Theo’s Table 1
Theo's Listening Table #1
Started at 4:00pm. Ended at 9:30pm. Total length is 5 hours and 30 minutes.
Location: Rocky Point Park, Port Moody, Canada.
Weather: Sunny and windy
Criminology professor from Spain. Mom of 2 children. She is in Canada for 1 month to collaborate with SFU on a project. Her primary interest is in restorative justice. She helps people come up with solutions and deal with issues on their own, so they dont have to go through a tedious court process. I was told that I would be a good mediator for her clients. The topic was not something i'm interested in, but I kept an open mind to learn new things. 20 minutes conversation.
Belarusian 14 year old. Well traveled, articulate and interesting young lad. We talked for a few minutes in Russian as it was our common language. He was born in Manitoba when he was supposed to be born in Belarus. His parents had to drive all the way to Vancouver when he was 3 weeks old, and it was difficult. His Ukrainian godfather was blown to pieces in the current war, so he and his family visited Ukraine in the middle of the war for a burial. He witnessed Russians attacking and killing a bus full of civilians. It's sad to hear a young boy like him had to witness such atrocity, but he stated "it is what it is, and i cant do anything about what happens to me. I'm just happy I'm fine." I was impressed by his maturity. His mom owns a cleaning business and family has to pay mortgage for the next 10 years. Has 20 year old brother. Has great political knowledge and strong opinions. He is a background actor. Is grateful to be in Canada and feels safe in this country. He loves to garden and aspires to cook creatively as a career one day. It was a challenge resisting the urge to interrupt him and make it about myself. I kept the conversation going by asking followup questions. 1 hour conversation.
Canadian 57 year old man. He's just glad that we're connecting again as humans after covid. Though, he expressed a controversial opinion and it was hard to resist challenging his opinion with my own. It was a quick 7 minute conversation.
When she was 5, her dad started a weed farm in Estonia. Ever since, her life has been lit. Despite that, she believes in God. A Sikh Guru told her that your perspective of everyone is a reflection of yourself. I dont know what that means and she left me on a cliffhanger. She just dropped wild facts bomb and refused to elaborate. It was a quick 3 minute conversation.
Bonus: a lot of people walked by, gave nods of approval and said "i like what you're doing!" It felt like I was doing the right thing and it made me happy.