To fill you in a little more about the situation here, I work about 6 hours a week giving English lessons, depending on which students are here or not. The business is slow at the moment because the school year is coming to an end, and it will pick back up in September.
Even with that tiny amount of job, I am breaking even on living expenses. Food is very cheap here. A bag of organic vegetables is 70p // 1.10 aud. 600g buckwheat is 45p // 90c. 1L jar of artisan organic, home-grown, home-made tomato and eggplant ratatouille (best I ever tasted) is 150p // 3 aud. 1kg pasta is 27p // 50c.
Olga and I split the money from my lessons 50/50. She uses the money to pay the rent on my flat, but because it's slow, we're not breaking even, she's losing some, and unless it picks up, we're going to close the school at the end of the month. The rent is 140 aud a month.
I am looking for other ways to cover these expenses until i can set up a place to live where there are no expenses. I also have a cost coming up, which is a trip to Vilnius to renew my visa in June. That will be probably 380 aud if I live lean, or 450-500 if I live comfortably. If there's a way I can ethically and responsibly make that kind of money, that would be great.
I'm really enjoying writing at the moment and consider that an honourable way to do it. So please help if you know anything about that.
I figure the way to begin is to publish articles on a website with a nice donate button, similar to what many small online news companies do. They seem to still be alive, and my living expenses are relatively low compared to other countries, so it should be possible. It profits from the ideal, of course, of being paid in Euros and Dollars, while spending in Roubles.
Once I have a nice collection of articles, then I can collate them neatly into a book, and have the book for sale as well. I identify most right now with the psychological societal issues, and writing stories, articles, books and screenplays can address that and help fix it up. It's also a nice opportunity to collaborate with artists and graphic designers to bundle our work together.
Imagine that, a really nice, semi-poetic, semi-political, semi-creative, semi-analytical story with beautiful handmade artworks illustrating the ideas. I guess those four semis make two - perfect for a wholesome partnership.
At the same time, the news site will have a shop featuring products for sale related to the topic of sustainability - e.g. our pine nut oil, the hand crafted aspen and oak tableware, my tailoring, some handmade shoes with recycled tire soles that I sourced from Ethiopia... and anything else my friends have that they'd like to sell. I can make a bit of money from my shirts and trousers like that, too.
They'll be cheap at first, but a hand-sewn and hand-embroidered shirt from hand-woven hemp using ancient techniques in a small village nestled inside a large Ukrainian forest should sell for a goodly amount before too long. Probably a few months' rent in one item. It takes me about two days to make one, if I'm feeling inspired. Finding inspiration is the hardest part.
I'm wondering, too, how we can possibly think together more about a positive social impact ethical investment wealth management fund. These things always start small, so I'm ready to start the process as soon as possible. Eventually I figure it will take over all the major banks as the best place to invest money.
Part of the ethics for me is that the operating expenses are close to zero, so all the donations go exactly to the positive social impact ethical projects. Therefore the living expenses of the managers should be as little as possible. That immediately makes us more ethical and efficient than every major charity, which bleeds tons of money into their employees' rent or mucking around with trust funds.
Instead we'll be able to direct all of the social impact investment donations straight to useful community projects. Note that we don't invent the community projects. We just decide which projects to invest our fund's money into.
A nice example into which I would invest our firm's funds, is if someone made a "Clean Up Balakovo Day!" where people take a day off work, then get paid their wage instead to pick up rubbish in the park. They'd pick the abundant (I mean, really huge) amounts of trash in this town, dig holes around the place, and bury it all. The total cost to clean up the major public parks would probably be about 800 aud, but any funds raised even below that would go directly to paying a few people's wages for this honourable work.
Our job would be then to assess the trustworthiness of whoever was running the event and determine the positive social impact ethical investment return on our donation. The organiser's responsibility would be to follow up with photographs to show our investors what they achieved. That way, we develop a network of proactive, positive people, and also an unsurpassed media gallery of best-in-world community ethical sustainability projects.
Most of all, the donation would immediately improve the living conditions for people here in Balakovo, and establish a really positive, uplifting relationship between the town and the donors. And this is a whole town! 200,000 people can achieve a lot, if they start feeling a little bit happier and more pro-active to improve the environment around them! To me, that's an effective leverage of our different currency values to create immediate improvement on the Earth. It will also be a wake-up to the local council. They should really feel a sense of responsibility, and begin to fund these projects themselves. Like a real clear wake-up call. And unlike protesting, nobody gets mad at you for picking up rubbish. And also it achieves something.
