Some things you do for money, some you do for love love love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv3-vANWwcU

Yesterday I got up at 5:30- changed into my hiking clothes, drank some hot tea, packed a sandwich into my backpack and hit the road. I arrived 4 minutes late to the bus station, where I was the last person to board. It may seem amazing to you that I held up an entire bus by being 4 minutes late, but I should also clarify that I was the youngest person on the hiking expedition by about 30 years.

We rode the bus for 3 hours, stopping once for tea and toilets. I woke up a few times to see the sun rising over the hills, and eventually stayed awake as my friend Jože, the hiking instructor, told us the plan for the day.

Our plan? To go for a 4 hour hike through the snowy forests of Štajerska.


It took me a while to decide if I wanted to go on this hike or not- I really like the instructors, but I knew that I would be one of the youngest people, plus my health has not been the best lately (just a cold ma, nothing to worry about). However, when treading through the fluffy snow in the company of 35 Slovene retirees, my mind got caught up on some lyrics to a song that I couldn't remember, but now know to have been 'Love love love' by the Mountain Goats.

Do you know this song? I personally give this song an A++, and as a teacher, that obviously holds a lot of weight (also, noted that as a teacher, there is a very fine line in between what I do for money, and what I do for love).

From the title of the post, you might assume the song to be adorable- that the things you do for love are cute and sweet and perfect. This is not the case... rather the song expresses a complex reality where some painful actions ultimately lead to love, often in ways that we do not understand.

In a way, this song seems to relate to my life here (although it's, thankfully, not so painful). I don't really understand why I feel such an intense calling to be here. My life is more... simple I suppose. I like my job in theory, but in actuality I am ''working'' with a woman who is constantly against me. I am far away from many people that I love, who also love me. But reality is not so simple, is it?

Yesterday I trudged through the snow for 4 hours with 35 people aged 55-80 (seriously). I had a cold. My Raynaud's hands were killing me. I had nobody to dance the polka with at the veselica that followed... but even as I was hiking, a piece of my brain picked up on something that the rest got later.

Some things you do for money, and some you do for love love love.