Sunday
Nov232008
Something To Be Thankful For
Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 10:48PM
A few months ago I received an email from a perfect stranger inviting me on a four-day trip to a Mexican resort for a networking event called the Summit Series. The purpose of the event was to gather the most influential people under the age of 35 so that they could forge relationships, foster ideas, and generally enjoy the company of like-minded people - like a younger version of TED. It sounded moderately interesting, although slightly dubious.
In the email, I was told that my friend Sarah Lacy would be among the attendees. I direct messaged Sarah on Twitter to verify this fact and she confirmed. So I bit the bullet, bought a plane ticket, and didn't think much more about it for two months. When I boarded the plane Thursday, however, I started to worry. I had very little information about the other attendees, the agenda, or the legitimacy of the event. Why was I doing this again? Oh yeah, Mexico. If someone invites you to Mexico, it is generally considered the sane thing to accept.
When we arrived, I was greeted by the event coordinator and two other attendees, both of whom I knew to be legitimately successful entrepreneurs. In looking over the booklet of attendees, my fears began to be allayed. There were indeed some impressive people scheduled to attend from all over the country: founders, CEOs, and executives from companies such as Blackboard, News Corp, Sling Media, The Onion, Stumbledpon, Zappos, Napster, DailyCandy, and more. But when I arrived at the welcome dinner, I started to feel worried once again.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) I was one of only eight women in a group of 60 attendees. I suppose most single women would not complain about being stuck at a Mexican resort with 52 successful men and I certainly am not but I do wish that my gender was more well represented because I know for a fact that there are many worthy female entrepreneurs who could have benefited from this event. Furthermore, nearly one third of the women did not even work in businesses that were relevant to the businesses of the male attendees. I worried that the women may have been chosen as token amusement for the men who were there to legitimately do business. I certainly wanted no part of that if that were the case. I spent the first night staying close to Sarah and my friend and colleague Caroline McCarthy of News.com. But then the Mexican beach air started to chill me out and I decided to stop worrying so much and just enjoy the trip for whatever it would turn out to be.
It turned out to be great! On Friday morning, I participated in something called a "shoe drop." I didn't know what that meant when I agreed to it but I don't generally turn down events that involve shoes.
A man named Blake Mycoskie led the expedition on behalf of his company, TOMS Shoes. Blake founded the company in 2006 with the intention of giving away shoes to children in need. For every pair of shoes sold on the web site, another pair is given away to children in developing nations.
On the outskirts of Cancun, there are thousands of children who live in pretty severe poverty. We traveled by bus to a school where hundreds of children were waiting for us to arrive to distribute their brand new pair of shoes.
"Mira los gringos!" yelled one group of boys as we piled out of our buses. I won't lie, that hurt. I marched over to the group to make sure that they knew that I am a Hispanic and would not take kindly to be called a gringo. I don't mind admitting, that group of boys became my little fan club. "Estas bonita..." one of them said while sitting next to me on a crate after the shoe distribution. Still got it!
I feel the need to point out the irony in my participation in a shoe drop. I don't see shoes as a basic need. I see them as a vice. They are the one thing that I purchase shamelessly with my expendable income. I own close to 70 pairs (but who's counting?). Yet here I was sitting on a crate helping to size the feet of small children who most likely have never owned a new pair of shoes. Most of their shoes were old and falling apart, much like their clothes and book bags. Several of the children were quite dirty and very shy. I even got a whiff of an intensely poopy diaper as I bent over to size one little girl. It broke my heart.
The students and teachers were so grateful for the shoes that they gave us hand-written thank you cards in Spanish. I didn't feel like I had done anything to merit a thank you card. I hadn't bought the shoes. I didn't even understand the premise when I got on the bus. It was a heartbreak to pile back into our shuttles and ride back to our luxury resort.
