Yeah Xose!

[Rozan Gautier]

I second what Xose says about being "visible Americans".  My husband
and I are leaving for our Camino in mid June to walk from St. Jean to
Santiago.  Not once since the onset of the war have we considered not
going or when  there hiding the fact that we are Americans.  When the
war finally did start I decided that the best thing I could do was to
choose not to live my daily life in fear and anger.  I decided that I
would try to send out as much love, comfort and good will as I could
to try counteracting some of the negativity.


I am a middle school teacher in the California public school system
with a great job, teaching drama to about 180 12-14 year olds daily.
I put my plan into action with my students, working to  increase the
already considerable love and goodwill I try to send their way daily.
I know I feel my goodwill  and I can tell they feel loved, accepted and
comforted.  I can't control the war but I can control my own reactions
to it.


When we are in Spain I plan to of course take reasonable precautions
and use common sense, but I also plan to approach everyone I meet with
an open heart and kindness.  There are not guarantees in life so I
might as well live in a way that makes sense to me!


  Thanks to you all for the interesting discussions.


Rozan Gautier