MISSION: Summer Wishes in Spain

You know what I love? Spreading kindness around the globe. So does Affiliated Agent J in Spain. He's an American who was recently working there on (if I remember correctly) his Master's degree and teaching at the same time. Next, he's on to Budapest. You can see his other mission here. We love him. Oh, yes. We do.

Date: Friday, 23 July 2010

Location: Universidad de Alcala; Madrid, Spain

Time: not specified

Affiliated Agent J states:

This week, the students have their midterm exams, and everyone is panicking! The students are stressed about their final marks, the teachers about packing all of the grammar into the section, and the monitors because they have to balance work/study relations. I decided to help my students put their eyes on the prize and realize how awesome summer camp is and how lucky they are to be in such a great town.

In my class, we made thank you cards and handed them out to people that we normally don't talk to, i.e. the cleaning ladies, the cafeteria staff, the bus drivers. The class really got a kick out of it, and hopefully I made some converts to the random act of kindness group.

As for my mission, I decided that I would target some of the younger students at the camp and another camp (sort of our rival). I purchased two lime green photo frames at a local shop,

wrapped them in tissue and bubble wrap, with a note in Spanish telling them to enjoy their summer holidays and remember how lucky they were and how awesome their summer was (despite the fact that they have midterms).

The younger kids dormitory is actually filled with floors that I am not allowed to go onto, so I had to be super stealthy when I placed the first photo frame below the fire extinguisher (so that the young ones would be able to see it!).

The second photo frame was put at our camp rival group. I snuck in while their group went to the beach and left it in the elevator. I know that they won't be expecting a present, and certainly not a present from our camp!


Affiliated Agent J, you're awesome. And way to go spreading kindness to your rivals! THAT'S true kindness there! Can't wait for your next mission! From BUDAPEST!

MISSION: Chocolate in Spain.

You know what I love? When kindness goes international.

My Affiliated Agent J in Spain came through, as he promised he would.

Date: 16 July 2010

Time: midnight

Location: classroom, Madrid, Spain

Affiliated Agent J's report is as follows:

I am an ESL teacher in Spain now, although next year I will be moving to Budapest. I think that teaching is amazing and you get to learn so much about yourself and another culture. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep spreading random acts of kindness throughout the world!

My first mission was tonight. I am working at a summer camp, and it is tough! The kids are in school from 8:00 - 5:00 PM and receive instructions all in English. Directly following camp, they have sports practice and then stay up until 11:30 at night with mandatory fun activities. Everyone is tired already---the students, the monitors (Spanairds) and the English teachers. I decided that I would hopefully make someone's day a bit brighter.

I bought two huge chocolate bars which were large enough for an entire class or dorm group, and then snuck one into a classroom where the teacher is having a ton of problems with her students and a dorm group located near my room.



Let's hope that they enjoy it and are able to share! Also, if you notice in the second photo, there is a long message in Spanish, sadly English would not work for this country...and I had to remind kids not to eat it if they had allergies. (Always the teacher; I know!)

Affiliated Agent J, well done! I'm happy to report that you're our first male international agent! Keep it up!

MISSION: Diaper Changing is No Fun!

I love when I get emails from first-time Affiliated Agents. The excitement in their words is so tangible! Affiliated Agent K sent me an email yesterday with the details of her very first mission.

Date: Saturday, 3 July 2010

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: McDonald's Women's Restroom, Aliquippa, PA

Here's what Affiliated Agent K had to say:

We performed our first "act"!

At the McDonald's in Aliquippa, PA, we left a children's book (Mama, Will You Hold My Hand? by Anna Pignataro) and a card (and the Secret Agent L business card) resting on top of the diaper-changing thing in the women's restroom.

We'd intended to leave the book and cards inside the changer, but the bunch kept slipping down (and I'd forgotten tape), so we put it on top.

This is fun - thanks for all the work you've put into it!

No need to thank me, Affiliated Agent K. Thank YOU! Job well done!

MISSION: Highland Park

Secret Agent L loves going to the park. Especially Highland Park here in Pittsburgh. It's filled with gorgeous flowers, wonderful trails, a huge reservoir, a pool, and a fun fountain right in the middle. So many people go there to walk, lay out in the sun, sit under a tree and read, play with their dogs, and have fun with kids.

Since the weather was so beautiful today, Secret Agent L decided to join her friend J (and J's darling little companion--a Corgie named Corky) for a walk. And a mission, of course!

Date: Saturday, 29 May 2010

Location: Highland Park, the large fountain

Time: 12:51 p.m.

Secret Agent L thought it'd be nice to leave a little something appropriate to outdoor activities. With the generosity of a fellow Twitter friend, who donated several fun journals to the Secret Agent L project, Secret Agent L was able to include this environmentally friendly journal in her mission today.

She thought it'd be nice for someone to find in case that person wanted to sit under a tree and write down all of the things on his or her mind so that he or she could enjoy the beautiful day with a clear, peaceful mind.

Secret Agent L also had some sunflower seeds to include in her mission. Also donated by a fellow Twitter friend, these seeds could be eaten straight away or planted later for tall, bright sunflowers.


Can you imagine standing next to a 7' sunflower? Sure to bring instant happiness!

And what day at the park is complete without bubbles? No day, that's what! So Secret Agent L made sure to include this little bottle of fun for her unsuspecting recipient.

It even has two wands so that more than one person can get in on the fun! Besides, sharing is the kindest way to play, right?

Secret Agent L attached her signature note, of course:



And she headed off to the park.

The entrance to Highland Park is gorgeous: two tall pillars, complete with bronze statues tarnished by years' of the elements.