The next day, we were treated to a presentation by a very inspiration man named Scott Harrison. Scott founded an organization called Charity: Water based on his volunteer work in Africa. Two years ago, Scott spent time in Africa, helping to document dire medical needs. He learned that most of the severe tumors and diseases that the locals were suffering from was a direct result of contaminated water. He started Charity: Water with the intent of building wells in African villages where children were drinking from the same leach-invested streams as their livestock. The images he showed were sobering (and no I wasn't drunk). To date, Scott has raised $7 million and has organized 890 water projects in 13 developing countries. These projects will provide clean and safe drinking water to over 400,000 people.
[wpvideo RJRtKXiR]
Scott and Blake are truly innovative philanthropists. I will be showcasing highlights from each of their events (shot on the new Flip MinoHD) in Loaded this Wednesday, which I think will be exceptionally appropriate timing, given that it will be a time when we are all thinking about gratitude.
Admittedly, the trip was not all about good deed doing. I met people with whom I legitimately want to continue professional relationships with and I made some new friends who live in New York, and goodness knows I could use more of those. Plus, I simply had a great time unwinding my wound-up self. I most definitely behaved myself but I also enjoyed the pleasures of Mexico in eating, reading, sunning, dancing, and napping. I needed it!
As I repack my unpacked bags for Thanksgiving week, which will include travel to San Francisco, my uber-serious turkey-making ritual, my sister's wedding, and CNET's fourth annual Holiday Help Desk, I wanted to stop to write this blog post so that I forced myself to feel a little gratitude. I'm grateful to be heading home to see my family and I'm grateful that we will have the simplest amenities such as shoes and water during our holiday. I'm also grateful to have had the chance to be a Summit Series guest. I'm really glad that I stopped being so uptight about my expectations. I will definitely consider participating in future events, although I sincerely hope the gender ratio improves. My mother would contend that I shouldn't but in all honesty, I really do.
Happy Thanksgiving, dear reader. Use your technology for good this holiday season!
In the email, I was told that my friend Sarah Lacy would be among the attendees. I direct messaged Sarah on Twitter to verify this fact and she confirmed. So I bit the bullet, bought a plane ticket, and didn't think much more about it for two months. When I boarded the plane Thursday, however, I started to worry. I had very little information about the other attendees, the agenda, or the legitimacy of the event. Why was I doing this again? Oh yeah, Mexico. If someone invites you to Mexico, it is generally considered the sane thing to accept.
When we arrived, I was greeted by the event coordinator and two other attendees, both of whom I knew to be legitimately successful entrepreneurs. In looking over the booklet of attendees, my fears began to be allayed. There were indeed some impressive people scheduled to attend from all over the country: founders, CEOs, and executives from companies such as Blackboard, News Corp, Sling Media, The Onion, Stumbledpon, Zappos, Napster, DailyCandy, and more. But when I arrived at the welcome dinner, I started to feel worried once again.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) I was one of only eight women in a group of 60 attendees. I suppose most single women would not complain about being stuck at a Mexican resort with 52 successful men and I certainly am not but I do wish that my gender was more well represented because I know for a fact that there are many worthy female entrepreneurs who could have benefited from this event. Furthermore, nearly one third of the women did not even work in businesses that were relevant to the businesses of the male attendees. I worried that the women may have been chosen as token amusement for the men who were there to legitimately do business. I certainly wanted no part of that if that were the case. I spent the first night staying close to Sarah and my friend and colleague Caroline McCarthy of News.com. But then the Mexican beach air started to chill me out and I decided to stop worrying so much and just enjoy the trip for whatever it would turn out to be.
It turned out to be great! On Friday morning, I participated in something called a "shoe drop." I didn't know what that meant when I agreed to it but I don't generally turn down events that involve shoes.
A man named Blake Mycoskie led the expedition on behalf of his company, TOMS Shoes. Blake founded the company in 2006 with the intention of giving away shoes to children in need. For every pair of shoes sold on the web site, another pair is given away to children in developing nations.
On the outskirts of Cancun, there are thousands of children who live in pretty severe poverty. We traveled by bus to a school where hundreds of children were waiting for us to arrive to distribute their brand new pair of shoes.
"Mira los gringos!" yelled one group of boys as we piled out of our buses. I won't lie, that hurt. I marched over to the group to make sure that they knew that I am a Hispanic and would not take kindly to be called a gringo. I don't mind admitting, that group of boys became my little fan club. "Estas bonita..." one of them said while sitting next to me on a crate after the shoe distribution. Still got it!