Then next week, there'll be another project: "Buy tools for DIY urban garden in City of Sydney LGA because council support hi-rise development with Chinese investors, not quality of life improvement for residents", cost 50 aud, just as a message of support from our fund to whoever made that project, and to create a link in the network, so they will send a photo of their work for us to display.
Another example of project: "Self-sufficiency education and family planning in rural Malawi workshop series", cost 5000 usd to cover venue rental, all comfortable expenses for (Malawian) educators, and travel allowance for students to attend. Our job there will be to make sure the providers are responsible and high-quality, and deliver a report of the seminar, including messages from students.
Another great project would be to send rare and healthy seeds from remote areas to revegetation and community gardening projects in under-provided areas like to my friend Ramla in Pakistan. That would be really cheap, probably 100 usd for a huge amount of seeds.
This is pretty much what I do all day anyway... there are a million times a week when I see a project and think... if only I had a spare 500 aud, I would give that to those guys, and it would really make a difference right now.
So basically we will offer a curated selection of crowd-fund projects that people can invest directly into, as well as a wealth management fund, where investors can donate money to us, and then we direct the money into those crowd-fund projects according to our discretion. Like I mentioned, dealing with people's money like this requires scrupulous transparency, and impeccable ethics. I think our reputation, among the three of us, is quite strong in this regard, in different and complementary ways.
There will be a prominently visible display of all our projects, the photos we receive of immediate impact, and also a counter displaying the money in the fund. Our job of course will be to maximise the immediate impact, and minimise the idling money in our fund.
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Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights requests that the parties recognise "the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. "
Do we care about that? I like it, personally.
Is it legally binding? Is it socially binding? Is it a good idea?
For something, I'm extremely inspired that when all these people came together from different countries and sit around at conferences for a few weeks, that's what they come up with. I do the same thing at rainbow gatherings, except that I work in the kitchen to cover my expenses and consume no taxpayer money during the conference.
International relations is very important. Friendly relations through different language-groups and among different continents is really important to ending war and peaceful world. Moreover what I definitely care about is that everyone has the basic necessities of life.
There was a statistic reported today or yesterday on ABC newspaper website about hunger in Australia? I think it was between 5 or 10% of families had responded to the survey to say that at least once in the last year, they had run out of food and didn't buy any more because they couldn't afford it. I saw it only for a split second as I read the news, I can't recall the whole detail.
To me, this is just terrible. I want to live in a civilisation and a country where people are equal in dignity, and to me there is something going wrong there... The refugees are another issue -- we should arrange a fed gov program about "adopt a refugee", so that little towns or neighbourhoods can apply to adopt a refugee and get some tresury to accommodate them and help them get self-sufficient in their new land.
The ethical investment wealth management service will be best-in-world-class also because our wages will be practically zero. I swear all I want is to live on my own self-sufficient land, and as soon as I can be eating my own produce and neighbours' produce, then I won't need any expenses at all, except to contribute to the village internet room. I want to take full responsibility for all of my needs and will only marry a woman who shares that idea exactly.
I don't think anyone can beat that as far as an ethical way to run an investment fund. I won't be paying myself a wage, because I won't need a wage. I'm serious about that. And we will only accept colleagues on the same basis, then I can pass the project off to someone else and go on to the next thing.
In the future, teaching is also interesting to me. I can do it easily and I think effectively. In June I'm going to Vedrussiya to teach English at the children's summer camp. As for my interests in sustainable development and environmental improvement, this is the most prestigious internship available on the planet, so I'm glad to take it up. They'll provide all my expenses while I'm there.
As it happens, last time I was there, one of the guys offered me to stay and have the piece of land next to his one. I didn't pursue it much further because another person said foreigners couldn't buy land there. Then other people said you can get Russian passport pretty much by doing the paperwork, getting temporary residency, doing a language and history test, and paying some. The population is falling and they're pretty ready to accept well-presented immigrants.
Getting onto land is my top, top priority. I feel endlessly frustrated and stuck in urban surroundings. The place is less important to me than the people who are around - to have others who are also striving for full self-sufficiency and full responsibility for our consumption in life, and who want to interact as friends and neighbours, while I can focus on making a nice little place to live with my future wife and children.
