Yes, we don’t need to wait for thousands of years to thank the person who paid for our lunch. We just need the confidence, that everything we can do easily now. I was helped by Google Local Guide in December 2017. Just a little photo editing and then uploading it to Google maps, a little review and stars can be a substitute for our form of gratitude in a seconds.
Hello, my name is Rike. I am an art teacher at a private elementary school in South Jakarta. I’m also a level 6 Google Local Guide. Initially I found out about the Google Local Guide program from my sister, Riezka Bewinda in 2017. She introduced me, how to write a review on Google maps . But then I didn’t touch it for several months, until one day our distant relative opened a food business in a small town, Batang - Central Java. She opened a cafe near her house in the Kauman district with her husband.
Bude Rima, we use to call her name. When I came to her small town, she and her husband invited me and the other relatives to have a free lunch at her new cafe. A serving of red crab sauce, spicy pepper crab, sesame chicken, cold drinks that make our mouth watering and of course rice ( yes, we are Indonesian and we love rice ). This made me and the other feel full.
But free meals without pay? it doesn’t feel good for me, if I just leave without saying thank you. I know she did it without asking for a reply. But on the other hand, I did not have money at that time. I felt unable, it was impossible to repay with money at such a time. But do I have to wait for my money to return my gratitude? Do I have to wait for a long time? Do i have to be rich to say thank you?
Then I remembered how to write a review that my sister taught me. I tried to express my gratitude for being given food by her by doing a promotion through a review and making photos of food in her cafe spread through Google maps. I edited it for a while and Voila … it appeared on Google Maps. I also wrote it on my blog and delivered it through my social media.
Even though we haven’t met yet this year, but I’m happy. When I look back at the food photos in google maps, I can see the photos that I have displayed, have been seen by thousands of people. I hope, this small action can be meaningful for her too. Of course my gratitude can be conveyed precisely at the place and time. Thank you all.
I hope to see you in Connect Live 2020 in Bay Area, California.
Stay safe, stay strong & peace.