Archives for 2020

Australia’s current bushfire is a climate tragedy.

A 2019 Australian government report on wildfires and climate change said, “Human-caused climate change has resulted in more dangerous weather conditions for bushfires in recent decades for many regions of Australia.”

How does this work?

The drier the fuel (trees and plants), the easier it is for fires to start, and the longer those fires can burn.

Despite its global media coverage, the sheer magnitude of this bushfire is hard to put into perspective.

Twitter user, Bodie Ashton (@manwithoutatan), shared some helpful comparisons to help others grasp the scale of the issue.

• More Australian land is burning than exists in the entire country of Belgium
• 500 million animals have been killed
• 23 people have died
• In parts of Sydney, breathing the air is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes
• The smoke is causing breathing problems in my homeland, New Zealand, more than 2,000kms away; even the glaciers are turning brown due to the smoke, ash, and dust
• The average temperature across Australia is above 40 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit)
• The current bushfire started 3 months ago, and is likely to continue for at least another 3 months
• The fires are being fought by volunteers

This is a frightening insight into 1) the impact we’re having on our planet, and 2) the colossal climate challenge we have to face in the coming decades.

But today, all I can muster in response is that my thoughts and prayers are with all Australians.

Some days are for new experiences; others for transit.

Transit days can be frustrating. Even those 2-hour flights can turn into all-day headaches due to security, immigration, and journeys to and from the airport. It can feel like we’re wasting precious time.

But in travel, and in life, these moments exist to help us get where we need to go. Transit days may not feel like fun, but they help us arrive.

I use TripAdvisor to find places to eat when traveling. Crowdsourcing your restaurant decision making gets good eats at good prices.

This week in Hội An, Vietnam, I came across a restaurant called ‘Home Kitchen’. The food was fresh and tasty; consistent with the 5-star reviews. However, their real point of difference is their owner, Bông, a friendly woman in her late-thirties. I loved how she took the time to come to our table and share her story with us.

Bông was born here in Hội An, and always had a dream to start her own restaurant. She worked for 11 years at another local eatery to save the money needed to start Home Kitchen; a restaurant focusing on Hội An delicacies and home-style Vietnamese dishes.

Bông talked joyfully about hiring her six neighbours, all of whom she grew up with. She spoke with pride about paying them an above average salary, and providing them with a safe and secure job. And we saw evidence of this too; the open kitchen allows guests to see the staff smiling and laughing as they prepare the food.

We often hear about people starting businesses for the freedom, autonomy, and financial upside. But Bông’s goal is to also provide meaningful and fair employment to those close to her. By making sacrifices over 11 years to pursue her dream, she’s changing the game for those in her neighbourhood and community.

Every business has a founding story, and it was a real pleasure to learn of Bông’s this week.

The rules for crossing the road in Vietnam can seem otherworldly at first:

• Just step out
• Don’t pause to look both ways
• Trust the traffic will move to avoid you

However, what may seem otherworldly is just a different social contract.

Instead of “we look both ways, and cross when green,” it’s, “we agree to move a little slower, and adjust to each other.”

Whether there are more rules, or fewer rules, it doesn’t really matter. As long as when we’re playing, we’re all using the same rulebook.

I’m sitting in the calm of the first morning of the new decade.

I can hear the waves and birds, but not a whisper of human noise.

And in this moment, it hits me: I’m grateful that I look to the 2020s with hope and possibility.

Not everyone gets that.

So when it’s there, there’s a responsibility to acknowledge it, to accept it, to touch and feel it like a physical object, because it’s not guaranteed.

Here’s wishing you a great start to the new year, and the new decade!