As for making it financially viable, here's the information that I know. A plot of land at Vedrussiya, the most developed village, costs about 7000 aud, or maybe less by negotiation. At the newer, smaller villages (more likely where I'd want to stay), a plot ranges from no cost up to something like 1500 aud, or maybe more, I haven't really looked into it. It would be all up for negotiation, too. Olga said the entire citizenship process costs about 2000 aud over 5 years or something.
When you're establishing the place, the neighbours come and visit every few days with baskets full of their home-grown food, as well. That's what Kristina and Igor said. It's very friendly - anyone who wants to succeed can do it. And there's a house to live in while you're building. Total joy. It's the best thing I've ever contemplated.
And for my own expenses, I am so, totally ready to build a house out of entirely recycled materials, eat completely from my own garden, and begin right away to start translating, publicising and developing the tourist industry for the Europeans to come and observe a sustainable way of life.
All I want to is to live on a plot of land with nice people in my village, eat cucumbers, tomatoes and dill, wave to my neighbour as they bring around fresh cream, then go take them meadow flower tea later on. Horses mosey by in case I need a lift to town, and bees buzz their sweet tender honey into my hives.
Every winter, we'll make beautiful embroidered clothes, package teas, medicine balms, propolis and wax, press oil from nuts, publish illustrated books, record music, make instruments, implements, and so on.
Every summer, busloads of Europeans and East Asians will arrive and transfer large sums into our bank accounts in return for these goods, and even larger sums into our village's bank account, simply for the privilege of coming here.
Sometimes, very wealthy people will pay gargantuan sums for the opportunity to stay with us over winter, during which time a great many beneficial experiences and feelings will accumulate in their sick bodies and souls.
This is an unstoppable plan.
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The villagers invited me back this year without a clear picture about what will happen after the festival, so I'd like to sort out among ourselves what is the best thing to do.
Looking at our situation, I'm unhappy that Claude doesn't have his piece of land yet. My suggestion to dad last year in a letter I wrote was the same as what I suggested to mum just before I left this time.
I suggested to mum about providing big funds to make it happen as soon as he and Chloe feel like looking for a place. I said that she should concentrate her efforts on Claude, since he is the eldest and is therefore coming sooner to the time when he wants to settle down and think about the well-being of his own family, which is very important.
She was calm, maybe I sensed just a tiny bit of excitement, and she said simply, "That gives me a lot to think about".
Doing the calculations myself last year, I figured there is plenty enough resources among us to do this quite easily, but I realise my living requirements might be different to yours, so I also offered to Mum and Dad both that they can pool the resources to make sure Claude has what he needs - the basic requirements of life.... come on....... food, water, shelter.... a place to live... these are simple things that people are meant to have without having to worry about it.
This is fair because he's the eldest, and also because through the help I've already received from mum and dad, I've developed the taste for being an expat, the skill of living happily off very little, several languages, international contacts, and the tenacious determination to achieve full plant-based self-sufficiency.
I know it might seem a long shot from where you are, i really am ready to do this. I've been preparing for this for years now. Learning handcrafts, researching building techniques, attuning my body to a vegetarian diet, stopping alcohol, tobacco and processed foods... and learning how to interact peacefully with people from all different cultures to arrange friendly relationships between our people in all parts of the planet.
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I just went for a run outside for some fresh air before I finish off this letter and go to bed (it's 11pm now). But before I do, I want to write out this story of what happened outside.
To make it clearer, I've never had any lessons in Russian. When people speak to me with fast sentences, it sounds like a rhythmic melody with various intonations. Occasionally I pick up a familiar sound pattern, but more important are all the other parts of people's behaviour. Body movements, clothing, facial expressions, and the feeling I get by talking to them really make up most of my comprehension skills. All together, I gather the image of what they're talking about, and see the whole thing in my mind's eye.
It's difficult when people ask questions looking for a formulaic response, rather than out of curiosity and interest to learn new information. This happened a few times when people is tried too hard to give me Russian lessons. I'm not yet quick enough with all the correct formulas so it gets frustrating for everyone when they're listening for the formulas, and not for any actual information being communicated between us.
Once not long after I arrived, an elderly woman asked me something in the lobby of our building. I think she asked whether I was the new resident on our floor. Olga had warned me not to talk with the neighbours, so I got a bit nervous. Such a conversation was sure to be replete with many formulaic questions, frustration and confusion on her part, and not a splendid impression sitting on me. Deciding it was better to avoid a surely very confusing conversation, I mumbled back a string of nonsense syllables, nodded, said, "Да" (yes), and just continued walking outside. Just before I turned, I caught a glimpse of a very confused expression on her face.
