The following is a story from Rashmi, a Simbi member based in Kirkland, WA. Rashmi is a Mechanical Engineer, caring wife, and has a love for interacting with people. She is interested in trying out new recipes as well as making variations to known family recipes especially Indian Vegetarian Cuisine. Rashmi also enjoys traveling, tutoring and exchanging skills and experiences with others.
Simbi instantly caught my attention because it resonated with two ideas I live by:
– Spend as much of my time doing what I love and encourage others to do the same.
– Share my experiences, learnings, knowledge and skills with others and learn what others have to offer.
I browsed through the website and I quickly realized Simbi would be a great way to take these ideas to the next level and reaching a far greater audience. It may sound cliché, but time is a truly precious resource and yet we spend so much of it doing things we don’t enjoy just because we think there’s nothing else we can do about it. With Simbi, I found that I can do things I love and give the opportunity for others to do something they love as an exchange while learning something new in the process. I had heard about time exchange called Timebank that several cities already offer and I thought Simbi was somewhat similar. However, I found Simbi encompasses a much larger audience through their website which is easy to browse and has a nice layout.
My first Simbi exchange was a cooking lesson I provided to a complete stranger. Being somewhat of a skeptic, I was initially nervous about how this would turn out. I had a ton of questions running through my head… Will it be an awkward interaction? What if the food doesn’t turn out to be as per her expectations? What if I can’t answer a question about the recipe or the ingredients? However, none of these were an issue. We had a great time together and enjoyed lots of interesting conversation. She was very happy with how the dish turned out. Teaching someone the recipe further strengthened my skills as well.
I am now ready for my next Simbi exchange but this time I will be the receiver. I’m looking forward to learning how to maintain a yard and create a vegetable patch from another Simbi member. There are so many things to learn and Simbi is probably one of the best ways to do it! I also hope to try something new and quirky to get out of my comfort zone.
I have also learnt a great deal about myself in this process and realize some of the skills I didn’t even know I had. I’m really excited about meeting people from Simbi and creating a sense of community in the process.
Simbiotic Stories are real anecdotes told by you and other Simbi community members. Tell us about your Simbi deals and experiences with other members. If your story is published, we’ll credit your account with 150 simbi. Submit your entries by starting a conversation with us via this link.
