An Expensive Something To Laugh About

I am questioning the logic of writing this post but there are times when I can't take myself seriously and am glad that I have a good enough sense of humour to laugh at my own expense.

So ... here it goes. I arrived home from England last Monday. Leaving at 2 in the morning to get a flight at 8:30 was not a pleasant journey. By the time I got back to the intense heat in Krakow, all I was fit for, was sleep.

With a flight due the next night, I decided to catch up with some friends in the evening, which was probably not the greatest idea since I was till suffering from a cold, but still it was nice to catch up.

The next day was a day of preparation for my flight to Georgia - a non-event of a day as these days tend to be. It was a case of patiently waiting until it was time to leave. I got out to the airport with plenty of time to spare and contemplated on how best to pass the four hours until the flight was due. Reading, eating, coffee, reading, juice and more reading seemed to work.

I had a look up at the information board just out of curiosity and that's when everything went wrong. I examined it extremely carefully but my flight was not there. I checked the ticket and the date and everything seemed fine - 30th of July but then I realised why it was not on the electronic board, the date was correct but the plane had already left at 00:50 earlier that morning.

This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. I have waited at an airport one day earlier to welcome my cousin, I have confused 6 am with 6 pm while getting a ferry from Dublin to Wales, I once bought 5 train tickets for our group of 4 and I have also booked flights to the wrong airport.

So what did I do? I contemplated getting another flight to anywhere but then decided to retreat back to Krakow. I took a bus to the train station in Katowice and thought again about going somewhere different. The shame of returning to Krakow seemed too great. Wrocław, Warsaw - these were two cities that came to mind but then I decided that it was best to return to the city I had started from and regroup.

All the buses had gone and the queue was enormous. I'm guessing they were in line to get tickets for  a festival as they looked like the type with range of quirky styles from punk to a hippy look that seemed out of place in the modern train station in Katowice. When I finally reached the top of the queue, I bought a ticket for the next train to Krakow, which was due in over 5 hours. Patience was needed once more. I amused myself by reading again and going to an Internet cafe to book another flight for later in the week. There was one option to fly from Warsaw to Georgia the next day but I chose the later one from Krakow, which was half the price.

Patience was the quality, which was once again put to the test on the train journey home. I slept for most of it thankfully.

So I am still going to Georgia but will have to be patient once more. As for these mistakes that prove to be very costly, I feel a bit resigned to the fact that I will make them again but at least they give me a reason to write.

Book Review - Buy This Land by Chi-Dooh Li

The title of this book, 'Buy This Land', is quite a simple yet fitting introduction to the inspiring story of Chi-Dooh Li (nicknamed 'Skip'). It immediately brought to mind the song by Woody Guthrie  'This Land is Your Land' and after just finishing reading the book, I have discovered that this initial association has proved to be an apt one.

Skip was born in India, moved to China but left with his family when the Chinese Communist Revolution began and followed his father who took up various diplomatic posts in Asia, Australia and South America.  By the time he moved to the U.S.A. he was already very well-travelled and could speak Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English. With such a mix of experiences behind him it was obviously difficult for him to answer the question by a Pan American Airways agent who asks him 'What are you, really?', which is referred to in the introduction to the book.

Despite helping Chinese Cambodian refugees gain asylum to the United States, it was being present at a sermon delivered by Juan Carlos that was to really change his life and lay the foundations for the new way of thinking that Skip was to base his thoughts on, which was to radically change his life and the lives of others.

From this moment on, he dedicated himself to aiding those living in impoverished conditions by setting up Agros. The concept of Agros is a simple but powerful one - help farmers to buy and use land effectively in order to encourage self-suffiency. From their troubled beginnings in Guatemala, Agros has since helped establish 42 villages in five different countries and has helped over 24,000 people. What is interesting is that Agros doesn't give handouts but gives people the means and encouragement to work towards a better future and to literally reap the rewards from their hard work and belief. They do so by purchasing land directly from landowners and then offer it back to impoverished families at rates that are realistic for those who have very little.

What made this book a very enjoyable and humbling read is not only the fact the Skip's story is a fascinating one. He does not boast about his achievements or attempt to glorify himself in any way. There is immense gratitude on the part of the author towards his wife and all those who have helped him. Another refreshing element I experienced in the reading of the book is that the organisation does not discriminate against those with different religious beliefs unlike some aid organisations. The fact that he is a religious man and there are many biblical references in the book does not lead to preaching to the reader or any recipients of aid in any way. He simply gives examples of the the way in which his faith helps to inspire him to help others who have less.

The most inspiring thing about this book is that, despite admitting that he had led a comfortable life practicing law, he decided to use his position and knowledge to help other people less fortunate than him. What is very pleasing to know is that the end of the book clearly states that his work with helping poverty-stricken landless people is far from finished and his belief that 'this land was made for you and me' is as strong as ever.


http://www.buythislandbook.com/
http://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/This_Land.htm

Time to Settle Down or Not?

I chanced upon a blog entry today in which the writer received an email from a friend advising him to 

'come on home and get back to an ordinary life, because you don’t want to be out there when you’re old'.

It really got me thinking once more about what it means to 'settle down' and what does it mean to not do so.

I like to think that we have more opportunities nowadays to do more than we had in the past. Age limitations have less of an impact on us and I'm often really inspired by those who go back to university at a later age. When taking part in organised runs in Krakow, what amazes me is the fitness of some contestants who are at least twice my age but still manage to finish way ahead of me. Retired people who travel and are not afraid to rough it also alleviate my fears that old age simply involves waiting around to die.

Back to my main point, what does it mean to 'settle down'. The writer of the blog says that he has chosen an 'extraordinary' life ahead of an 'ordinary' one and this is why he continues to travel and not root himself to one place. I don't feel I can't totally agree that this is an 'extraordinary' life. It certainly is interesting and he is privileged to able to do this. Being in the one place your whole life can also be 'extraordinary'. There are many benefits to this. Stability is one, the chance to build and continuity are others. 

I think we generally have more options and are more fluid because of this. We have more information and more of us don't know where we will be next week never mind next year.
Is there an age when we should settle down and have a family or is there more than one time in which we can do this? I am of the opinion that it is all relative to who you are, who you meet and what you want. I certainly don't want to feel limited by my age in any way and try to maintain an optimistic outlook on where I am currently am and recently have been really trying to look at future changes as new challenges to better myself and not as the means to run from problems. 

This post has been written in Oxford where I am working for a summer school. It has been heavily influenced by meeting people from all over the world. It hasn't been edited or even reread but if you are interested in reading the post that inspired it, click on the link below. 

The Professional Hobo Blog Link