Okay, I’m the first to admit that it’s been awhile since I blogged last. But I’ve been distracted. I’ve been playing Uno. Now Uno, as just about every American child knows, is a card game involving four colors and a few mixed wild and specialty cards distributed by Mattel. The instruction manual comes in five languages so I’m assuming that it is an international phenomenon and not just an American one. The game is played by 2-10 players at a time, going around in a circle with players discarding a blue, green, red, or yellow card matching the color or number of the previously-discarded card. The player to discard all their cards first is the winner. The concept is complicated by the inclusion of Skip, Reverse, Pick 2, Pick 4, and wild cards which will, in various ways, doom your neighbor to your advantage.
Something about this simple game touches the Turkmen psyche and it has caught on in ways I never imagined. I have seen children get off their chair, kneel on the floor, and beg their classmate to declare a wild card a yellow rather than green. My host brother bangs on my door at eleven at night begging to show the cards off to his friends. My 28-year old widowed host-sister mentions the time I made her Pick 4 three times in a row while we make dinner. My students complete grammar worksheets in record time with the promise of a half-hour of Uno hanging above their heads. Knowing I’ll be more likely to play if in a good mood, my host mother cooks me non-sheep-fat variations of the main meal.
My single deck of Uno cards, found abandoned in the Peace Corps office Free Box, is probably the single most valuable and coveted object within 50 miles. So, if you want to know what I’ve been up to for the past two months, it’s a simple answer.
Playing cards.
In other news – I received a 1 million pound full-tuition scholarship to attend Webster’s University in London, a part of Regent’s College, starting January 8, 2010. I’m going to check it out on my London plane layover in July and if the place isn’t a swindle, then I’m UK-bound three weeks after I come home from Turkmenistan. This time you all can come visit me.
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2 comments:
Hey there, I found your blog because I brand-monitor Webster University, (I work at one of the U.S. sites). Aside form that I worked at the London campus for 2 weeks in 06 on a staff exchange and it is a great place. And the location, Regent's Park is a dream land. Anyway, my 2cents.
Ha, I had the same experience being a volunteer supervisor last year...the clients loved rainy days or days that were too hot to do anything because that meant the gigantic UNO deck was coming out. They begged to play during lunch. It truly is one of the great games of the century. Kudos for bringing it to Turkmenistan. :)
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