What can happen just 123 steps away?

📰 In today’s newsletter:

🧰 A simple knock on a neighbor’s door leads to hands-on learning, community connection, and a lesson that lasts.
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Led by Curiosity

Summer is slow and hot.

I still have many weeks of vacation ahead. I’ve already been swimming, hiking, spending time with family and friends, and I still have plenty of free time left — time I could turn into a new kind of adventure.

In a future newsletter, my sister Zélia will share how she spent time in a bakery, learning about the secrets of bread making. I’m a little younger than her, so I’m not quite ready to knock on the doors of businesses. But that doesn’t mean I have nothing to explore.

Here’s my own story.

Since I homeschool, I’m used to being asked things like:
What do you enjoy learning?
What are you curious about?
What would you like to experience?
What are you good at?

Hard questions, right?

At first, I didn’t know how to answer. But with a little help and a few ideas, I realized that trying things out is a good place to start. And when you’re not sure where to begin, it helps to keep things simple.

So I looked around me.

By “around,” I mean two things:
close by, like places I can walk to,
and close people, like family, friends, and neighbors.

That’s where I found my first chance to try something new.

In my friend circle, someone works with wood. I counted the steps from my house to hers — 123. I liked that number and took it as a good sign. I knocked on her door and asked if I could observe, help, learn, and be in her workshop. Her name is Geneviane, and she said yes.

Simple, right?

You might get a “no” (I did before). But that’s okay. You just move on. What matters is showing up with the right ingredients:
curiosity,
good intention,
willingness to help,
and respect for the person you’re learning from.

My experience at Geneviane’s woodshop was short, just one morning. But I’m sure I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.

Here’s what I did:

– I sorted washers. Not the most exciting task, maybe, but it’s really useful. When you’re working with wood, having everything organized matters. I was glad I could help with that.

– I made a painter’s palette — for a left-handed artist! That was my main activity. First, I drew the shape on paper. Then I traced it onto the wood and cut it out using a bandsaw. I finished it off with some sanding… and voilà!

– I vacuumed the workshop. And actually enjoyed it! Geneviane has a special vacuum system, and I love when everything is clean and in order at the end of a project.

It may have been just a few hours, but it was valuable for so many reasons:

– I connected with my community. Geneviane has been woodworking for decades and always has an interesting story to tell, whether it’s about a piece she’s restoring or something new she’s building.
– I learned more about what I like. Especially the feeling of creating something from beginning to end.
– I saw what I might be good at. I realized I can be pretty precise, especially when cutting.
– Geneviane said she was happy to share a bit of her knowledge with me.

Writing this now helps me see just how much I got out of that morning.

And I think this is just the beginning.

Solène, for SoliaVenture

P.S. Want to see what woodworking looks like during an apprenticeship in Switzerland?
👉 This short video follows young people learning the craft through hands-on experience. (You can turn on English subtitles in the settings if needed.)

P.P.S. Sending a special hello from Switzerland to my woodworker friend in San Francisco!