It's way easier to talk when people are loving the experience of interacting. It is so nice with the people my age. We just keep going and don't worry if we don't catch all each other's words. If there's some definite thing that needs a response (like, "When are we meeting tomorrow?") then we look up the word on our phone, but mostly we're just enjoying the feeling of being friendly with someone from such a different land, and who makes such exotic sounds with their voice. It's a really fun experience, I'm sure it accelerates my brain speed a lot.
Даша came and sat opposite me at the café last night and we talked for an hour or more like that, sometimes for minutes at a time where she'd rattle off in Russian, then I in English, not understanding each other in the slightest, yet the conversation would continue quite cheerfully. She was there even though it was her day off, just because she liked the company a lot.
She helped me in Russian, too. I told her about wanting to make a garden and a home, and we named all the delicious vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, grains and herbs we could think of. She named about eight different types of berry and I gave up trying to translate them all. I'm not sure there are even names in English for all of them.
Some of the others at the café had taken control of the sound system and put on some dance music, and the girl behind the counter began to dance along with them. Dasha had told me about her style of what she called "wild dance" and we decided to try it out, but it turned out just to be pretty much what people do in silly night clubs in cities and towns all around the world. I suggested a хоровод (circle folk dance) but she rolled her eyes and said, "Russian stereotypes". Better stereotype than a piece of Danish architecture, I thought, but I didn't press the point.
Anyway, when I went out just now earlier tonight, I went downstairs and ran springingly along to the main road. I went into a shop (the only one still open) but nothing looked appetising, so I walked back out. Outside, there were two guys about my age, one of them was holding an unlit cigarette. He called to me with some words, and I looked at him and said, "Нет", because I didn't have a lighter and I knew that's what he wanted.
They seemed friendly and I sort of stopped my walk a little in their direction as he said something else to me. I made an English-sounding noise ("Mmm?") and I heard the word "английском" in his next sentence, and I said, "Да, да", and then he explained to his buddy that I was an English speaker. He asked if I spoke Russian and I said, "Да, шушут" (yes, a little). I positioned myself opposite them and the three of us stood in a triangle outside the shop.
The two guys were wearing black and navy modern synthetic jackets, open to reveal cotton T-shirts, had short hair cuts, and big grins every time I said something. I asked, "Что делаите?" and the guy answered that they were drinking beer and eating mushrooms, and that in a town like this one, everything got a bit shaky when you drank beer and ate little mushrooms ("грибы"). He used hand gestures and a big smile.
Somehow I understood exactly what he was saying as if it was English. Even as I was writing that paragraph just now, I had to check myself for a second because I heard his words in English as I typed them...
A minute later their third friend arrived. And their third friend did speak a few words of English. I shifted slightly to form a square, and observed our new conversator. He had a puffy black jacket, short dark hair, and was holding a cigarette, too. His buddy filled him in on what was going on. I heard him say all of this, as clear as English. "Look, bro, we found this top bloke. He's just like us hanging out here late a night. Not sure where he's from, but he speaks English."
The new fellow looked at me and said, in staccato bursts, "I speak little English". He had a tight Russian accent, and turned his head away from me in embarrassment as he finished the sentence. We all laughed again and I said, "Харашо! маладиец!" in encouragement.
They asked me if I was a "гиппи" (hippi), and I looked at them curiously and asked почему. They pointed to my clothes and I frowned, confused. I was wearing sandshoes, slightly torn linen trousers, the green woollen Ralph Lauren forest coat I always wear, and the Basque beret that mum and dad brought back from their trip to France when I was nothing more than a glint in their eyes.
Images of myself wearing tight jeans, crisp, trendy night clothes with short hair and sunglasses flashed before my eyes, and I said, "Нет" again, and then a more questioning sound, as if to say... "Well maybe a little...". He translated the sound into Russian sounds for me and we all laughed.
I took off the hat and showed them the label - Beret Basque. "Эта шлапа традиционели Баск". I'm not sure if the third word (traditsioneli) is actually a word, but it was a nice try. They both nodded knowingly. I continued on to explain that Basque territory is between Франсиа and Эспаниа.
