It’s
All About Caring And Sharing
Yesterday, Kit,
my LETS host in Kitchener (Ontario, Canada) asked, “Can you
paint a room for me?”
Now, you’ve got to
keep this in perspective.
My stay in Kitchener was
originally supposed to be for only one week, January 11-18. But 9
and a half weeks later, I’m still here! And apart from a couple
of weeks spent in Welland, Brantford, Montreal, Granby, Ottawa and
Toronto, I’ve spent the rest of my time here. And it looks like
I’ll be here for another 7 weeks. That’ll make it over
3 months!
Now I’m not in the
habit of staying in the same place for such a long time. My average
stay with a host is about one week. But things just turned out that
way when my plans to visit South America fell through a couple of
months ago.
You can read the
whole story in my e-book, My 400 Day LETS Odyssey,
Wk 36- Everything Turns Out For The Best (or more fondly known as
Shit Happens)
http://www.JamesTaris.com/400-36.Canada-Kitchener3.htm
Not only that, but my host
also organized 2 performances of my play in Kitchener, 3 speaking
engagements with local Toastmasters groups, a Murder-Mystery night,
a winter camping weekend with 37 other crazy Canadians, a visit to
an Emu farm, a lift to Montreal (6 hour drive!), 2 lifts to Toronto
and back, cross-country skiing and an ice-hockey game. PLUS, my day-to-day
needs, as was originally requested when I first made contact with
KW Barterworks, the LETS group Kit belongs to.
My commitment with KW Barterworks
ended after my first week, so all of these ‘extras’ have
been provided by my host.
And when my next couple
of hosts cancelled my visits with them, Kit immediately offered to
host me a while longer, because I was the ideal travel guest!
I washed the dishes every
day.
I regularly shoveled snow from the paths and driveway around the house.
I registered a domain name for a business web site.
I also provided the web hosting.
I gave web page design tuition.
And I was good company to have around, always having something positive
to say.
And the more I did for
my host, the more my host did for me.
You see, it’s all
about caring and sharing.
And having said that, I’m
not going to paint a room. I’m going to paint the entire freakin'
ground floor! That’s 4 rooms and a staircase. Stripping paint
off all the woodwork (doors, windows, skirting boards, and staircase),
filling in cracks in the plaster, then painting the ceilings and floors.
I mean, why wouldn’t
I?
Painting the
kitchen wall.
Obviously I can’t
relate all the times I’ve ‘given more’ and ‘received
more’ while being hosted, but here’s a few occasions during
my European LETS Speaking Tour in 2002 where this occurred.
In Bristol, England,
I had use of a bicycle for a week and repaid the favour by doing a
few hours of house renovating for another member.
For full story, see UNITED KINGDOM - First Stop Bristol at
http://www.JamesTaris.com/TTW-2.FirstStopBristol.htm
Also in Bristol, England,
I cleaned a kitchen, bathroom and toilet. I got no extras in return.
But I knew my host was expecting a visitor for the next couple of
days, and because he was working all day, he wouldn’t have time
to clean his place. So I did it for him! And when he got back home,
he couldn't believe his eyes!
In Sa Tuna, Spain, I washed
the dishes one morning while my hosts were sleeping in. I just wanted
to be helpful.
In Aas, Norway,
I got a Polynesian Massage and repaid the favour by being a dance
partner for another member.
For full story, see NORWAY - Polynesian Massage and also "The
Week In Aas Festival" at
http://www.JamesTaris.com/TTW-24.PolynesianMassage.htm
In Cape Town,
South Africa, I got my first taste of working my butt off for LETS.
I was giving upto 3 presentations each day for 4 days, and by the
5th day I’d lost my voice!
For full story, see SOUTH AFRICA - LETS Groups In South Africa &
THE BAT JOKE
http://www.JamesTaris.com/TTW-26.SouthAfricaIsJustLikeAustralia.htm
This
article is taken from the ebook,
400-Day LETS Odyssey
About
the book
|
James
Taris web sites
JamesTaris.com
LETS-Linkup.com
Rich-Bastards.com
Honey-BeeBooks.com
TheGloryOfAthens.com
TravelWithoutMoney.com
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