Pin Fetish

The last thing I would have imagined encountering here at the Expo is this fundamental craziness for pin collecting. For outsiders who may not understand the pin culture kicking and thriving between Expo employees, a bit of foregrounding should suffice.
At the Expo, there are various pins representing different pavilions, countries, organizations, and themes in general. Many of these pins are traded and collected between Expo employees, including pavilion workers, volunteers, bus drivers, even upper level management. Different pins have different values depending on how sought after they are, how rare they are, and so on and so on. The entire pin trading/collecting dynamic becomes a big bargaining process, not unlike shopping in the streets of Shanghai. More often than not it's not just a one-for-one deal. 2 pins for 1. 5 pins for 2. 3 pins for 6. You get the idea. It's all subjective to a certain extent. Different pins are of different worth and significance to different people. The craze with which this phenomenon has hit people is remarkable. It's gotten to a point where I try not to wear my badge when I don't have to (the lanyard holds the pins people own, like a trophy around their necks) because I see glints and stares out of the corner of my eye. I for one do not care for pin trading since there are none that I so covet. I mean, I'm more than happy to take a pin when someone offers it, but there's never a pin that warrants me approaching someone in order to initiate a trade. Bleh.

Since taking this photo my pin collection has grown through people's generosity.

USA Pavilion pins.

On another note, there are tidbits of California that I miss. I miss driving and my car. I miss the nice balance between suburbia and urban-ness (though ONLY at times--am I really admitting this?) I miss great weather. Oh, the mild, pleasurable climate that only LA can harbor. I miss Chipotle. I miss my family. I miss clubbing with my girls. I miss shopping in malls with rows of recognizable labels and clothes I'm fashionably comfortable with wearing. I miss wasting hours playing Big 2 and drinking milk tea. I miss having private space, namely a bubble around me that people usually don't penetrate that is violated here the second I step into any public area. I could go on and on because there are tons of things I miss, but right now there's no other place I'd rather be than here. It's proven to be an awesome experience so far.