November 29, 2016 · Tainan, Taiwan
From Charming Laundry Room to Charming Club
How does one go from the world’s most beautiful laundry room, located in Wellington New Zealand, to be a speaker for a ‘Charming Toastmaster Club’ in Tainan, Taiwan. Well it’s a bit of adventure, with 31 countries in-between.
What I started my Earth Personally sojourn on 5 February of this year with good friend Magaly Macia, I had no idea who I would meet, but my intent was not only to discovery countries I had never been but people I had never met. In the second month of my adventure, I came across a most wonderful laundry room in the Hostelling International Youth Hostel, in Wellington, New Zealand. And in that laundry room was a young lady (Michelle Chiang) from Tainan, Taiwan who made it even more beautiful by offering to pose for my photos of the laundry room.
She was a poser, in that she liked to pose, as for me I am a naturalist and prefer photos of the same ilk. Despite our photographic differences, we opted to team up for the day and share our hobby of photography. In the process, she talked of Taiwan, and the wonders of her home, her work, her involvement with Toastmasters International, public speakers club etc. Her home was not on my travel agenda, but in talking to her she mentioned that November would be a good time to visit.
We took our pictures, traded our photo philosophies and Facebook information and went our separate ways. I to Australia and many other countries and her back home where Michelle is a math teacher.
As I proceeded to share my Storyographies, I noticed I started getting likes for my work from various people in Taiwan in addition to Michelle like, Amy Lin, Winnie Yu, who began liking and commenting on many of my postings. It seems there was a group of travel photo enthusiasts associated with Michelle and not only that they had nice picture and stories of their own to tell.
Over the months and my movement from country to country, continent to continent, I thought more and more about my counterparts, and decided, if I was going to end my travels, it would be fun to end them with people of similar interests but different ways of looking at and doing things than me.
With that I added Taiwan to be my last new country to visit, on my bi-orbital trip. And ended today with my new friends, speaking to them in my language but their country of the importance of experiences with other people in my travels. And what better experience to have met a young lady in a the worlds nicest laundry room and now be meeting with her and her friends in the world’s friendliest speakers room.
Whilst I was awarded a certificate and trophy for my speech, the experience of sharing the world, with wonderful people, made the award that much more rewarding.
