Lunch With: Zara Pople

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/04/2011 (5285 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where you would live?

I’ve had the opportunity to live in Mexico and El Salvador and to travel to a few other countries. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I didn’t miss Canada while I was there, but I haven’t seen anywhere else that I would rather live in the long term than here. Canada, I guess. Brandon!

 

What do you most value in your friends?

I value their sense of humour because I love to laugh. Also, my friends are kind and generous people, and not just with me. That’s just who they are and it’s something I really respect and value about them.

 

What do you enjoy doing most?

Travel, which means a lot of different things. I love eating new kinds of food. I love seeing the crafts and the popular art in different places and different cultures. Everything that’s new and different that you get to do when you’re travelling.

 

What is your chief characteristic?

I hope there’s no one thing that people say about me, she’s like "this." I can’t really name one!

 

What is your idea of happiness?

I think happiness is something you feel in a moment, but in the long-term contentment is my goal. It’s being able to make a good life for yourself wherever you are or whoever you are. It’s not waiting until you have something or until something happens that then I’ll be happy, then I’ll be OK. It’s looking at exactly what you have in your life right now and seeing what you can enjoy and appreciate.

 

What is your idea of misery?

I can’t say I’ve ever experienced misery. Misery could be working as hard as you can and having the skills and the abilities, but still not being able to provide for yourself and for your family. And here in Canada, we don’t experience that as a country or a people. In our work at Ten Thousand Villages we’re trying to provide the opportunity for people in developing countries to get out of those situations.

 

If not yourself, who would you like to be?

I strongly believe that people have problems that most other people don’t know about so I wouldn’t like to risk being anyone else. I think I’d better stick with what’s safe and just be me.

 

Which fault in others do you most easily tolerate?

Anything that doesn’t really affect me or isn’t a problem for me. It wouldn’t really be my business then is it? Who am I not to tolerate it?

 

Which books have you been trying to tackle for ages?

I have a habit of re-reading books I’ve already read. I find it comfortable if I already know I like them. Before I went travelling I packed up a number of books that I was planning to read and they’re still packed, so it’s not that I’ve been trying to read them and not wanted to, but I’m really looking forward to unpacking those books — Erich Maria Remarque — have a few books. As soon as they’re out of boxes, I’ll tackle them.

 

What is your most memorable birthday?

I feel surprised and honoured anytime someone recognizes my birthday. There was one time in Mexico when I was teaching — between my friends and coworkers and students — I think I got five cakes that day. When I turned 32, friends surprised me with a large Black Forest cake with real whipped cream, which is what my grandmother had made for me every birthday in my childhood, so that was a nice one too. A lot of my stories revolve around food!

 

Describe your first job and how you landed it.

My first jobs were when I was very little — even at home. One of my first jobs I worked for the City of Brandon cutting grass. I would say that I let on that I knew how to operate both a riding and push lawn mower, neither of which I’d ever done. My brother always cut the grass so I learned quickly.

 

If you could choose any profession, what would it be and why?

I’ve had a few different professions in my life and I’ve just recently started as manager at Ten Thousand Villages … and I think I’ve made this move recently because I’ve always wanted to be working in a way that makes a concrete difference in people’s lives. There are so many ways that you can try to help people, but really creating an opportunity is the only way they can help themselves in the long term. That’s what we do, we’re creating that opportunity, so I feel really good about the profession I’m in right now.

 

What advice would you give someone just starting out in your field?

Talk to people who have been working in fair trade and international development for a long time. We have a non-profit retail store, but it’s so much more than that. So for people coming into this type of work and in development, to talk to others and read about all that’s been done to develop what we consider fair trade. And learn the history, because it’s a long proud history.

 

What were the challenges you faced in your early working years?

I think I worked too much. I think I forgot to make some boundaries between work and my own life so I didn’t leave a lot of time for myself.

 

What would you do differently if you were starting your career today?

The career I’m in now I am just starting so I could tell you that in a few years. But starting my adult working life again, I would maybe make a point of having more boundaries to remember me and my work as separate things.

 

How much do you define yourself by your career?

My work in the past and now has always been very important to me. But at this stage of my life, and at this age, there are other interests and joys and friendships that have become an important part of myself me as well. Definitely, it’s the biggest role of my life and I care about it very much, but I’m happy to have other things I care about, too.

 

What is your favourite family tradition?

It’s a new tradition, but with my brothers and my niece and nephew the last few years we’ve made a point of going to Narcisse to see the snake dens there.

 

Which hobby would you pursue if you had more time.

I do cycle and I would always do it more if I could. I’m doing the Cycle Clear Lake fundraiser for the MCC this year, so I will be cycling and training more soon.