Saturday, November 13, 2010

What TCKs Do For Fun

Growing up in Nigeria, there was nothing that made me happier than the local garbage pile. It was a treasure trove of tin cans, boxes and other pieces of junk just waiting to be imagined into something new. Thirty something years later and that still seems to be a third culture kid's favorite toy chest.

It was three weekends ago that a town sprung to life on our campus made from cement blocks, junky pieces of wood, broken tile, cans, toilet paper rolls and all manner of other items. For the past three weeks, when the recess bell rings this "town" becomes a busy center of activity - buying and selling with bottle caps as money, sweeping and cleaning, building and fixing. This town has a bank, a mayor, a military camp, stores and even houses with generators (after all we do live in Niger)!

Here is the thriving metropolis!

A closer look inside a house.  Great care is spent each day in sweeping away the dirt from each yard.

A "No Trespassing" sign!


And why not?  As the sellers of the sweepers (a section of a tree branch),
their product is in high demand and must be protected.

These propietors are a tad bit more welcoming.


Next door is the bank.  Notice the flag out front.

The local farm.


Every town needs a military encampment ...

with soldiers keeping guard.

Here's the mayor's house.

I'm thinking he needs to upgrade because he doesn't even have a generator like these folks here!  (Pringle can on the left is the ever essential generator.)

There are several Tonka trucks and a bulldozer that industriously make the rounds through town each day picking up garbage and transporting stuff.  Somehow I missed taking their picture.  So there you have it - 50 or so TCKs using their imaginations and this is what you get.  Fun for everyone!

7 comments:

  1. This is REALLY great!!!

    We built a town when I was a young'un too. . but the whimsy and the charm in this one are sooo wonderful! How creative! How did they decide who go to be mayor?

    How old are the kids playing town?

    I'm so glad you documented it. You need to give copies to all the mommas & daddies, too. I wish I had pics of some of the games we played.

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  2. Beth! This is great! I remember the kids doing this a few years back, but I had forgotten about it!
    At the beginning of this year, a bunch of my friends and I spent a day at one of their lake house's. It was an amazing day, but the best part was when we actually built our own town out of rocks, leaves, sand and whatever else we could find. Even college kids enjoy pretending we are all big and grown up. We made a video of our town and I've posted it on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZM3QxAeI8E . i know you might not be able to watch it because of blocks on computers and lack of internet, but if you get the chance, I think you would enjoy it. I could send you some pictures as well. Maybe I'll write a little letter to your class, so they can see that they aren't alone!!
    Tam

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  3. That little village makes me so happy every time I'm on supervision. I have never seen a more legit little village.
    Kat

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  4. Hey Liz,

    I'm not sure how the mayor got to be the mayor this time. Maybe self-elected??? :) Anyway, the kids involved are all the way from K to Jr. High.

    Tam...never too old for a little fun in the dirt, eh! :) I tried to watch the video but couldn't get to it with that link.

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  5. Hey Liz,

    I'm not sure how the mayor got to be the mayor this time. Maybe self-elected??? :) Anyway, the kids involved are all the way from K to Jr. High.

    Tam...never too old for a little fun in the dirt, eh! :) I tried to watch the video but couldn't get to it with that link.

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  6. I love this, Beth! We used to do the same thing in The Gambia!

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