September 29, 2014

Recently, some Nepali students taught me the local game “Carrom”, in which you flick a disk around a board in an attempt to knock other disks into the corner pockets (similar to using a cue ball to tap in the other balls in pool).  Later, I taught some Nepali kids a common game American students play – “Paper Football”!  In this classic American tabletop game, you attempt to flick a paper-made football through a field goal made by holding two fingers up in the air.

While originating in different corners of the world, it’s interesting to note the similarities between the two games.  Both are played in schools at the end of class and both come down to one simple truth: who can flick the best???  It was one of those funny cultural exchanges where you realize that sometimes you have some really random things in common, like the universal language of “flicking”.