I feel the need to point out the irony in my participation in a shoe drop. I don't see shoes as a basic need. I see them as a vice. They are the one thing that I purchase shamelessly with my expendable income. I own close to 70 pairs (but who's counting?). Yet here I was sitting on a crate helping to size the feet of small children who most likely have never owned a new pair of shoes. Most of their shoes were old and falling apart, much like their clothes and book bags. Several of the children were quite dirty and very shy. I even got a whiff of an intensely poopy diaper as I bent over to size one little girl. It broke my heart.
The students and teachers were so grateful for the shoes that they gave us hand-written thank you cards in Spanish. I didn't feel like I had done anything to merit a thank you card. I hadn't bought the shoes. I didn't even understand the premise when I got on the bus. It was a heartbreak to pile back into our shuttles and ride back to our luxury resort.
The next day, we were treated to a presentation by a very inspiration man named Scott Harrison. Scott founded an organization called Charity: Water based on his volunteer work in Africa. Two years ago, Scott spent time in Africa, helping to document dire medical needs. He learned that most of the severe tumors and diseases that the locals were suffering from was a direct result of contaminated water. He started Charity: Water with the intent of building wells in African villages where children were drinking from the same leach-invested streams as their livestock. The images he showed were sobering (and no I wasn't drunk). To date, Scott has raised $7 million and has organized 890 water projects in 13 developing countries. These projects will provide clean and safe drinking water to over 400,000 people.
[wpvideo RJRtKXiR]
Scott and Blake are truly innovative philanthropists. I will be showcasing highlights from each of their events (shot on the new Flip MinoHD) in Loaded this Wednesday, which I think will be exceptionally appropriate timing, given that it will be a time when we are all thinking about gratitude.
Admittedly, the trip was not all about good deed doing. I met people with whom I legitimately want to continue professional relationships with and I made some new friends who live in New York, and goodness knows I could use more of those. Plus, I simply had a great time unwinding my wound-up self. I most definitely behaved myself but I also enjoyed the pleasures of Mexico in eating, reading, sunning, dancing, and napping. I needed it!
As I repack my unpacked bags for Thanksgiving week, which will include travel to San Francisco, my uber-serious turkey-making ritual, my sister's wedding, and CNET's fourth annual Holiday Help Desk, I wanted to stop to write this blog post so that I forced myself to feel a little gratitude. I'm grateful to be heading home to see my family and I'm grateful that we will have the simplest amenities such as shoes and water during our holiday. I'm also grateful to have had the chance to be a Summit Series guest. I'm really glad that I stopped being so uptight about my expectations. I will definitely consider participating in future events, although I sincerely hope the gender ratio improves. My mother would contend that I shouldn't but in all honesty, I really do.
Happy Thanksgiving, dear reader. Use your technology for good this holiday season!
Reader Comments (31)
shoes... hmmm. Having been raised on an organic farm then cattle ranch, and yes, I did hunt and kill deer, etc. (Sorry, I'm getting flamed by utubers who think somehow that Sarah Palin being interviewed on camera while just slaughtered turkeys are being drained of their blood in the background means Sarah is 'not intelligent'. Geez... sorry, back to shores. I am a multi-millionaire now, self-made, but I do not call my 'entrepreneur' because I think that's a stupid title, particularly since you can now get a degree in 'entrepreneurship' which to me is an oxymoron. Where was I? Shoes. One does not need shoes ever, except if you are going to be walking over razor sharp broken glass or hardened lava (a'a) that is still hot. Why not? Because when you go barefoot, after a short time you have calloused feet. I know. I never wore shoes on the farm or the ranch unless I was breaking a horse or going to school or church. I don't wear shoes now, either, except when I have a meeting with a 'bigwig' client. (But I DO tend to break toes every year or so, just a month ago in fact, from hitting my foot on something hard and splaying the toes. Sigh. P.S. I also learned how to make leather clothes, hats, saddles and shoes in the 70s. I still make my own shoes today. The trick is to take a class on shoemaking and then get the proper tools. You should try it. It's a very soothing hobby, just like making complex bracelets and necklaces, my other hobby.
