Home-made souvenir

When our team was in Rwanda, the students were excited about what souvenirs they would buy, and how much money did they need to exchange for the Rwanda Franc in order to make the purchases.  

I took the opportunity to show them some souvenir that I made myself - caps of bottles that I flattened with a hammer into flat disks.  These made perfect gifts.  They are obviously local and authentic, often with the name of the country stamped on it.  They are colourful and many are associated with local attractions.  They generally cannot be found outside of the country. They are small and easy to carry.  Above all, they cost you nothing but some exercise of your muscle.  And it is home-made - not completely, but at least you did flatten it.  Each is unique, slightly different from all others.  What is more, if you hammer it the right way, the cap will not be completely flat but rather slightly concave or convex.  Pressing on it will make a click/clack sound as it flips from being concave to convex, and back.  

Another way to play with it is to drill two small holes in it, pass a string through each hole, twist the strings on each side together in the same direction and pull - the unwinding of the twisted strings will make the disk spin.  One disk can then fight another - each trying to cut the other’s strings with the spinning sharp edge.  This was a popular game when we were small. 

I thought the students might scoff at such a simple idea.  But some actually liked it and  started to race to collect the caps from soft drink bottles.  Late at night, I could hear  loud banging outside my window.  At first I was puzzled by the source of the banging.  But quickly I realised that I was the original cause of it, and really couldn’t complain.  

I still think it is a good idea.