We have a lot of world travelers at Wisteria with a lot of great stories. It was hard to choose which one I wanted to first write about. Then I realized when you aren’t sure where to start, go back to the beginning. And this was the very first travel story I heard when I came to Wisteria. On my first day of work, the President of Wisteria, Andrew, and my boss, Masami, took me to lunch to welcome me to the company. It was at this lunch that I first heard this story from Andrew. I’ve heard it a few times since then, and he always tells it with the same amount of wonder and excitement. I think it really captures the spirit of Andrew and of our company. It also celebrates that invisible thread that ties us, people all over the world, together. That even without speaking the same language or sharing the same customs, we can find a commonality, a way to communicate, a way to express joy and happiness together. I knew I was working for the right company the first time I heard it, and I feel the same way now sharing it with you, almost 5 years later. Without further ado, one of Andrew’s first travel stories…
“I remember the first night I ever spent in India. It was midnight and I was sound asleep. All of a sudden, I was awakened by a terrible racket right outside my window. A huge crowd had amassed and the street was full of people yelling, jumping, and carrying-on. Not really understanding the yells, I was a bit alarmed. However, I soon realized that it was a wedding party that was, well, partying. I raised the window and found that before I knew it, I had joined in the hooping and hollering. We couldn’t communicate with our words, but we could with our smiles and waves.
“We always have a grand time on the road, because we never know what local celebration we will stumble upon. It seems that no matter where we are in the world, we always find a wedding ceremony, a festival honoring a revered local saint, or a parade celebrating who-knows-what. And whatever it is, we’re in.”
Consider me in too!
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leslie
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Jim Starr