It's really daring to attend an unfamiliar event with not a lot of information that takes place outside US soil. In hindsight, the risk was worth it. Glad to hear that you get a chance to have fun and get to do something like the shoes drop off events at the same time. I heard about Tom shoes from Rocketboom before. I will go back to that website again and contribute. Because I was born outside of U.S. during the week of Thanksgiving, I never really have that Thanksgiving celebration in mind. (Only think about another year older and trying to find cheap electronics.) But I'll just say that I'm thankful that I still maintain sanity and good health after dealing with several turbulent events in 2008. I'm working on Thanksgiving Day, but I'll watch Holiday Help desk when I have time. Happy Thanksgiving.
Sí, estás bonita, dentro y fuera.
Congrats on the great trip. Sorry to hear about the lack of women there but I'm sure you'll make it known so it may be correct for future events.
Welcome back safely to NYC!
Glad you had a good time :) You are such a hard working girl! :)
Have a great holiday!
a church i use to go to would do the same thing of taking clothes, shoes, and school supplies down to ensenada baja california. but now this new church group i have been going is in ethopia and doing the same thing helping ppl in this small village in gimbi, ethiopia.
glad you were able to enjoy yourself and help others as well. great post gringa jk jk :-p
erick v.
I have three pairs of Toms's. I think I herd about it on Mahalo Daily back when
Veronica Belmont was hosting. I'm glad you had a good experience, i think everyone should visit an undeveloped country at least once in their life. I believe it can widen your perspective about whats really possible and how reachable your goals actually are. People seem to put limits on what they can achieve even with all the opportunities we're given (and may take for granted) in this country.
Natali,
It seems as if you had fun, enjoyed yourself while at the same time seen the world from a bit different perspective from those of our daily lives. As for the women to men ratio I'm sure it will get better as early as the next event. Happy and safe travels! :-)
Wow, amazing trip. Thank you for sharing it!
This is a great blog especially for this time of year. Perfect!
Obviously, the Gratitude theme stands out and these are wonderful causes. It's great to hear about young people with innovative ideas for good purposes.
Also, I can indentify with your feelings of doubt about the trip in the beginning. Although Cancun sounds great with this freezing cold weather right now! Seriously, It reminds me to be more open to new things like you had put it "stop being so uptight about my expectations".
It's great you met some much needed new friends that live in NYC. I just moved from NYC to Philly and I know that feeling all TOO well. Also, I've learned a lot about gratitude as I lost both my Parents in the last year and this is my first Thanksgiving without them. Appreciate your time with your family.
Thanks for the blog and for throwing in some cute humor even though it was a serious subject...
Have a safe trip and a Great Turkey Day!
-Matt
The video seems to have disappeared. Saving it for Wednesday's Loaded?
Hmmm. The video doesn't show up in Firefox but does show up in IE on my machine. Probably not your issue. Sorry.
Another very good organization, done by water professionals.
http://www.waterforpeople.org/
A little clicking around on that site will give a good idea of what is needed and done.
Natali -
Sounds like a great project. I was struck by your response to being called gringo, though. You said you were "hurt" and "would not take kindly to be called a gringo."
Was your hurt and irritation because they were using a term that Webster's defines as "usually disparaging" for Anglophones, or was it because they were using that pejorative on you? I find it curious that this term doesn't get the same scrutiny as slang terms used for other groups. I have enjoyed your work and am really interested in your thoughts on this.
Natali,
Thank you for sharing your tuly extraordinary experience to Mexico. I was inspired by what you wrote. It goes to show that everything in life really does happen for a reason and solidifies the fact that despite whatever economic hardships we may think we face in our country, there are good people out there who can see beyond our own issues on a grander, global scale, that ironically deals with the most fundamental needs of humanity. I think about that often. How little it would take to help less-fortunate people in this world. One less "night on the town", one less pair of shoes or how one less latte might bring the simplest, most basic needs to someone who has never seen a "night on the town", owned a pair of shoes or ever tasted coffee, let alone drinkable water. It sounded like in the end, your trip was definitely worth it. That intrinsically good quality of people you witnessed and participated in, thankfully, still exists. Thanks again for sharing it. You really have a knack for writing! Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with your family!
