Awhile ago I had the opportunity to meet an inspiring traveler, now friend, who changed my entire view of money, freedom, and tea.
The individual I'm speaking of is Giusepi of the Free Tea Bus.
So basically, ten years ago, Giusepi bought a school bus and converted it to become a sustainable mobile living space with which he travels throughout the US serving free tea to anyone and everyone. What impressed me from the start is not the fact that he works, travels, and lives out of a school bus, but the incredible way that Giusepi maintains his non-monetary lifestyle.
How does he do it? The bus runs on biodiesel which he gets from restaurants' waste. His food is primarily found through dumpster diving (more "waste"), and occasionally donated to him by friends/strangers. His teas are donated by Mountain Rose Herbs.
My mind was blown. I think one of my first questions when I met Giusepi was, "What do you do for a living?", and before I knew it, were were talking about free economies, alternative communities, indigenous communities who lived and thrived without currency, what "community" really is, what are our basic needs and are they met in our modern society, and so on.
But that doesn't mean Giusepi doesn't work. He simply does not define who he is or how he lives his life by his mode of sustenance. He calls himself a "tinkerer" but I think he's something closer to a mechanical engineer. He did all of the bus conversions himself and continues to work on its maintenance. He also trades his skills and services for necessities like a place to park his bus for awhile. And that's in addition to traveling around the US, creating pop-up community gatherings, and serving free tea to any and all.
"PHILOSOPHY:
The Free Tea Party offers an alternative to self-centered, over-consumptive, over-competative, under-competent, and high-speed philosophies often fostered by our society. Our alternative is based on:(1) The gift economy - the idea that goods and services can be given without anything required in return. We all have something in abundance to share.
(2) The slow movement - the idea that everything has it's own speed at which it is done best, and that we often focus too much on getting things done fast. We bring the slowness!
(3) Do-It-Yourself (DIY) or Do-It-Together (DIT) - becoming more directly in control of taking care of our necessities and desires."
So my next question was, "Why?" Surprisingly, his answer was very mundane. I really thought he would say something about sharing his philosophy on free economy and getting his message out, thereby creating a better world. But no, it was really because he likes talking to strangers and getting to know people. He chose to serve tea because it is a warm, peaceful, invitation to connect. It resonates with me a lot because tea is customarily served in Asian households to greet guests. We often gather around the table, sipping tea, catching up on each other's lives.
This small offering made to people was enough to create friendships between all classes and colors, spark conversations on hundreds of topics, put a human face on those involved, and create a strong community out of a mish mash of people and cultures right there on the pavement. Whether there was a Japanese tourist or a tattooed gangster with a shopkeeper or a Nazi punk, everyone related; everyone was comfortable sitting at the same level drinking the same warm beverage, feeling just as comfortable as the next person. Everyone shared what they had, be it food, ideas or conversation.
The thing is, after that first cup of tea with Giusepi, I was never the same. I'd say it's not unlike when Neo received a message to follow the white rabbit. I had felt something aching to be freed all of my life, though I couldn't name it, having no appropriate words, no specific frame of reference to understand that gnawing sense that something is not quite right with the world. Plenty of great modern thinkers - Baudrillard, Derrida, Hlatky, to name a few - eloquently dispute the true nature of our reality, but with them, I felt like I was in some opaque realm of the didactic (which isn't too far from fiction). So that down-to-earth, casual-convo-over-a-cup-tea with an ordinary traveler was that much more effective because it was so relatable and so familiar. I could never imagine myself a hacker-turned-superhero like Neo. But I could imagine myself sharing something small, like tea, with a stranger.
A few months later, I left my own comfortable life and ventured outside of everything I'd been taught to be "normal". I became happier and freer than I have ever been. I owe the seed of that transformation to the Free Tea Bus, an idea that freed my mind.
What I say here is totally my opinions and interpretations. I always believe it's better to hear from the source directly, so please go to the Free Tea Bus website for the most accurate, up to date information, and create your own opinions. For the mechanically inclined, the site is also PACKED with helpful DIYs, including how-to's for bus conversions.