Our Story
Khichdi-kheemo
Hi, I am Xinyi! I am the creator behind Sea My Culture.
During a car ride in October 2021 when I was a graduate student in School Psychology, my best friend Mazneen shared a story about her 8-year-old son Kayezad:“Last night, Kayezad asked me if I can make him sandwiches for the rest of the school year. His friends made fun of his khichdi-kheemo, a Parsi Indian dish I made for him.” Mazneen tried to explain to her son how the food of their culture was unique and special, but wished she could do it in a more convincing way.
While she was talking, I felt that there was something deeply wrong about this world if a child cannot bring his favorite food to school. I want to believe that the children who made fun of Kayezad were not intentional. They just were not aware that their friends may come from a different background as they were.
The first board game map
In the following days, Mazneen and I brainstormed how we can talk about these multicultural issues with Kayezad and his peers in a way that is age-appropriate.
“How about we design a board game to talk about these issues? This way, talking about multicultural issues can be more fun and interactive!”
We were so excited about this idea!!!
On the same night, I sketched out the first board game map, which not surprisingly featured dishes from different cultures :)
Testing the game with Kayezad
We reached out to our artist friend Amber to help make the first board game map. We then developed the game mechanism to include all aspects of multiculturalism — race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, disability, sexual orientation, size, class and religion and social-emotional learning (SEL) exercises.
We are really proud that we included Kayezad in the entire process of designing the game because we believe that we need to center children’s voices. You know what? Kayezad created all of the wild cards in the game. He even wrote about this experience in an autobiography writing assignment for school - how cool is that!
We continued to reiterate the game to include feedback from children, educators, parents, school counselors and psychologists. It took us about a year and a half to arrive at the version we are satisfied with right now.
The story continues…
As we reach out to more children and educators to share our game with, we have received overwhelmingly positive feedback (and a feature on Diamondback newspaper).
One recurring theme from hundreds of game sessions is that educators love Sea My Culture and they enjoy playing it with their students in school! Here’s what they have said:
“What a brilliant way to engage multicultural conversations with children from a young age!”
“Seriously, we need this in an increasingly divided world."
“My students loved it. One student even asked me where she can buy this because she wants to play this at home with her cousins.”
If you are also passionate about DEIB and SEL work in a playful way, let’s get connected. I can’t wait to hear your story!