Chiang Mai may be one of the easiest places to meet interesting people. At one of my favorite restaurants recently, I met a young man from the British Isles. We had a number of common interests. He had lived in Japan at one point in his life and he was earning his living by doing healing work. We agreed to meet again before he leaves ;but perhaps because of his limited time here it may not happen. Nevertheless, we have exchanged contact information and I know our paths will most likely cross again.
It seems that 80 % of all the travelers who I meet have worked in Japan at one point of their lives. Presently, I am meeting many who have been or at the moment working in Korea. This is an innovative approach to both paying off ones College debts and also living in a very different culture.
Yesterday, I met a couple from the West coast of the U.S. She was retired ; but he continues working as he enjoys his work as a community worker. His enthusiasm for community work is rather infectious. He has the ideal personality of patience, people loving and networking skills that is best suited to this type of work. Usually, it is I who pulls out my card first ,but this time it was he who gave me his card. I had never met anyone who has had such a strong interest in and a clear vision of what constitutes a healthy community.
I shared with him my belief that communities are a disappearing entity on the planet. My feeling is that it is part of the process of centralizing power int the hands of the few. For this to happen, communities have to be disempowered.
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