Synesthesia

Yesterday in English my teacher gave us a list of literary terms. Her favorite, she said, was "synesthesia," which refers to describing a sensory detail in terms of another, such as "hot pink," as pink does not have a temperature.

She then told us about an email she received from a friend that some people have such conditions. For instance, one lady sees sounds, and one man sees tastes, to the degree that the visual from eating distracts him from driving. This condition happens in one in two thousand people.

This story was particularly interesting to me. I am the one in two thousand.

In elementary school, I noticed that I viewed the sound of the bell as a series of blue circles, and the fire alarm as a brown, zigzagging line. I don't really notice it anymore, as I am used to it, but I subconsciously see sounds. High-pitched sounds are usually blue and purple, low sounds are usually brown and orange, and other colors occur occasionally.

Those of us who have it also see letters and numbers as colors. I do this too, but not as much as sounds. Even numbers are usually blue. Odds are usually red.

A beeping electronic device is a collection of blue or sometimes purple dots. A woman's voice is a somewhat-rectangular, bumpy, green blob. A rock group is a disarray of rough orange ellipses with brown squiggles. Each sound has a unique appearance, but similar sounds have similar appearances. A pleasing sound does not always have a pleasing appearance.

I've always wondered why I see sounds. I was glad to learn that it's not a completely weird phenomenon. I was a little confused, though. I'm just an average person, and I have a condition that happens only in one in two thousand people! Fortunately, I don't think I have it as bad as some.

Busy, busy, busy

Life has been a little crazy around here the last three weeks. I volunteered to do some things every night, assuming that I would only work my regular days. Then the people I car pool with had some family emergencies and could not get their regular substitutes, so they asked me. I have been working every day and I am TIRED. At least next year when I work full time I will have the sense enough not to book myself every night as well. It was amazing to go into the other fourth grade class and see how much work she gives them. I have always known that we don't give as much work as we could/should, but it was amazing to see the contrast. Next year my students load will be somewhere in between.

We had a delightful visit with Sue, Jesse, Peter and Quin on Sunday. They came just for fun (because we hadn't seen Jesse for a long time). We played cards for a while and then played The Ungame. I am sure most of you have heard of that from gma/gpa, but we haven't gotten it out in a while. You just ask each other questions. It was really fun. Quin and Nan didn't stay too long but everyone else stayed for the whole set of questions.