Kum Ba Yah, Anyone?

In the time that I've spent here at BYU, I've experienced a bit of culture shock. Basically, somethin's not right... A few choice examples:

Jumping pictures. Everyone here has a pretty predictable tendency to say, "Hey! Let's do a jump-een one!" And so we do.

Another peculiar tradition concerns the use of MANY eating utensils. EVERYONE uses knives here. It's not a special occasion sort of thing for them - it's a way of life. I was slapped in the face by this custom yesterday as I was sawing away at my chicken-fried steak with the side of my fork when a boy I call Awkward Michael asked, "WHAT are you doing?" I looked around confused to notice all the others in attendance daintily slicing small bite-sized cubes of steak with a knife and spearing them into their mouths. I quickly wiped my hands on my pants, blew my nose on the tablecloth, and picked up my knife.

The last custom in question is referred to, appropriately, as "tunnel singing." Pretty self-explanatory. Every Sunday night at ten o' clock, a BUCKETLOAD of people gather in the large and spacious Marriot Tunnel and commence singing hymns. It is weird, but in a nice kind of way. During "Nearer My God to Thee," groups were making circles, putting their arms around each other, and swaying to the tune. I drove the Spirit away by immediately starting up with an original arrangement of the popular spiritual, "Kum Ba Ya." It was a hit.

The gang. Rather, A gang.