Lire l’original en français
This morning, sitting on the white couch, I was savouring each and every ray of sunshine heating my skin through the old windows of the veranda. The jungle of plants and surf boards hanging from the ceiling seemed to enjoy absorbing this new heat as much as I did: everything was glittering with a myriad lights under the heat. I wanted to stay put forever, stay there roasting and stop time …
It’s only 3:00 p.m. and I find myself inside, wearing my coat, tuque and scarf. Despite my huge slippers and hot tea cup, my nose, hands and arms are frozen. The big palm trees only three feet away from me in the back yard seem to poke fun at my hypothermia. I hear them say, just like their Australian human counterparts: “Come on Canadian girl, you should be used to the cold!”.
BUT IT’S ONLY BECAUSE WE HAVE CENTRAL HEAT, BUGGER!
It started to be “bloody freezing” around March 10, which means autumn when we live down under from Québec. It was then justifiable because we were sleeping in the car, i.e. almost outside. When we arrived in Melbourne, we realised it was almost preferable to live in a car rather than a house. Here, the ground doesn’t freeze, so people don’t have adequate heating systems. Even worse than that: if someone earns less than $100,000 yearly he or she is condemned to freeze behind the old walls of his or her house. OK, I draw a long bow here, but for the last three months, we froze during more days than all the days we froze in the past (even taking into account the failing fireplace at the White Mountains…) When we arrived in Sydney last October, Julie, my resident friend, told us she had just spent the coldest winter of her life. I totally did not believe her! Come on… palm trees, year round surfers. But she was absolutely right!
So the weather is fair outside, but we live inside, all bundled up, and we prepare hot-water bottles to heat the bed… Oh well, I like the unexpected!
We are now back in Manly, Sydney, and it’s so good to join our precious friends. It’s really unique to go back somewhere seven months later and feel as if we never left. Especially in a place where we stayed only a few days! Back to square one, I fully realise my Australian adaptation: I recognise words, traffic regulations elements, birds, food, people’s habits that seemed so out of the ordinary to me at first (out of the ordinary I wished for, of course) and I realise they all became part of my daily life. It’s only the cold I’m having more trouble getting used to!
See HIS View
See His and Hers Pictures
See His and Hers Videos
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Magnificent Melbourne
Lire la traduction française
My heart was floating in a bit of nostalgia at the end of our desert adventure. We had lived our last nights in the Australian immensity. After a few months here, you take for granted the never-ending mountain ranges and the silence of the milky-way…You take for granted being alone in this beauty, breathing fresh air. Even if I have been here for a little while, I am still so amazed by how unpopulated it can be. You would expect towns and people in between two big cities like Melbourne and Adelaide but we had to drive 100 km to find restrooms!
Our very short stay in Melbourne revived our desire to stay here longer. It is so inspiring! We told you about permaculture, bicycle repair co-ops and we just seem to discover a new amazing thing every day! Even in this busy time we found time to get involved a bit: we found out about “Lentil as Anything”, a non-for-profit organization, which operates restaurants where you pay what you have or what you think the food and service are worth. It doesn’t sound real, does it? The majority of their food is organic and you have access to a range of delicious iced-coffees, chai, fair-trade teas and so on. Lentil as Anything addresses social isolation experienced by new migrants and socially isolated people. They provide support and training for refugees, youth and other members of the community who are struggling to find an opportunity in their new social environment. They even have a school canteen run that way! How AMAZING is that? The food is spectacular. Everyone there is beautiful, the service is impeccable and there is always live music or multi-cultural display of some sort! You can eat with people or you can have an intimate table on the terrace. It was the first time I was going somewhere like that where you could choose to be communal or to have privacy in a normal restaurant setting. Bravo!!!!
Federation Square is the centre of Melbourne. Tourists and locals alike hang out there, visit the free mediatheque unit, free galleries and exhibitions and profit from the free public wireless internet. After beating the Guinness World Record for the most people dressed up as super heroes in one place, we were quite hungry. Normally street food stands are not allowed, so we were curious to see what was going on with the beautifully trendy kiosk showcasing wooden boxes full of fine herbs. The staff wore shirts saying StrEAT and the menu, mainly organic, was more than appealing. It turned out that StrEAT is a fantastic initiative to reduce homelessness. Being not-for-profits, all the money goes directly to shelters and other great services, and it is an opportunity for homeless youth to get a training, which could give them a proper job and a brighter future. After we bought our delicious conscious food, the girl there gave us one of these cards “buy ten and get one free” that we get from many food places. But this time there was a clever twist to it: “buy ten meals and the eleventh goes to a homeless youth”. Really, wow!
