Shifting Lenses

One of the most memorable trips my family took while living in Beijing was to Mongolia. We stayed near Ulaanbaatar and explored the countryside, including the Genghis Khan statue and other more rural sights. Two memories from that trip vividly stand out.

I remember waking up in our yurt to find about six inches of snow had fallen overnight. The roads weren’t plowed, so we had to trek uphill through the snow to get breakfast. We also lost power, making the yurt incredibly cold.

My other vivid memory involves my mom making a Mongolian boy cry. This wasn’t intentional, and it sounds worse than it was. We were visiting a local herding family in their yurt and playing a traditional game called Shagai, which involves “rolling” bones like dice. My mom was unbelievably lucky, even though she didn’t want to be, and just couldn’t stop winning. Unfortunately, our hosts’ five-year-old boy didn’t like losing. Tears were shed, and a fit was thrown. I felt so bad for him.

My brother and I learned a valuable lesson that day. Kids are the same everywhere. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen tears from a sore loser. From expats in Beijing to kids in the US to herders in Mongolia, we all hate to lose, and sometimes we just don’t handle it well.  It truly made us seem more alike.  I feel truly fortunate that I have been giving so many experiences that helped me learn how similar all people actually are despite different backgrounds.