We were seating in front of a couple of tea mugs in a coffee shop here in Hermosa, and of course we were daydreaming about traveling, backpacking, a world without injustices ... and of course we spoke about our plans to take a sabbatical. And of course I was excited about my plan to take a sabbatical in 2009. At a certain point ... So tell me again, Andrea, what do you want to do during your sabbatical? Mmmm ... I have a lot of plans actually. For example? First of all, I don't want to backpack for 1 year. But you want to travel, right? I don't see you resting on your couch for 1 year. Of course, of course! So here are some of my plans. Open my B&B. Work in a kind "peace corp" in a war / postwar zone. Chase whales around the globe. Chase girls around the globe. Try to become a photo reporter. Live in a Tibetan monastery. Become really proficient in massage. Learn a new language, like Chinese. Live in a mission in Africa ... mmm ... the last one ... Surf 24x7 in some isolated pacific island. Hey Andrea. You are serious right about this sabbatical, right? Of course I am. So do you realize that you can do only one of these things? Right, I know. May be a couple, if I am lucky. So what is your dream? Her question hit my heart like a dart. My eyes were open but I couldn't see anymore my friend. I saw myself at the end of my life looking back to what I did for the people around me who really were in need of help and I understood I could to only one thing out of my sabbatical. I saw a couple of imagines. Houses completely destroyed in a war zone ...
... and kids living in the same city, still able to smile after countless days of violence ... and still dreaming of a better future ... a peaceful future ...
... that word "dream" made me decide in that very moment that my sabbatical could be spend only in one way. You are right ... I would like to work in a kind "peace corp" in a war / postwar zone. Yes, this is my dream. In that very moment I knew that I took a decision. And now a small note. The two pictures in this post are not mine but were taken by friends who were living and working in a pacifist group called Operation Dove in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, when I was working and living in Tel Aviv, Israel. I met them in Jerusalem, through a common friend and I immediately loved what they were doing. I believe these pictures are from the Gaza strip. And this is exactly where I would like to spend my sabbatical. Not necessarily in the Palestinian occupied territories, but in an area where there is the worst human invention ... this horrible thing called WAR ... there is where, I want to be because I think I can really help people. I am not sure if will be possible to work this these friends, especially for logistic reasons and training reasons probably I will need to go with a US based organization. But there it is. This is my dream for my sabbatical in 2009.
... and kids living in the same city, still able to smile after countless days of violence ... and still dreaming of a better future ... a peaceful future ...
... that word "dream" made me decide in that very moment that my sabbatical could be spend only in one way. You are right ... I would like to work in a kind "peace corp" in a war / postwar zone. Yes, this is my dream. In that very moment I knew that I took a decision. And now a small note. The two pictures in this post are not mine but were taken by friends who were living and working in a pacifist group called Operation Dove in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, when I was working and living in Tel Aviv, Israel. I met them in Jerusalem, through a common friend and I immediately loved what they were doing. I believe these pictures are from the Gaza strip. And this is exactly where I would like to spend my sabbatical. Not necessarily in the Palestinian occupied territories, but in an area where there is the worst human invention ... this horrible thing called WAR ... there is where, I want to be because I think I can really help people. I am not sure if will be possible to work this these friends, especially for logistic reasons and training reasons probably I will need to go with a US based organization. But there it is. This is my dream for my sabbatical in 2009.
1 comment:
very nice :)
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