-Mike
It is good to have that sense of fear and self preservation, otherwise you could end up just being used as eye-candy for someone else's amusement. I am glad the trip turned out to be both relaxing and eye-opening. The shoe and water charity sound like really great steps in the right direction to helping people help themselves.
Have a great turkey day and don't let your mom and sis boss you around too much.
Later Natalie,
JOe
[...] Something To Be Thankful For A few months ago I received an email from a perfect stranger inviting me on a four-day trip to a Mexican resort for a [...] [...]
your amazing
Similarly to k (comment #14), I'm curious about the 'gringo' thing. I'm a big fan of yours, btw, just looking for clarity on a topic about which I know little. The word has no connotation to me as I am in no way Hispanic and grew up in a Midwest US area greatly lacking cultural diversity. I assume that you're American and wouldn't know you're Hispanic if you hadn't mentioned it here and elsewhere; I suppose, though, that I would be more accurately described or labeled a gringo (nearly a cultural Gettier problem). But, accuracy aside, I wonder what it means to you to be called a gringo versus what it means to you for me to be called a gringo, and, if you use the word yourself, how and why you use the word. In other news...!
On the way home last night, I was relating to a co-worker your experience in Mexico. Interestingly, when I mentioned that a group of boys said, "Mira los gringos!" at the bus, he was outraged. He said "if it was up to me, I would not give those people anything!" It made me a bit sad at first over this comment, but soon I realized he also reacted negatively to it. Perhaps he was thinking something like, "how dare they say something like that when we come to help them out!" However my reaction was very different. I could not stop thinking about how wonderful the event was. I imagined the happy faces of the children and adults when they received their gift. I also imagined how you must have felt seeing those faces. I guess it must have been like Christmas for you. They got the shoes, and you got to know that you made a difference. Although you personally did not donate the shoes, you did donated your time and heart. May you be blessed a million times over for this simple act of kindness.
Wonderful act for the kids of Mexico, is sad that in the sorround areas of some of the richest places (money talkin) there's still very poor people, I know that because I live there.
For all the people the U.S. borned I have a question, how do you like to be called? americans? Mexico is also in America, north americans? Canada and Mexico are also part of North America. Anyways, the gringo therm here has strong roots over the popular culture and for a kid without education and shoes will be hard to be removed from his small vocabulary. I'm sure Natali will asure that everyone was thankful for what they get, the word gringo was just a word used to define those people.
The respectful people of both countries should have the word gringo and beaner banned from their vocabulary.
Thanks for the shoes and for been here, I know that TOMs wheren't yours, but the fact that you have come as public figure will motivate more people!
Y si, estas muy bonita, admito estar enamorado de ti. Lastima que tenga novia :)
Mariano -
Thanks for your question. There are lots of way to identity yourself, but if you are asking nationality-wise, I prefer "American".
Yes, I realize that Mexico and Canada are in North America and their citizens can be called "North American" but that is a geographic identity not a national one.
Also, my question not was about what the kids meant when they said "gringo", but what were the things behind Natali's strong reaction to the word.
Does anyone know if Natali reads these comments?
I enjoy her work and am interested in hearing more about her reaction to being called a gringo and what the word means to her.
Yes I read these comments! I usually just respond to each reader individually if they ask for a response. What would you like me to respond to? Being called a gringo? To be honest, I wasn't really that offended given that I was traveling with a busload of gringos. I mostly used that anecdote as comedic relief for this story. But I agree with most of you here that "gringo" is no way to address people who are trying to help your community. I should have said that to those boys and regret that I didn't. Thank you for pointing that out.
Anything else I've missed?
Well it seems anyone where offenden, in the name of that kids I will say thanks for the shoes and sorry for that despective nickname. The world is gettin' better as we learn to respect each other ;)