[Ed.28] Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
Everything about the newest edition of Private Joke, Girls Night In, and why it will change your relationship with women.
Hullo, bonjour et 大家好,
To say the past month has been ‘busy’ could be the funniest joke, and most massivest understatement of my life to date. We need to invent a word for a busy without bounds. Together with Sofía, Olea’s marketing intern, we have put together a NEW edition of Private Joke. It’s called “Girls Night In” and I’m wriggling with excitement and anticipation to tell you all about it. Our e-shop is launching on November 11th, and we have onboarded 3 MFL departments to test physical and digital Private Joke in schools. Crazy, right?
The focus of Edition 28 is to outline how and why Girls Night In came about, along with some exclusive behind-the-scenes content. I can’t give away all the ingredients to our secret sauce, but I can share my learnings and laughs. I’ve said from the beginning that what makes Olea so unique is our community of people who LOVE languages. That’s you guys. Please support us by sharing this newsletter, playing PJ, and bringing your friends into our orbit.
That’s all from me for now.
Aaaand allez ze barti,
❤️🫒
On the agenda:
GNI: How it came about.
Mother Tongues, by Sofia.
To look forward to.
Next month!
GNI: How it came about
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
This is my favourite quote of all time. Well, it’s my second favourite quote of all time. My ultimate favourite quote is, “今朝有酒今朝醉” which means “Today we have alcohol, so today we must get drunk” in Mandarin. Anyway.
Over the course of my life, I have viscerally felt the depths of what it means to be a woman. Whether as a freelance journalist in China, an entrepreneur in Paris, or travelling through Morocco. First-hand experience of a loved one transitioning from woman to man in particular threw shade on my perception of gender, and how one incredible life can cut so strikingly between two genders.
The crux is that we all sometimes feel, “Am I the only one?”
Others exclaim, “Ah, I knew I wasn’t the only one!”
That has been the magic of Private Joke - to see humans so connected over the shared human experiences that we all live. We are all the same.
And yet we are so very different. We cannot put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. We can try them on, but we will never walk in them. That is the beauty of Private Joke.
Girls Night In shares the nuanced experience of women. The feelings, experiences and circumstances that unite us in laughter, and sometimes tears. A game like this is necessary. It is powerful in undercutting the layers of taboos. It’s a game for everyone.
A game to get creative with language, to open your eyes to foreign language, as well as to unique with a group of friends.
Pre-sale starts on November 11th! We’ll send an update once it’s live.
Mother Tongues, by Sofía
In the days where we are still asked “but, like, do we really need feminism anymore?” (sigh), community in female empowerment is more important than ever. Girls Night In provides a safe haven for anybody identifying as a woman or who relates to the experiences of being a woman. It encourages open discussion about everything from the more mundane experiences revolving around the discomfort caused by a badly placed thong, to the heart-wrenching feeling of unreciprocated love that we know (enter Taylor Swift, the 10-minute version) all too well.
My favourite thing about Girls Night In? It perfectly demonstrates how what ‘being a woman’ is so incredibly diverse and personal in meaning, whilst simultaneously being SO universal; like the original Private Joke, there are words in this edition from languages from the other side of globe, from cultures so distinct to my own, and yet I read their meaning and I think: yep, *this* is womanhood!
And so, the question arises; is there a link between language and the female gender?
Well, take the term Mother Tongue. Why is it that we personify our native language as a mother - a woman. Well, the general consensus seems to be that it originates from the idea that mothers, who traditionally acted as primary caregivers, were generally responsible for the passing down of customs, including language.
Apart from this evolutionary explanation, our mother tongue acts as the pillar stone for our communication; it is the vehicle through which we most fluently send our ideas and thoughts and dreams into the world, the cure to homesickness when in a foreign country, whipping your head round when you hear someone speaking your mother tongue amongst the babble of a crowded bar.
It is familiarity, connection, identity - a mother.
Language introduces a whole new discussion to the already-nuanced current gender discourse. The different ways men and women use language in daily life can have huge consequences. Take for example the way in which women in professional business environments often subconsciously adapt their speech to avoid coming across as ‘bossy’ or ‘demanding’, something referred to as ‘softening’ by the experts in this phenomenon.
Why is it that a man saying “Have this on my desk by Monday” sounds direct and powerful, but from a woman seems overbearing and rude? Once again, this ‘softening’ is something that happens so insidiously, that many women will not even realise they are doing it until hearing another woman (whether it be Susan from the IT team or a millionaire female entrepreneur on your morning podcast) mention it.
The takeaway message? Talk to each other, communicate and listen to the experiences of as many women in your life as you can.
Girls Night In looks to reclaim womanhood in all its glorious frivolity, #girlboss-ness, and tomboy shades of meaning.
To look forward to
The main highlights of the coming month are the opening of our online store, PJ in schools, as well as our Christmas bundle! To elaborate a little on these:
On November 11th, our online store goes live! Here you’ll be able to purchase a limited edition, original PJ from our crowdfunding campaign in June. Pre-orders will be available for Girls Night In and the Christmas Bundle. We will be doing one large shipment the week beginning December 11th, so you’ll have the games in time for Christmas!
PJ in schools. Now this was epic. I whipped up a LinkedIn post calling for a handful of MFL teachers to play PJ in class. The response was immense, and half a dozen phone calls later with teachers up and down the country, we selected 3 teachers to give a free PJ to. Over the coming weeks, the aim is to collect data and testimonials from learners so as to strengthen PJ for schools, and start booking workshops for the 2024/25 academic year.
Christmas Bundle. Ah, the 12 days of Christmas; we are going to treat you all to a little, or rather, 12 day long, PJ marathon! Over the 12 days, we will have flash sales, free giveaways, and events you can participate in. Our goal is to sell all 150 Girls Night In games, in addition to the last few original PJ games. Make sure you are following our Instagram, and LinkedIn.
See you next month
That’s all for this month’s edition of The Olea. Whether you’ve been with us from the beginning, or you’re joining us today, welcome! Welcome to the movement that makes foreign languages freakin cool.
Our game, Private Joke, brings human beings together through the beauty of language. It’s just the beginning, and yet we’ve come so far already. Please support us by sharing this newsletter, playing PJ, and bringing your friends into our orbit.
See you next month for another edition of The Olea!