Last week I found out that Woman’s World Magazine is doing a story on the Year of Giving. The article will be in the July 19th issue which hits newsstands the week of July 8th. I will post something here when we get closer to the date. The reason I mention this is because last Friday they sent a photographer to take some photos of me giving away my $10.
It was a pretty day and I suggested to Pete, the photographer, that we walk up to Dupont Circle. After arriving, I took some time surveying the potential recipients and found a woman sitting on the grass playing with her daughter. Perfect!
I walked over to Cecilia and explained what I was doing and asked if she would participate. She agreed but mentioned that she might have some difficulties answering some of the questions because as Spanish was her first language. I offered to do the interview in Spanish and she said that that would be more comfortable. Her daughter Emilia was full of energy and a bit awestruck by the attention, especially the camera!
Pete deftly maneuvered around us as we spoke, capturing the scene unfold on his Nikon D300.
Cecilia and Emilia (Photo: Reed)
Cecilia and her family moved here for her husband’s job18 months ago. A teacher back in her native Chile, Cecilia has had to adjust to a lot of new things here in the US. As she is not working while they are here, she has had the opportunity to dedicate the majority of her time to five-year-old Emilia and her nine-year-old brother Santiago. Additionally she has been taking English classes and learning to cook.
Cecilia spoke to me on camera about some of the challenges that living abroad has presented. Besides learning a new language, culture, and city, Cecilia shared that being far away from their family has not been easy. Family serves as our support network in multiple ways. Luckily technology helps minimize that void. I noticed how technology impacted communication from the time I lived in Mexico as an exchange student in 1990 to when I lived in Brazil four years ago. In 1990 I would only call and speak to my family once or twice per month because of how expensive it was. Going back just a few years though, it was not unusual for me to talk to my family several times a week while living in Sao Paulo. Tools like email, Skype, more economically priced long distance service, etc. helped reduce the miles between us.
This video clip of some of my conversation with Cecilia is in Spanish…hopefully this will be an interesting new element to the blog for Spanish-speakers who are following the Year of Giving. And for those who don’t speak Spanish, you might enjoy watching it just to see how playful and happy little Emilia is.
As for the $10, Cecilia shares on the video that “the $10 will travel with me to Chile.” She plans to go next month and will donate the money to the relief efforts for the recent earthquakes there. Thankfully her family and friends are all ok and only suffered minor inconveniences.
On a different note, I want to take this opportunity to share with you some exciting news about me and the Year of Giving. As you know I have been searching for work. I have some good news on this front. No, I didn’t find a job…but I did secure a small consulting project in Manizales, Colombia. Next week I will travel there and spend ten days in the heart of Colombia’s coffee-belt working with a nonprofit foundation with their role in helping the region meet the Ministry of Education’s goal of being a truly bilingual country by 2019!
This is a very exciting opportunity for me and I feel that it will enrich the Year of Giving in many ways as well as change the landscape some and see first-hand how people from another part of the world react to my commitment. I will of course continue my daily giving and blogging. More news on this in the coming days!
Year of Giving 
I don’t know much of your background, so I was excited to see an interview in Spanish! Can’t wait to hear about your trip to Columbia, and your experiences giving there.
Congratulations on securing this consulting project! Looking forward to read about your adventures in Colombia. 🙂
Thanks, Reed, for the nice conversation! My dancing Emilia was very excited with the camera!
Thank you for share your project with us . I love to know experiences like yours, because we can find out that despite the differences people have a lot in common!
Reed, creo que este proyecto será inolvidable para ti y para quienes hemos tenido la suerte de compartir contigo durante la conversación. Creo que los $10 dólares, finalmente, son una excusa para compartir trozos de nuestras vidas.
The most important thing in the world are my children. After this beautiful moment living here in Washington DC, when we come back to Chile, I know that my family will stronger! Thanks God, in this city we enjoy a great time together.
Me encanta descubrir que mi trabajo puede esperar y tener la certeza de que estoy apostando por mi familia, por mis hijos, por mi marido. Sé que en el futuro, cuando vuelva a insertarme en el mundo laboral, ellos estarán ahí conmigo, apoyándome también.
It was a pleasure and an honor to meet you Cecilia. I hope you don’t mind that I share the following with everyone but I love it. Cecilia wrote me an email today and I just want to share one line that was particularly moving: Después de hablar contigo, pensé mucho en mis palabras y estoy muy contenta de ser chilena, mamá, mujer.
That translates into, “After speaking with you, I reflected a lot on what I said and I am very happy to be Chilean, a mother, and a woman.”
Beautifully put Cecilia!
Congrats Reed! What a wonderful opportunity, I look forward to reading about your experiences. Safe travels!
Reed , The more i read your blog , the more i feel life is passing me by . You seem to lead such an active and interesting life . Of course i am by nature an introvert , but i read about your adventures and feel as though i am also meeting the people you meet .
I can’t wait to read your posts from Columbia , and i am sure you will enrich any people down there that you come into contact with . I wish you a safe and enjoyable journey .
By the way , where is Rueben ?
Thanks for the kind words. I do keep a very active life. Every day we have an opportunity to do the most we can, I just try to maximize my opportunities. You never know how long you have. As for Rueben…he is back with his owners now…he is a pretty awesome little guy though isn’t he? -Reed
Great story and very cool to land the consulting gig in Columbia! Good on you Reed!
Taste the Freedom!
Reed! I am so excited for your opportunity in Colombia, and for more good press for the Year of Giving…just wonderful news, and good luck!
We are waiting to do a story on you as well. However, you have not answered our questions. We know you are busy, but may have to do the article w/o your words.
I’m so sorry Pat! It’s on my list…. hopefully I can get to that by end of day tomorrow. Thanks for your patience! -Reed
Congratulations on the consulting gig! Sounds amazing and I love that you are going to continue your quest there! Can’t wait to see how that goes.
I used to date a man from Colombia and his mother taught me three things I still remember: 1) don’t chew gum in public; 2) don’t put your purse on the ground … it’s bad luck; and 3) it’s Colombia with an O and not a U (easy mistake since we live in the District of Columbia). 🙂
One of the things I like about your blog, Reed, is that we learn a lot about you as well as your $10 recipients. Your writing is style is easy to read and your stories are always about living life from a positive perspective. With all of your well-deserved publicity, I hope you are able to make A Year of Giving your full-time work on a larger scale.
Reed,
Congrats on the Columbia gig, I can’t wait to read about your journey there. Be safe and thanks for this blog, it has been a true inspiration to many!
Reed! I am so pleased for you! What an exciting adventure ~ going to Colombia (I just had to back up and change a “u” to an “o”!) I couldn’t understand anything you all said, but I certainly enjoyed the bagpipe playing in the background! 🙂 I still read you (just about) every day and you continue to inspire me and make me think. I always back up and read any post I missed. Can’t wait to read your posts from Colombia!!!
Thanks for the note Susan…you are one of the first people that I can remember following the Year of Giving who I didn’t know! You started following way back in the very early days. It means a lot to know that you still enjoy reading the stories of the amazing people I meet. -Reed
PS. The bagpipe playing was pretty good!
I too enjoyed the interview even though I don’t understand Spanish. Little Emilia is so precious!
I am so glad I found your website. I love reading all of your stories! It inspires me to be even more open with people and speaking with someone I might not have taken the time to talk to….so thank you!
Enjoy your visit to Colombia!
Diana
[…] by a score of 3-0. Although everyone in the bar was celebrating, part of me felt a little sad for Cecilia from Day 151. As the game came to a close and people started to rush back to work, I tried started to take […]