BookCrossick
the aftermath of the 6th annual Greek BookCrossing Convention
by Eva4EvaAugust 23, 2011
Do you know this feeling when you're away from home and missing it to tears? Homesickness they call it... I was away from home in the last 3 days in order to attend the 6th annual Greek BookCrossing Convention taking place in a gorgeous town in the central
mainland called Livadia. Nope, I wasn't homesick, not even slightly. But today I feel terribly BookCrossick!!!
There's something moving and human in such get-togethers of the Greek BookCrossing community. It's the way people of all ages, educational and social backgrounds meet each other in order to release books and ideas... In the end what they get back home is a precious feeling of acceptance, inspiration, solidarity... There's nothing more moving on all levels than the mutual effort to approach one another however different and have fun together. And, paradoxically, these efforts never seem to fail...
In case you guys wonder what these weird "BookCrossing Conventions" are about, let me give you a briefing. They're a very good chance to spread the notion and pracitce of BookCrossing in a new place by releasing hundreds of books there and exchanging even more within the community. They're also themed conventions and their mascot and official discussion contents depend on their theme. This one's theme, for example, was myths and fairy-tales. There's extensive sight-seeing, discussions with authors and related scientists and artists, cultural events, dinners and strolls and shopping and as few hours of sleep as possible... :) In the last two Conventions there's also a new "game" that's been introduced throughout the event, according to which each attendant secretly takes another attendant under their "care" and make sure they have as much fun as possible by providing for them, surprising them with little gifts and generous gestures and so on...'It's really funny how everybody became somebody's "messenger" of care towards another attendant as well as the agony of not revealing themselves accidentally before the end of the convention!... :)
It seems to me that the greatest gain in life is the gain of good memories. I'm really happy I got the chance to make some once again this long weekend. So far BookCrossing has been nothing but beautiful memories for me. And maybe that's why I consciously "forgot" my camera at home this time. Sometimes you would rather experience and be there above anything else. And while you're there, it's best when you can leave yourself aside and do your best to draw and learn as much as possible from this great variety of mentalities, ideas, tastes, activites, interests and behaviours... It's just amazing how many different ways there are to make a conversation engaging and interesting and interaction is so much more fun when your ego is absent!... :)
There's something moving and human in such get-togethers of the Greek BookCrossing community. It's the way people of all ages, educational and social backgrounds meet each other in order to release books and ideas... In the end what they get back home is a precious feeling of acceptance, inspiration, solidarity... There's nothing more moving on all levels than the mutual effort to approach one another however different and have fun together. And, paradoxically, these efforts never seem to fail...
In case you guys wonder what these weird "BookCrossing Conventions" are about, let me give you a briefing. They're a very good chance to spread the notion and pracitce of BookCrossing in a new place by releasing hundreds of books there and exchanging even more within the community. They're also themed conventions and their mascot and official discussion contents depend on their theme. This one's theme, for example, was myths and fairy-tales. There's extensive sight-seeing, discussions with authors and related scientists and artists, cultural events, dinners and strolls and shopping and as few hours of sleep as possible... :) In the last two Conventions there's also a new "game" that's been introduced throughout the event, according to which each attendant secretly takes another attendant under their "care" and make sure they have as much fun as possible by providing for them, surprising them with little gifts and generous gestures and so on...'It's really funny how everybody became somebody's "messenger" of care towards another attendant as well as the agony of not revealing themselves accidentally before the end of the convention!... :)
It seems to me that the greatest gain in life is the gain of good memories. I'm really happy I got the chance to make some once again this long weekend. So far BookCrossing has been nothing but beautiful memories for me. And maybe that's why I consciously "forgot" my camera at home this time. Sometimes you would rather experience and be there above anything else. And while you're there, it's best when you can leave yourself aside and do your best to draw and learn as much as possible from this great variety of mentalities, ideas, tastes, activites, interests and behaviours... It's just amazing how many different ways there are to make a conversation engaging and interesting and interaction is so much more fun when your ego is absent!... :)
