BARNGA

· If you could describe the game in one word, what would it be?

Devious

· What did you expect at the beginning of the game?

As soon as the papers were placed face-down, I had suspicions that there was something up. I originally thought it was going to be a “lacks of communication” lesson, but it ended up being based on perceptions and differences within the rules.

· When did you realize that something was wrong?

I don’t know if you heard, but when I yelled at Jacob for looking at the paper early, I said “They’re probably all different, stop! That’s the point.” However, my suspicions weren’t confirmed until Jeremiah came to Brooklin and I’s table arguing that ace was low instead of high.

· How did you deal with it?

I took the ace high whenever I had it even though there was usually a member of the table who disagreed. Stern looks and signals for “high” contributed to this success.

· How did not being able to speak contribute to what you were feeling?

I found it to be super hilarious, actually. When left to my thoughts, I find concentration and lack of other noises to be natural, so it was only odd/annoying when there was a miscommunication of some sort (like the ace debacle). Lack of communication in group settings contributes to an overall chaos.

·   Is my title above appropriate for the game of "culture."  Why or why not?

I think so. “It’s all a game- or sort of”. Culture and reality is all relative. Everything is perspective. Even if my paper says something is an advantage, someone else’s paper may declare that same thing is a disadvantage. There’s plenty of example with this throughout cultures as well, making it quite appropriate.

·   Is a universal language and set of customs necessary for world peace and harmony?

Honestly, probably. Technically, we could all accept each other’s differences and respect other viewpoints, but that is not human nature. Human nature is to believe your way is the correct way. There is an ever-growing need to get on top of society, and the only obvious way to climb society’s ladder is to push others off of it through differences. Our world is structured off of differences. Not everyone gets education, not everyone speaks the same languages, not everyone has the same government/religion/family/history, etc. Therefore, in order for complete world peace and harmony, some of these differences would need to be eliminated.

·   What can a simple card game teach us about our culture?

As I said before, everything is about perception and the cards life hands you (pun intended). My guidance may pose something as advantageous while for others, that may be a disadvantage. Similarly, I was never dealt the same cards as the person next to me (duh) and may sometimes have to work harder to use the cards I had to my advantage. The same is true with culture: not everyone is born with the same benefits.