04/24/09

After school today one of my students had pointed out a sign to me and was telling me that I should go pay to see a movie that was playing. Now, when I say a sign, I mean someone had hung up a brown board (made from a similar material as a clipboard is made from) and written in chalk was an advertisement that someone was going to be playing a movie that evening and they were charging admission. I have noticed the board before but thought I would write about it before I start to think this sort of thing is normal.

Sometimes, after living here for a little while, you start to glaze over things you see and don't put much thought into them when is is actually very bizarre. Now, if I had satellite TV in the States and put a sign in front of my yard that I was charging admission if you wanted to come over and watch a show, no one would show up. Strangers aren't going to knock on my door and pay $3 (or whatever I would charge) to see what I was playing. I have heard of people charging a little admission for a pay-per-view boxing fight or something similar, however they invite their friends. No one puts up a sign.

I need to clarify one thing though. The sign is placed outside of a gate, which if you go through, opens up into a small field. I would guess it is a little less than an acre. The strange thing is that they don't have the TV inside someones house. It is on one of those TV carts your science teacher wheeled into class on movie day and it is positioned right under the outer perimeter of an overhanging tree (for shade of course). You couldn't see the screen if it was placed out in the sun. Further, there are chairs set up in rows, all outside and under this fairly large and much shade providing tree. I only know so much because I can see the whole thing from my classroom. I will try to remember and get a picture the next time one of these events takes place. It is quite interesting.