MISSION: Books Around the World

If only you could meet Affiliated Agent C from Munich. Seriously. This woman? Incredible.

I’m lucky–I’ve met her. She emailed me several months ago to say that she’d be coming to the States on business, and she wanted to “stop by Pittsburgh” to meet me.

I know, right?!

We coordinated a time and place, and wouldn’t you know it, the darling woman brought me presents from London because she knows I used to live there.

We had a wonderful chat over tea here in Pittsburgh, but little did I know that she was on the last leg of a four-city, two-continent mission of kindness.

I did say she’s incredible.

PART ONE: Olga Kaminer’s Christmas in Russian (a compilation of classic Russian Christmas stories)

DATE:
23 December, 2010

LOCATION:
airport waiting area
Munich, Germany

I left Munich on December 23rd to spend Christmas at my sister’s place in Northern Germany. At home I wrote the “This gift is for you” letter to go with the present. I always explain in this letter what the “Secret Agent L” project is about and ask people just to pass on the gift if they do not like it.

At the airport I got the wrapped (FAIL!) book security scanned and finally dropped it in the waiting area. I decided to stay close, because this was an airport and the gift an unattended item. So if somebody would run away from it screaming for the bomb squad I could stop it.

In fact people looked at it, but then decided to ignore it and went away. I watched a kid who wanted to pick it up so badly and explained the mother what was written on it (“This is for YOU whoever you are”), but she did not let him. I sat there for an hour and then I had to leave for my flight. I think the book ended up in the hands of the people cleaning up the airport, which is totally fine. They do not get enough attention and appreciation anyway.

PART TWO: Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights

DATE:
1 February 2011

LOCATION:
Stansted Express {the train from Stansted Airport to London, Liverpool Street}
London, England

After the experience in Munich I decided to not wrap the book anymore and just drop it together with the little letter about the SAL project in an envelope stating the “This is for you whoever you are” message. Doing it that way the person finding it could immediately see it is just a book and nothing dangerous.

For London I chose a famous classic of the British literature and I dropped it in the Stansted Express – the train from Stansted Airport to London, Liverpool Street. I use this train very often when I visit my company’s office near the London Walls.

PART THREE: Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

DATE:
22 February 2011

LOCATION:
the A Train
New York City Metro
New York, NY

I was so super excited about my East coast vacation that I wanted something about an adventure for the New York leg of the trip – and what could be better than the Mark Twain classic?

I dropped the book in the A train of the New York Metro on my way back from Washington Heights to Midtown in the evening of February 22nd.

PART FOUR: Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked

DATE:
25 February 2011

LOCATION:
bus
Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, where the SAL project started, is the final city on my book mission tour. Pittsburgh means a lot to me and so I chose a book that means for several reasons a lot to me as well. It also fits because – in the very end it is a love story between a girl from Europe and a guy who lives in Pennsylvania.

What makes this part of the mission very special is that I dropped in a Pittsburgh bus on my way to a personal meeting with Secret Agent L.

Dear Secret Agent L – thank you for starting SAL, thank you for this fantastic evening in Pittsburgh, thank you for the ride back to the hotel. Can’t wait to see you again on my or your side of the planet.

Affiliated Agent C, I love you! THANK YOU for this amazing mission of kindness and for such a wonderful and thoughtful evening in Pittsburgh. I am SO glad we got to meet, and I can’t wait to come to Munich to see you again!