See HIS view
See His and Hers Pictures
See His and Hers Videos
My heart was floating in a bit of nostalgia at the end of our desert adventure. We had lived our last nights in the Australian immensity. After a few months here, you take for granted the never-ending mountain ranges and the silence of the milky-way…You take for granted being alone in this beauty, breathing fresh air. Even if I have been here for a little while, I am still so amazed by how unpopulated it can be. You would expect towns and people in between two big cities like Melbourne and Adelaide but we had to drive 100 km to find restrooms!
Our very short stay in Melbourne revived our desire to stay here longer. It is so inspiring! We told you about permaculture, bicycle repair co-ops and we just seem to discover a new amazing thing every day! Even in this busy time we found time to get involved a bit: we found out about “Lentil as Anything”, a non-for-profit organization, which operates restaurants where you pay what you have or what you think the food and service are worth. It doesn’t sound real, does it? The majority of their food is organic and you have access to a range of delicious iced-coffees, chai, fair-trade teas and so on. Lentil as Anything addresses social isolation experienced by new migrants and socially isolated people. They provide support and training for refugees, youth and other members of the community who are struggling to find an opportunity in their new social environment. They even have a school canteen run that way! How AMAZING is that? The food is spectacular. Everyone there is beautiful, the service is impeccable and there is always live music or multi-cultural display of some sort! You can eat with people or you can have an intimate table on the terrace. It was the first time I was going somewhere like that where you could choose to be communal or to have privacy in a normal restaurant setting. Bravo!!!!
Federation Square is the centre of Melbourne. Tourists and locals alike hang out there, visit the free mediatheque unit, free galleries and exhibitions and profit from the free public wireless internet. After beating the Guinness World Record for the most people dressed up as super heroes in one place, we were quite hungry. Normally street food stands are not allowed, so we were curious to see what was going on with the beautifully trendy kiosk showcasing wooden boxes full of fine herbs. The staff wore shirts saying StrEAT and the menu, mainly organic, was more than appealing. It turned out that StrEAT is a fantastic initiative to reduce homelessness. Being not-for-profits, all the money goes directly to shelters and other great services, and it is an opportunity for homeless youth to get a training, which could give them a proper job and a brighter future. After we bought our delicious conscious food, the girl there gave us one of these cards “buy ten and get one free” that we get from many food places. But this time there was a clever twist to it: “buy ten meals and the eleventh goes to a homeless youth”. Really, wow!
See HIS view
See His and Hers Pictures
See His and Hers Videos
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Boobook and Lawrence
Lire l’original en français
Our last adventures date from a month ago. Let me draw you a picture of some of the landscapes we crossed.
Exhausted from looking in vain for a job, but filled with our new-found friendships, we left Melbourne to tour the famous Great Ocean Road so photographed. The next morning, our crew was adorned with a French hitch-hiker, who happily filled our ears with expressions we had never heard. The magnificent 12 Apostles are seen under a stormy sky; these pillars defying the ocean seem greater than life, under grey light turning silver with unprompted passages of the Sun. That night, we achieved a big dream: to sleep in an old Winnebago, decorated with a kitschy design of the sixties! The next morning, even more gigantic waves shatter on the yellow and ochre stratum of the sea cliffs. Monoliths resemble sentinels posted to protect treasures buried for millenniums.
We say goodbye to Xavier and wish him good luck with his hitch-hiker desert crossing. We arrive at Anna’s in Adelaide. She is a friend of a friend from Melbourne and has generously offered to harbour us. Wham Bam! Sudden friendship. The two days spent with Max, Anna, Nico, Mia, the chickens and the garden are unforgettable.
After many days of arid budgetary labour in the cold of the new winter, we finally leave for the Australian apotheosis: the Red Centre, the desert of the middle, the flat, flat, flat away from civilization. But, the First Nation has a story for every hill, every dry river, every tree tuft and every rock. The Australian continent, for them, is a huge “géophonic” map, if I may propose a new term to French legislators. Aborigines can find their way through orally transmitted “roads of songs”. Every element of the ground is sung as we approach it, songs based on the speed of walking to know how many verses to compose between every important relief feature. I wish I could have learned some of them, but this millenary culture is more than rugged and the asphalt is too much of a speedway.
