole 48 hours.
Jack
Ohh wow.
Xochitl
I thought I sleep once and it was for like 15 minutes.
Jack
Right, right. Is she? And and you know, for her, this is both of her parents have passed in the within a very short period of time.
Xochitl
Yeah. Within four months from each other because my grandmother passed at the end of February, my grandfather passed at the very.
Xochitl
End of June.
Jack
Yeah.
Jack
Yes.
Xochitl
So yeah.
Xochitl
Choose up the whole night and serving people food and soft drinks and it just seemed like a really stressful night time for her and I feel really terrible for her because she's she's like in charge. She's also the executor of the world.
Jack
OK.
Xochitl
Which means she has she has a lot of work to do.
Jack
Right. A lot of lot of documents that have to be signed and.
Jack
Yeah. Yeah. A lot of responsibility in that in that respect, you know.
Xochitl
Yeah. So that's very difficult. So, yeah, I think it's just interesting. I think, I think it's it's kind of cool and very interesting how people are up for like for there's always people at your house for the whole 48 hours and it's kind of interesting. But I I just felt so suffocated like I wished it was just us.
Xochitl
Like his cl
United States