If you've never been to Highland Park, you simply must go! Just follow Highland Avenue until you can't go any further, and there you'll be.

The park has a beautiful sitting area, around a large fountain, where there are wrought-iron benches inscribed with the park's name:

And the flowers! Oh, the flowers! They took Secret Agent L's breath away.

She made her way towards the fountain and found an empty bench on which to sit while waiting for her friend. It also gave her a few minutes to prepare her mission.

When nobody was around, Secret Agent L left her gifts, snapped some photos, and met up with J and Corky.

The group of three walked the entire way around the park, and when they arrived back at their starting place, they noticed that the gifts were gone.

Much to their delight, the empty bench signified that someone had stumbled upon the treasure and took it with them to enjoy while spending the day at the park.

And once the Italian Ice vendor makes his appearance at the park like he always does, Secret Agent L will be right back there, leaving some coins for someone to find so they can enjoy a nice, cool treat!

MISSION: A Giveaway!

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that Secret Agent L did a mission involving free tickets to the Pittsburgh Playhouse's Playhouse Jr. production of Seussical. Well, Secret Agent L would like to offer her Pittsburgh readers a chance to win 4 free tickets to the production!

Do you have kids? Or are you a kid at heart? If you live in or near Pittsburgh (or are willing to drive here) and would like the chance to win 4 free tickets to see Seussical, then all you have to do is leave a comment in the comments section and tell us your favorite Secret Agent L mission so far and why, and Secret Agent L will select a winner using a random interger selector.

The production runs weekends only May 7-23, 2010, so if you win, you'll have your pick of which night you'd like to go. The voucher for the 4 free tickets will be mailed to the winner in time to attend the May 14th production if preferred.

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, and the winner will be announced the morning of Wednesday, May 12, 2010, so be sure to check back then!

Good luck!

MISSION: Seussical! (And an injury.)

Happy Friday, everyone! Secret Agent L here. I had an exciting experience during yesterday's mission, so exciting that it caused me to almost lose a finger! But before I go into those details, let me tell you a bit about how I came to do this mission.

I received an email from the children's theatre at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, Playhouse Jr. They recently teamed up with none other than my favorite donut place, Dunkin Donuts, to promote their upcoming production: Seussical. The kind people at Playhouse Jr. asked me if I'd be willing to help spread the word about their show, to which I eagerly responded, "YES!" I was given vouchers for free tickets to Seussical, as well as some coupons for free iced coffees at Dunkin Donuts. What a perfect match: a fun theatre experience for kids and their families, and a shot of a cool, refreshing caffeinated beverage for the busy parents!

Seussical opens TONIGHT, so I'd like to wish the entire cast and crew a good show! How wonderful to share the gift of theatre with children! You can go here to view photos from the production. Just click on the Seussical image. I don't know about you, but I think it looks like So Much Fun! And since Secret Agent Boyfriend and I are actors, we're totally going to check it out!

With the help of Number Two, we thought about places to leave these vouchers for FOUR FREE TICKETS. Number Two suggested the children's section of the Carnegie Library. Brilliant!

I made my way there after work yesterday, and I even got rock-star parking right by the library! But that's where my luck started and stopped. I parked right next to the auto-pay machine, pulled out my debit card (this secret agent never carries cash), and proceeded to insert it in the slot in the machine. I followed the directions precisely, only to have absolutely no result.

So, I tried again, only this time turning my card a different way, thinking I hadn't inserted it correctly the first time. (Can't they make those card readers more user friendly? Sheesh!) And, sure enough, no luck.

I tried again. And again. Six times. By the last time, I was so frustrated, that I moved the card too quickly and proceeded to slice my thumb on the metal edge of the card reader. And what should happen?

Blood. Everywhere.

It was running down my hand, it was getting all over my debit card, and it was making things a bit, um, sticky. I didn't have a tissue or a Band-Aid with me, so I tried so carefully to reach into my purse and pull out a piece of paper on which to write, "Card reader does not work," and slip it into the reader. Only it ended up with blood all over it. But I put it in the reader anyway. I wanted people to see how much I suffered!

I proceeded to get into my car, grab a tissue from my glove box, and wrap my finger tightly to help slow the bleeding. I also managed to write a frustrated note about my experience and put it on my dashboard. Finally, I managed to find an old (and I do mean old) Band-Aid in the bottom of my cosmetics bag. I banaged up my thumb and headed towards the library's entrance.

I. Was. Determined.

I knew I had to get into that library, into the children's section, to share not only kindness, but also the gift of theatre!

So, armed with my goodies, I headed towards the building.





It was a beautiful day yesterday, wasn't it? I didn't know how many little kids would be spending time in the library, but I figured it was a good place to leave my treats.

I headed towards the children's section, looking totally natural, despite not having a little darling on my arm.

And who should greet me as I approached my destination?

With a smile on my face, I walked through the doors and into a world of fun and delight.

I instantly spotted this comfy looking couch and took a seat, so as to sort myself out prior to my "drops". Once I organized myself, I left the first treat on the seat.


And then I spotted some computers! (I know! Technology AND free theatre tickets!)

So I left a little treat there, too.

Finally, as I was leaving, I decided that the huge globe at the entry would be a perfect place to leave my third gift. I hope that whoever finds it knows that our world is filled with goodness.

I have a several more vouchers to give out, and I'll use them in missions at the upcoming Pittsburgh International Children's Festival. I can't wait!

All in all, it was a successful mission, despite the, um, bloodshed.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow, as I'll be doing a giveaway!!