Pin Trading: My Morning Defeat

Every Olympic games, there is a particular activity that spreads through the town like a silent fever. No one can identify the reason for the popularity, but once they've contracted this sickness, there's no stopping it.

The activity: pin trading
The victim: anyone else but me

I decided to display the pins I have collected so far on my lanyard today. Since the beginning of the games, I had seen people fashioning their pins to hats, gloves, scarves, and especially lanyards. I thought, "Why not? I'm here at the Olympics, so I might as well experience every tradition I encounter." So there I was, wandering through the town back to my hotel room and as my eyes darted from building to street sign to passer-by, his eyes met mine.

This man immediately approached me, found a pin he wanted (which happened to be the one I wanted to get rid of), and offered to trade for something he had. I hesitated, not knowing how this whole ritual should have played out. He said, "Here, I'll give you this." and handed me a small pin from Switzerland. He proceeded to tell me that he had hundreds more pins in his bag back at his hotel just down the street, and invited me to go with him. As gracefully as I could (I'm sure it was more awkward and less grace, unfortunately) I declined. 1) I didn't enjoy this whole pin trading deal and 2) I had other things I was on a mission to do! I guess the pin is OK, but I'm sure he totally ripped me off. Oh well, live and learn.

I've learned I'm nearly a lost cause when it comes to pin trading (hopefully nearly not totally)!

I've never been good at making deals or trading object for object. I'd like to say I'm not cold-hearted enough! Maybe I just don't have the guts or the quick mind to make a fair deal. Whatever the case, I remember trading Pokemon cards in my youth typically ended in small quarrels between myself and my brother's friends. Because of this, I fear that whatever trade I enter will end in someone losing and someone else winning unfairly. I know this is an irrational fear as this is what makes business, so I've just got to learn the right way to trade. Next time, I need to be more educated on what pins I want, which ones are valuable in relation to the one I am offering so no one will come away bitter or jaded.

Will I try pin trading again? Who knows! If I do, hopefully it will be more successful than this morning.