fish

Whoever You Are, No Matter How Lonely, The World Offers Itself To Your Imagination.

Dreams come true and imagination is key. I want to introduce you to my new family: Jose, Bea, Hector (6) and Sara (4). I will be staying with them in Redes a port-town in Galicia (Northern Spain) this September, teaching the children English. I am so incredibly lucky because Jose is a seafood chef, he cares much about food quality and organics, their house is literally a palace and their town, absolute paradise – a place I have imagined visiting since I was a little girl. Believe me when I say it’s breathtaking. But don’t worry, you can live vicariously through me (hehe).

And for those interested, I found Jose and family through workaway.info. It’s an organisation with hosts and volunteers from anywhere and everywhere and it’s relatively safe. I Skyped Jose and his family several times before coming here. Also, do you remember my friends Hiromi and Olivier (the yoga instructor/baker)? They are also hosts on Workaway. Actually, why don’t you go and stay with them? They live in a completely different paradise and they have fresh bread!
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Sara has kindly lent me her room.
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Having fun playing with Japanese magnets. Jose says I am a world citizen because I get to teach him and his family about Iran, Japan and New Zealand.image-57
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A typical breakfast: squished cherry tomatoes, salt and olive oil on bread. Jose tells me the best olive oil comes from Spain and that most of the olive oil advertised as coming from Italy is actually from here.
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Spot the Japanese (hehe).
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On my first day, the children had a birthday party so Jose and I hit up their town and its Friday market.
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Just on the street! For free! Same with lemons, apples and oranges. In Japan, a small punnet of these is 800 yen! About 10 New Zealand dollars!
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Baguette delivery is a thing and we all need it!image[2]
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Isn’t Spain just gorgeous?!
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Trying my best to photograph the locals.
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My first view of the market :O
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Spain is food heaven!
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Jose made a phone call to order his fish. He said if we go early we will have to wait an hour for the old ladies of the town to finish their business. Sure enough, as we walked by, this was exactly the case! The locals here are priceless – such strong characters. I really hope my pictures can capture their brilliance – I’ll do my best.
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Live Octopus.
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This  frightening thing is a sea spider! I don’t know about you but I will never swim again.
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As I said, their house is a palace.
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Jose says the Spanish locals find it funny how people are so into kale as a “superfood” these days because its simply chicken food in Spain! Also, I posted this image on my Instagram and a regular follower commented this, which I found hilarious: “That chicken is peering into my soul and judging my ambitions.”image-29B E A U T I F U L desu ne.

Fush And Chups

Fish and chips are NZ fast food. Australians poke fun at New Zealanders for supposedly pronouncing it as “fush and chups” and we do the opposite, saying Australians say “feesh and cheeps” which, they do. In my opinion, and apparently the opinion of others (according to their sign) Akaroa does the best fish and chips in the world. Oh how I wish you could have tasted it too. We had fresh battered Hoki. And the ice-cream (my favourite of all time) is Black Doris plum and creme fraiche by Kapiti, NZ’s best dairy people.
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Osaka Bound: Day Two

My dad is the very opposite of a Japanese person. He is loud, blithe, bouncy and obnoxious. On top of all that, he won’t stop making what he believes is a funny joke but what actually is, a highly inappropriate comment. God save me. And my mom, my mom keeps telling me mom-stuff like “slow down around the bends” and “always carry a cardigan.” They’re both annoying as hell but I couldn’t be happier.

Pics from top to bottom: a giraffe made entirely of lego at Lego Land, Osaka aquarium (on the schedule solely for my father because he loves fish), okonomiyaki for lunch which my parents told me they didn’t really like or didn’t like as much as ramen (no shit!) only after, and my favourite part of the day, shopping at Lucua. It was so nice to shop with my parents! For one year I’ve had no one to ask if jeans make my butt look big and guess what? Turns out they do tehehe.

Lastly dear follower, I want to share with you something unreal: I bumped into my Kiwi ex. In Osaka Station, in a city with a population of more than 3 million. And, during Sakura (cherry blossom) season when the peoples quadruply. What are the chances? It was fate. It must of been fate. For you know what I felt? I felt absolute and utter confirmation. That it ended for all the right reasons. That I am exactly where I need to be, that I did exactly what I needed. In the words of Rudy Francisco:

“Instead of asking
why they left,

now I ask,
what beauty will i create
in the space they no longer
occupy?”

The accuracy! I am so proud of myself and the beautiful life I live. John Green is right, “grief does not change you… It reveals you.” And in the words of Mary Maxwell:

“…under duress great things are born. Diamonds form in molten stone. The sweetest flowers of man’s spirit have most often been watered by tears. To struggle gives strength, to endure breeds a greater capacity for endurance. We must not run away from our heartbreaks in life; we must go through them, however fiery they may be, and bring with us out of the fire a stronger character, a deeper reliance on ourselves”.

I hope you too, can find the strength and courage to create beauty in place of life’s inevitable heartaches.image[3]image[4]imageimage[1]image[6]image[9]image[8]image[5]image[10]
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