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)
Thanks for the response, Natali.
It sounds like you agree the term gringo is "disparaging".
So, why is it only an issue that the term was used to describe folks who were trying to help? Would it be OK to call someone a gringo if they just happened to be passing through town?
It would not be socially acceptable to use a term like this for other groups, so I'm not sure why it would be OK in this scenario.
For the record, I am not suggesting that you have any ill-will, Natali. Through your TV appearances and blog, I have found you to be thoughtful, funny and open-minded.
I just wanted to prompt you to consider what it might feel like to be an innocent stranger on the receiving end of a term like "gringo," you know?
Hey Natali. Thanks for highlighting that experience. Check out this idea, and pass it onto Scott Harrison if you know how to contact him. It's called PlayPumps International. I uses the energy and social fun of children on playgrounds of their schools to power a well that pumps water for the local village. It has unbelievable social implications beyond clean water. Check out the video:
http://www.playpumps.org/
-joel from macupdate -- currently a gringo in Costa Rica. :)
Glad to hear you stepped out of your comfort zone and enjoyed a breathe of fresh-air in beautiful Mexico and was able to give back to the local community! Sounds like a great experience. It's amazing how we forget to give thanks for the little things... like shoes on our feet... or big things like Clean Drinking Water.
Having the attitude of Gratitude will keep us close to 'Our Source of Supply' ie; God.
Keep being a LIGHT in a Dark World.
I'm assuming people from all over the world travel to Cancun, Gringo would be a more generic way of describing a bus load of foreigners than Americano. Then again maybe his vocabulary is limited.
fast auto payday loans inc...
Very usefull. Thanks! fast+auto+payday+loans+inc...
Lots of specialists say that lowest-rate-loans.com help people to live their own way, because they can feel free to buy necessary things. Moreover, some banks offer financial loan for all people.