I'm sure they'd never heard anyone speak Russian so English-ly, but we were going along great with the conversation. They asked whether I was from Франсиа (Fransia), and for some reason I said, "Да". It might have been too complex to introduce Australia to the conversation. A sudden thrill ran through me - I was now a French man undercover in Russia.
They asked what I was doing here, and I said I my friend has English school, I speak English, she speaks Russ... I trailed off, forgetting the ending for a moment, and the blond fellow finished the sentence for me. They nodded, yes, yes, and summarised quickly what I meant to check they were understanding correctly. I confirmed, yes, yes and we all laughed again.
The laughter was almost a cheer, we were all so pleased at being able to make sense of each other.
They asked if I liked this town, and I said Да, in a not totally totally Yes way, but a Yeah it's a pretty good place, way. The first guy shook his head and said he didn't like it here. I asked them where they wanted to live if not in Balakovo, and they second guy, with a round face, short blond hair, and big rosy cheeks, looked me straight in the eye with a big smile said loudly, "Россия!", and motioned a big shape with his hands, which I suppose meant that he had so many places to choose from in all of such a huge country of Russia.
I checked by saying "Россия, но не Балаково?" (Russia, but not Balakovo?) and two of them said something almost at the same time. Their sounds and facial expressions were something like "Yes", so I guessed I was following the conversation more or less correctly.
One of them passed the cigarette to the other, and then lit his cigarette with the first one. They asked whether I wanted to come drinking with them, and the third guy translated into English by saying "I come drink?". I knew what he meant from his gestures and the previous string of nonsense sounds (Русский язьик), so I nodded with understanding and said спасибо нет яа хочу спать, explaining that I wanted to sleep.
The most valuable thing for beginner speakers is for them to experience being understood. Most of the people here who speak English to me get nervous and apologetic about it. I think they must have had really strict English teachers. When they speak to me, I nod and say, yes, yes, yes. I suggest the next sound if they get stuck. Then I continue the conversation. It's very simple.
Enjoying the opportunity to talk Russian with friendly interlocutors, I continued my explanation and said "Сиводние работаю" and gestured working at a computer. One of the guys was just agreeing with me in mutual commiseration, but then I stopped myself and corrected... No, I wasn't working all day...
"Нет. Не рабатаю..." I said. (I don't work) The guys looked at me. One of them was really impressed. He said, "Маладиец!", pronouncing each syllable with a long, exaggerated sound. (Well done) But he had the wrong idea. I was trying to explain something we'd discussed the other night at the café.
It turns out that the common word for work, the ordinary jobs people do day by day - работа - is distressingly similar to the word that means "slave" - раб. Those two are pronounced Rabota, and Rab. I was gobsmacked when I found that out. Wouldn't everyone in Russia immediately realise that whatever activity is called работа must surely be avoided if one wants to preserve any sense of dignity, well-being, self-determination or responsibility in ones life?
We brainstormed together, and came up with a better word - деятелность - which is from the verb "to do" or "to make" and is much more friendly and fulfilling image to describe one's daily activities.
I saw that the guys had not understood, so I repeated. "Не рабатаю. Делаю." (I don't work. I do/make)
They helped me with the ending, and I continued. "Не 'работa'. Деятелность." (It's not 'work'. It's 'activities'.)
They looked at me, still not quite getting it.
"Because!" I decried in English, forgetting the Russian word and holding up my left index finger to the sky.
I held the pose, and said it again, "Because!"
The suspense was building for a moment, and another. Then I said with great flourish, "Раб - работа!"
They looked a little taken aback. I spread my legs wide, planted them into the ground, made two fists and thrust them to the ground as I delivered the final point.
"И я не раб! Я человек!"
"I'm not a slave! I am a man!"
I'd hesitated for a split second just before the last word, and lost the tension in my throat. Slipping back into my native timbre, it came out with a comically English accent.
There was a moment's silence. Then the three guys burst out into peals of laughter. Deep, long, loud laughs that filled the whole empty street, interrupted only by their excited chatter to each other describing just exactly what a curious kind of chap I was.
With great smiles, I repeated that I wanted to sleep. I said, "Good night" in English, and the three of them each put out their hand to me. I shook them very cordially, with a slight bow and a grin to each of these friendly fellows.
Heading back towards home, they watched me and called with triumphant laughter as I rotated my spine, did a few sideways steps and jogged across the road back here to the apartment.