Each time I’m back on secondary roads, throughout the world, I’M filled with joy. The nature of human beings to celebrate their sense of belonging is really fantastic. Motor bikers salute one another, backpackers say Hi and often times, people with hair “stuck slump” like mine smile at each other. It’s the same on less busy roads: we smile and wave at each other in a brotherly manner.
On the rocky mountain roads to climb, we crossed many super heroes: cyclists riding thousands of desertic kilometres and hikers ready to climb cliffs to admire the beauty of their country … and all of them already in their sixties. Such a lesson for us, who consider ourselves adventurers!
Rare wallabies, surprised kangaroos, curious emus, protective owls, wild horses and camel HERDS where there… Really! 200 years ago, Australians used the help of Afghans to build the famous Darwin to Adelaide railway line. Well adapted to the desert, these huge softies multiplied and now, it’s like being in Lawrence of Arabia in the middle of Australia!
We took the train on that line and at 10:30 p.m., in the dark, without lighting or roads miles around, a lady detrained with her suitcase. In the middle of NOWHERE! A 4X4 came to pick her up and headed through the bushes. There, I really felt I was “Down Under”.
See HIS View
See His and Hers Pictures
Our last adventures date from a month ago. Let me draw you a picture of some of the landscapes we crossed.
Exhausted from looking in vain for a job, but filled with our new-found friendships, we left Melbourne to tour the famous Great Ocean Road so photographed. The next morning, our crew was adorned with a French hitch-hiker, who happily filled our ears with expressions we had never heard. The magnificent 12 Apostles are seen under a stormy sky; these pillars defying the ocean seem greater than life, under grey light turning silver with unprompted passages of the Sun. That night, we achieved a big dream: to sleep in an old Winnebago, decorated with a kitschy design of the sixties! The next morning, even more gigantic waves shatter on the yellow and ochre stratum of the sea cliffs. Monoliths resemble sentinels posted to protect treasures buried for millenniums.
We say goodbye to Xavier and wish him good luck with his hitch-hiker desert crossing. We arrive at Anna’s in Adelaide. She is a friend of a friend from Melbourne and has generously offered to harbour us. Wham Bam! Sudden friendship. The two days spent with Max, Anna, Nico, Mia, the chickens and the garden are unforgettable.
After many days of arid budgetary labour in the cold of the new winter, we finally leave for the Australian apotheosis: the Red Centre, the desert of the middle, the flat, flat, flat away from civilization. But, the First Nation has a story for every hill, every dry river, every tree tuft and every rock. The Australian continent, for them, is a huge “géophonic” map, if I may propose a new term to French legislators. Aborigines can find their way through orally transmitted “roads of songs”. Every element of the ground is sung as we approach it, songs based on the speed of walking to know how many verses to compose between every important relief feature. I wish I could have learned some of them, but this millenary culture is more than rugged and the asphalt is too much of a speedway.
Each time I’m back on secondary roads, throughout the world, I’M filled with joy. The nature of human beings to celebrate their sense of belonging is really fantastic. Motor bikers salute one another, backpackers say Hi and often times, people with hair “stuck slump” like mine smile at each other. It’s the same on less busy roads: we smile and wave at each other in a brotherly manner.
On the rocky mountain roads to climb, we crossed many super heroes: cyclists riding thousands of desertic kilometres and hikers ready to climb cliffs to admire the beauty of their country … and all of them already in their sixties. Such a lesson for us, who consider ourselves adventurers!
Rare wallabies, surprised kangaroos, curious emus, protective owls, wild horses and camel HERDS where there… Really! 200 years ago, Australians used the help of Afghans to build the famous Darwin to Adelaide railway line. Well adapted to the desert, these huge softies multiplied and now, it’s like being in Lawrence of Arabia in the middle of Australia!
We took the train on that line and at 10:30 p.m., in the dark, without lighting or roads miles around, a lady detrained with her suitcase. In the middle of NOWHERE! A 4X4 came to pick her up and headed through the bushes. There, I really felt I was “Down Under”.
See HIS View
See His and Hers Pictures
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Chin forward, look at the camera!
