Odds are Jay wears a bra at dinner at the Murai
Odds are Ben wades through a murky pond at Sheila’s farm
Odds are I wear a tiger hat around Auckland
Odds are Rebecca wakes up Ryan and Cheridyn in the middle of the night to say she had a nightmare
Odds are Morgan sprays all the perfumes in the duty free store on herself in the Fijian airport on our way to Australia
What is this infamous game we call “odds are”and what does it possibly have to do with walkabout fall 2015?
Odds are is a game in which a person decides their willingness to perform a certain task. The game is played between two people, the asker and the answerer. The asker asks what the “odds are” and the answerer gives the odds between 1 and 30 depending on their willingness to do what was asked. The closer the “odds are” to 1in 1 the more willing the person is to do that task. The closer the “odds are” to 1 in 30 the less willing the person is to do that task. To help you better understand I will give you an example. Let’s just say that Will asks Evelina what the “odds are’ that she streaks around the gorgeous beach house we were lucky enough to spend this past week at. She gives the “odds” as 1 in 15. Then Will counts down from 3 and they both say a number within the range Evelina gave. So Will would go 3..2..1 and they would both say a number. If they both said the same number lets say 7 Evelina would have lost the “odds” and she has to perform the task which in this case is streaking. If they had said different numbers then Evelina is safe but the “odds” get thrown back to the asker. Now its Evelina’s turn to count down from 3 to see if she can get Will on the same “odds”. If they do say the same number between 1 and 15 then Will has to perform the task if they say different numbers nothing happens and everyone just giggles at the image created if person had actually had to do the “odds”.
Now that you understand how the game is played you are probably curios to what this possibly has to do with an educational volunteer group touring the South Pacific. “Odds are” started as a fun way to pass the time and it evolved into something much more significant. It became a part of group culture and its how we make boring or negative situations positive again. It’s our way of adding a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. Laughter always ensues an “odds are” even if it was never performed. It’s also a way we can reflect on our trip. We have been playing “odds are” since the start and through each of our experiences it has traveled with us. Whenever we look back on a place we can always do so with a smile because there’s always at least one hilarious “odds are” that was paired with it. “Odds are” is juts one of the many things that makes Walkabout a family. Who would have guessed that 7 weeks ago we were all strangers from different cities all over the U.S. Now we cook, clean, work, and sleep together and we get along while doing it. We just pulled off a fantastic week of Student Directed Travel that brought us closer as a group and gave us lots of time to get to know each other better. I could not be more grateful to be on this trip with 13 of the most amazing people that I am lucky to call my new family. As I sit writing this on a plane to Australia I look forward to the new adventures to come especially the many “odds are” that will ensue with it and I can’t wait to be doing all of this with the people I have grown to love. Australia better look out because her comes Walkabout ready to play (“odds are”) and say G’day.
Yours Truly,
Frodo Bloggins
a.k.a. Kalie Hirt
Thanks so much!!!
