Tour de World » Other

Happy New Day

dachtzehn — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:45:26 +0000

I hope you all had a great start into the new decade. My cousin Eva had the great idea to continue celebrating every day of 2010 by lighting one sparklers. I think it has been the best new year resolution I heard this year . What are you gone do to enhance your life in 2010?

photo by Isaac Hepworth.

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The Vegetarian option

dachtzehn — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:40:09 +0000

Are you a vegetarian? If not, have you ever killed an animal to eat it? Perhaps you should!

I love meat and I have done so for as long as I remember. A few weeks back I went hunting with my dad and for the first time I was part of the ritual which puts food on the table of so many. I saw the life leaving the eyes of a one year old deer and I realised for the first time the magnitude of the moment. We took a few minutes to thank the animal and paid our last respect by placing a branch of one of the four holy trees in its mouth.

I am still enjoying meat (especially if from our own forest) but I hope I will not forget the sacrifice the animal gave. The least we can do is remember and enjoy every bite with respect (and cut down on farmed meat which is uneconomically and often involves disrespectful methods).

For more info on what lands on our daily dinner table check out one of the new shows on BBC “Kill It, Cook It, Eat It“.

The Pursuit of Happyness

dachtzehn — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:51:37 +0000

Sometimes it takes a month on the bike, a week in the mountains, a day in the forest, a jog in the morning OR a rainy Sunday and a good movie. Yes, I love a good movie, one which takes me by surprise, which lets me forget all around me, which inspirers, which tell me something new, which triggers emotion and imagination. Today it was the Smith Duo with their movie “The Pursuit of Happyness”, a great story about determination, love and trust.

If you have trouble finding a good movie try some of these

Mit den Pferden des Dschingis Khan

dachtzehn — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:19:48 +0000

At the annual dia-festival organised by the two world cyclists Axel and Peter, I was fascinated to meet some great adventurists who truly captured my imagination with their exiting stories. I was lucky to have a good chat with Monika and Heiner, who gave me a lift back to Switzerland (thanks again!!!). Having travelled Afghanistan for six month and riding through Mongolia and China with “the horses of the Dschingis Khan”, they inspired me but also taught me of the difficulties to earn your living as an adventurer.

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A summer well spend – Iceland

dachtzehn — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:56:44 +0000

Anyone still wondering what to do over the summer? If you really want to get to know a different country, its people and culture, you will have to live and work there for a little while. A while back I got the amazing opportunity work on one of SEEDS international volunteering project in Iceland. I never knew a work summer could be so fulfilling, eye opening and fun. Oscar is still running several project all summer, get involved and make a difference to yourself and the world around you.

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Home – It’s too late to be a pessimist

dachtzehn — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:25:17 +0000

This has been an emotional weekend. A van plus a few cars full of stuff later, our house is slowly empting. It’s the first time that I will be the last to leave, giving me some time to recap. In a few hours I will embark on a new challenge and I will take with me many happy memories. This has been by far the best yeat at Uni. Thanks!!

Risking that this blog might get a little longer, I just saw the first full (legal) movie on youtube. It definitely gave some food for thought and discussion. Will we manage to change our ways of treating the world

• 20% of the world consume 80% of its resources
• 1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and go hungry a day
• 50% of grain traded around the world is used for animal feed or bio fuels
• 40% of arable land has suffered long term damage
• Every year 13 million hectors of forest disappear
• 3/4 of fishing grounds are exhausted, depleted or in dangerous decline
• The ice cap is 40% thinner than 40 years ago

The one fact which gave me the most hope was Costa Rica’s decision to dismantle its military and assign the resources to education, eco tourism and the protection of its primary forests.

An ends new beginning

dachtzehn — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:20:55 +0000

After my last exam last week, 15 years of academic education are coming to an end.
Was it worth it? It was so much worth it that I decided to devote a few more years to a new project, a PhD in entrepreneurship and culture. My dream is to further broaden my horizon, pass on my experience and perhaps help to create some new knowledge.

Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. – Gandhi

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