Wen Way: Tienes Pins?

The title means "Do you have pins (for me)?" in Spanish. This goes way back in 2008 during World Expo in Zaragoza, Spain. One of the past times during the expo was collecting pins from various countries either by begging/asking/trading for them or if the staff liked you enough, you'd be given one as a gift . It was common sight for people there especially staff to walk around with their lanyards full with colorful pins. Pin collectors with albums and albums of pins also roamed in the expo to expand their collection.

During my time there, my friend and I would spend some time during the day to gallivant around the expo in search of pins by making friends.in various pavilions So, each pin has its own unique story of how it was obtained and I will write down here for those special ones as much as I can recall.

This was what I managed to collect. Two lanyards full of them. It was hard work.

Pins laid out in all their glory.

The Japan pin was actually a gift from my Korean friend (irony much?). It was such a sought after pin because the Japanese staffs do not give them to you unless you were either a VIP or really really...REALLY close to them (you speak Spanish OR Japanese fluently and they invite you to their apartment for a meal type of closeness). It was so rare to get hold of one that towards the end of the expo, it rumored to be sold for EUR600! Did not bother verifying the rumor although I actually have 2 of them. Could have earned some quick cash if it was real though.

Fond memories of the Japan Expo would be the enthusiastic drummers which flew in from Japan for their national day performance. It was a night event and they sure drummed up a great atmosphere. I approached them for a photo. Eventually, more and more people followed suit and they repeated the pose in the photo below for at least 20 times followed by a roar, and they did it with such spirit! Much impressed with their patience.

The Korean pins on the other hand were from my Korean friends (they're not so uptight, me concludes). In fact, they gave me extras too. One of them was a pin of a bride and bridegroom, which was kind of cool and very apt now ;-)

The Korean pins was to promote the Yeosu Expo happening in 2012. On a side note, I come to notice that these expos are generally used by the host country as an excuse/reason to develop a lesser known city e.g. Zaragoza, which I have never heard of until 2008.

From L-R: Pin of New York McD's, no idea what pin, Bride & Groom and Italy.

The following are my Korean friends whom I remember fondly. This girl in Hanbok migrated to Spain with her family. Being uprooted like that right after Form 3 is a really huge culture shock. However, it was common that many Koreans migrated to Spain so they have some company here. One can spot them (and their restaurants) quite easily.

This guy here is really friendly. Does not speak much English but yeah...we manage to get around talking about things like...girls of the Korean pavilion and Malaysian pavilion...hehe.

This is Alicia, my first Korean friend. I guess that is because she speaks rather fluent English but I get confused sometimes too, must be her Korean way of expressing things. She's the one who gave me both the Japan pins!

Her friend, Yun Ah, can't really mutter much in English but when she does in Spanish, it shoots out like bullets. Not that I understand any of them...haha. The one remark she made which I'll never forget is this: "Korean language? Hmmph! Totally unnecessary in this world! Why? Because no one else have use for it." Much love for own mother tongue, eh? LoL~

The Fluvi (mascot of the expo) and France pin here was given to me by a friend, Suzana Lopez working in the Malaysian pavilion. She happened to be one of those who received pins from people simply by being themselves. My friend and I would always "steal" some off her...hehehe.

Here is Suzana and her flipping me the bird with a smiley face in the subsequent photo. So crude yet friendly.

Next up, 5 Bolivian pins. My friend and I was just strolling in the South America pavilion and met our Bolivian friend, Erica. Also a mighty friendly soul, that was how we "convinced" her to give us our many Bolivia pins. :-)

This is Erica with her Pollera during Bolivia National Day along with two other friends.

The Greece pin is nothing much to shout about. It is more of the person associated to it.

Meet Mina of Greece who was my tour guide when I visited the Greece pavilion. Also another friendly soul who makes it a point to visit all the pavilions. She dropped by the Malaysian pavilion to watch the cultural dances several times so most of the staff knows her very well.

Here is me with Mina and Iro, both dressed as Greek Goddesses during the their National Day celebration.

The following are some other pins which are aesthetically noteworthy, especially the second one :-)

My prized pair of mask pins!

Cow Girl, Baby!

Traded for one of these 200 pieces limited edition pin from a collector.

Zaragoza Expo Symbol glass pin, which costs EUR12 each (a pack of SIX was literally thrown towards my friend and I by the shopkeeper while they were delivering the stocks to the shop, Unethical but Cool.)