Kelsey

Name:

Kelsey Lawler-Childress

Hometown:

I'll have to go with a mix between Durham and Chapel Hill, NC, but this gets me thinking about what a hometown really even is. I was born in Massachusetts, and although we moved to NC when I was only about a year old, growing up I always liked to claim that I was not from the South, but rather from right outside of Boston. I had a home there at once, right? So it's a hometown. Are there rules to claiming one's hometown? Or am I just over-thinking this way too much? Probably the latter.

All of your frequent flier miles have built up and you can go anywhere in the world that you'd like for free. In fact, the airlines like you so much they are paying for everything. Where would you go?

Oh, maaaan. This is the most difficult question, because I would love to travel to so many parts of the world. If I'm not restricted to one country, I think I'd start in Mexico and make my way down all of Central and South America. But, if this airline that has so graciously given me this opportunity only wants to send me to one country, I think maybe I'd have to pick Brazil. I don't know Portuguese, but it sounds pretty sweet, like people are trying to speak Spanish in a nasal tone but they keep getting every couple of words wrong. I think I might love to be surrounded by those noises for an extended period of time.

Also, as long as all Portuguese spoken in Brazil sounds like the man in this video and has this same soundtrack behind it, I'm all set:

What is the worst joke you've ever heard?

Q: What did the fish say when he was eaten by the shark?

A: Oh dang!

Okay, now that you've read the joke and are sufficiently confused, you can understand that it is so ridiculous because "Odaeng" (Oh dang) is some kind of Korean fishcake. My Korean friend told me this joke, but I think the cultural humor was lost on me and perhaps on anyone who doesn't know what Odaeng is. I guess it's a little funny, but I'm not sure that it's worth having to explain what a Korean fishcake is to anyone who hears the joke.

What are the best and worst things about your generation?

I would like to think that my generation is more aware about political and social issues than previous generations have been, although that could be argued. However, having spent a year doing an AmeriCorps program, I really was able to see how many people of my generation care enough about others to give up a year of their lives in volunteer service. People often think that youth are so apathetic and self-centered, but I would have to disagree. I think we're moving in a great direction.

On the other hand, I believe that we are far too addicted to technology, and I do not exclude myself from this accusation. My internet didn't work for a short period of time the other day and I was about to go crazy. I wish I had the willpower to quit Facebook and my cell phone and the constant checking of my e-mail, but I can't blame myself. I'll blame my entire generation!

What is a food that you wouldn't even eat on a dare and why do you hate it?

I think I would not eat tripe. I recently got a taste of cow tail, and was once given cow tongue tacos without knowing what they were. I've even eaten goat tacos, which tasted exactly how a goat smells, but I don't think I could ever bring myself to eat tripe. It looks like a gross sponge, and sponges can soak up all kinds of disgusting things, especially when they are really a STOMACH!

Do you have a blog or a website that you would like to plug?

Yes! My friend Eduardo has a site, www.jswpolos.com, with the mission to give one polo to a needy child for every polo sold, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit Haiti relief organizations and World Vision and Stop Child Trafficking Now. Super great cause! If you don't wear/buy polos, I'm sure you must know someone who does, so tell that person about it!

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My next few interviews are all, kind of accidentally, people in their early 20s. I think this is going to be a great thing for this blog since we have so many people who want the kids to get off of their lawn.

I've got to agree with her about the tripe. I've eaten snails, rattlesnake, ants and chicken hearts but I don't think I could eat a stomach. That's just wrong.