Today is Friday. In Chinese class, that means "cultural day." Friday cultural days are a break from learning the language of China, to learning some kind of cultural aspect of China. Today's cultural aspect was a long played pastime of the Chinese - the game Mahjong. To be quite honest, it's not that bad. In fact, I enjoyed playing it once I realized what I was doing. (Let me remind you, it is Chinese, so my "Old Maid" skills were not at all a prerequisite, nor of any help to play the game.)
I've probably played the game only 4 or 5 times. And like I said, once I received a little refresher, I appreciated the game and the opportunity to play.
So what can I take away from today's cultural day? Every culture has their own unique things for everything. Mahjong just happens to be China's unique game. But what's more important to conclude is that we can share our uniqueness with others to learn about one another. It's kind of a neat thing to be able to play a game that is commonly played by another culture. Even when I traveled to China last summer, this was apparent. We'd be bargaining in the markets, when I'd come across Mahjong game sets or better yet, Chinese people playing the game at the side of the road, when I could say to myself, "Hey, I know what that is and I can play it!" Maybe I stand alone in this thought, but find it pretty cool when people of different cultures can appreciate and enjoy the other's culture. Can you say hule!? Victory!
I've probably played the game only 4 or 5 times. And like I said, once I received a little refresher, I appreciated the game and the opportunity to play.
So what can I take away from today's cultural day? Every culture has their own unique things for everything. Mahjong just happens to be China's unique game. But what's more important to conclude is that we can share our uniqueness with others to learn about one another. It's kind of a neat thing to be able to play a game that is commonly played by another culture. Even when I traveled to China last summer, this was apparent. We'd be bargaining in the markets, when I'd come across Mahjong game sets or better yet, Chinese people playing the game at the side of the road, when I could say to myself, "Hey, I know what that is and I can play it!" Maybe I stand alone in this thought, but find it pretty cool when people of different cultures can appreciate and enjoy the other's culture. Can you say hule!? Victory!
*Image from Colorado Guy.com
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