On the last 29th February 2012, I left the company I had worked for more than eight years and became a freelancer, my dream job. Four years since then, thanks to everyone and every experience I have been given, I am still running my small business.
Being a freelancer in Pune, however, I have fewer opportunities to meet and talk to people. This had become the motive behind fulfilling my other dream that is to meet the people from the world. "Pune International Tea Party" has started this way.
On the last Saturday 27th February, I hosted the Tea Party almost a year after. Japanese, French, Congolese, Angolan, Mauritian, and Indian who have American and Canadian citizenship or who are married with foreigners participated and it became a cheerful and pleasant time as always.
The more I go, meet and talk to people from different nationalities and backgrounds, the more I feel that one's nationality or background is just a part of its faces and personalities and does not matter much. After all, everyone shares a similar feeling, eats similar foods, smiles, laugh and live similarly. I am just interested in talking with "the person."
Then, why I could not host the Tea Party since the last April?
Hosting this kind of regular event can bring out the following people:
- The person who attends only for is business interests
- The person who demands me to choose its restaurant or cafe, ignoring my conditions
- The person who repeatedly suggests its friend or family's place but never help me in negotiation and coordination
- Moreover, the person who responds "Yes" on the event invitation but never shows up without a prior communication
Such somewhat annoying people, however, never impact me much; I just understand people from the quality of their behaviors and learn not to follow the same odd attitudes when it comes to me.
Instead, I would rather like to put more importance on the people who attend or try their best to attend, even though they could be sometimes busy, or outside is hot, or other circumstances that could easily become reasons for preventing them attending this light-heart event. Also, I respect the person who visits me for the first time, gathering courage and curiosity.
As a host, I want to make the Tea Party the place where every participant feels fun and meaningful to attend. However, I always feel some sense of regret after hosting the Tea Party, like something was missing, I could have done it better....
Now, I want to seriously consider how to make the event a more enjoyable place for the guests..!!
Hosting the tea party, just like updating ASKSiddhi and working as a translator, is only successful when I put the importance of pursuing the real satisfaction of the target people. In other words, I must always think of the other party (receiver)'s point of view. Building the relationship with the surrounding people (no matter what their geographic locations are) would be the base of my position in society. This way, the world is round and interconnected. My challenge will continue.
PS. Pune International Tea Party is already a cheerful and enjoyable place, thanks to my friends and guests!!
