Last night, students from each of the departments at MSAU put on skits and made videos roasting their university and dissing each other's departments. A few of our Russian friends were in the skit and a few others were glad to have us tag along. Although we understood only a small percentage of the humor (whether it was because of language, cultural humorous nuances, or because of inside jokes about the school), it was a highly entertaining show.
We watched each group put on their show and naturally found some funnier than others. At first, I assumed it was merely because of the language barrier and we found those funniest that we could understand--that is, those that relied less on dialogue. But as it turns out, humor is a universal language. The best skits, even according to the Russians, were those that relied almost solely on physical antics, expressions, and one or two-line zingers. The audience interacted with the groups the same way as at home and certain departments had especially boisterous representation that laughed or cheered uproariously whenever they appeared. I could almost be at any event at home.
One thing seems to be the same in every language--poking fun at the human experience. That's something everyone gets--it's funny how so many things just don't need translation.
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