hxaro exchange

i majored in engineering in college. which means every non-engineering class was look at as a joy instead of a chore.

it's physically impossible to "wing-it" when you're studying heat transfer or fluid dynamics. but you can cram for 2 hours and get an A- on your anthro midterm.

thing is, i paid attention in my anthropology class. anthropology. the study of... something people oriented, taught me something. (most of the time i went to the on campus pub before this class)

we were studying the dobe ju hoansi (african tribal people who talk with clicking and popping noises in their speech) and learned about hxaro exchange.

hxaro exchange was a great idea, it's something that i've personally always practiced. it has two aspects to it.

1.) trade - you trade something now, and maybe not get something back till next month/year. the idea is that we are buddies and i'll spot you now and you pay me back later. the difference between this and trading is that it's not equal trades. i could give you $20.00, and later you could give me your old collection of bottlecaps.

2.) relationship - the idea isn't personal gain with respect to material things, it's a show of friendship and loyalty. if you're in the middle of an exchange then you know that your friend will someday come back and give you something.

the best thing about that class was: watching the movie "the gods must be crazy" was extra credit!