Lire la traduction française
I hear a gentle knock on the door…I whisper a soft “yes?” and I see blond curls poking out. With shy smiles and eyes slightly looking away, Charlie and Lizzie make their entrance in the toy room where we occupy the whole floor with our big grown-up bodies. I think I hear them mutter a lovely “happy birthday” and my suspicions are confirmed when they hand me two hand-made birthday cards. Lizzie filled hers with fairy stickers and Charlie drew me with my four weird prominent dreadlocks. He also proudly presents the drawing he made of his house, skilfully designed as a big boot with windows. I am so charmed. I never thought I would have such a touching birthday morning in a country so foreign. They hand me a bag in which I find the softest pair of slippers and as my face is twisted with the greatest expressions of surprise, Mom and Dad come in to encourage me to dig deeper in the bag. I can’t believe all these proofs of affection from a family I just met! My digging is well rewarded when I stumble upon a piece of paper. So far nothing special. Then I read what the colorful ink proudly states: a dinner for two at Blue Train Café, value of 100$. What? Are you kidding? That`s a bit too much…Then they assure me they only paid 40$ for it. Still…woooooow! How can you pay 40$ for a 100$ dinner?
After many “thank you”, they leave for work and I am left with Marc and my astonishment. I always say I could not justify paying 100$ for food at a restaurant…but this situation is slightly different, and I realize I am very excited for my birthday dinner! It is really shocking to see how little you actually get for 100$...and this café was far from being an expensive one! What jumped the bill were the two drinks, which cost as much as a main dish does…So we really enjoyed them: a good old “Mojito” and a very chocolaty “Toblerone”. I can assure you we looked like two bozos when we took photos of the bill!!!
The deal was found on a web site called “Scoopon”. Every day, it presents a deal like that, which can’t be missed. Out of curiosity, we went to have a look. Next thing I knew, I was quite excited because in a few hours I was about to visit a world I couldn’t have explored without the help of Scoopon…
I got to Exclusive Photography with my old colourful, patched travelling clothes. I was offered champagne in the shadows of huge painting-like portraits ornamenting the walls. Someone was there to do my hair and make-up, and then the real thing began. Damien, professional photographer, skilfully staged a sort of dance for me to perform while he was moving his equipment around. It was very funny to do the classical star look under the lights…soon enough Damien realized that I was not the glamorous type and started to take funky crazy photos. After 2.5 hours of fun, an elegant lady invited us in a lounge where we had a look at the photos on a giant screen. Fabulous work! Paying 29$ for a makeover photo shoot of 354$ value is quite a deal. So you know that the company expects you to buy many photos, if not all of them. They are all so beautiful, how can you resist?? I was already prepared not to buy any, but I just inquired about the price to please her… 1100$, just for the 18 pictures CD, and 200$ for each 8x10 print. Well, you can guess that she was disappointed with me! Thanks to Scoopon I paid 29$ for 3 hours of magic and a 5x7 professional photo! Hihihi! Anyway, I travel with the best photographer…
P.S. Thanks so much again for my birthday presents!
See HIS View
See His and Hers Pictures
I hear a gentle knock on the door…I whisper a soft “yes?” and I see blond curls poking out. With shy smiles and eyes slightly looking away, Charlie and Lizzie make their entrance in the toy room where we occupy the whole floor with our big grown-up bodies. I think I hear them mutter a lovely “happy birthday” and my suspicions are confirmed when they hand me two hand-made birthday cards. Lizzie filled hers with fairy stickers and Charlie drew me with my four weird prominent dreadlocks. He also proudly presents the drawing he made of his house, skilfully designed as a big boot with windows. I am so charmed. I never thought I would have such a touching birthday morning in a country so foreign. They hand me a bag in which I find the softest pair of slippers and as my face is twisted with the greatest expressions of surprise, Mom and Dad come in to encourage me to dig deeper in the bag. I can’t believe all these proofs of affection from a family I just met! My digging is well rewarded when I stumble upon a piece of paper. So far nothing special. Then I read what the colorful ink proudly states: a dinner for two at Blue Train Café, value of 100$. What? Are you kidding? That`s a bit too much…Then they assure me they only paid 40$ for it. Still…woooooow! How can you pay 40$ for a 100$ dinner?
After many “thank you”, they leave for work and I am left with Marc and my astonishment. I always say I could not justify paying 100$ for food at a restaurant…but this situation is slightly different, and I realize I am very excited for my birthday dinner! It is really shocking to see how little you actually get for 100$...and this café was far from being an expensive one! What jumped the bill were the two drinks, which cost as much as a main dish does…So we really enjoyed them: a good old “Mojito” and a very chocolaty “Toblerone”. I can assure you we looked like two bozos when we took photos of the bill!!!
The deal was found on a web site called “Scoopon”. Every day, it presents a deal like that, which can’t be missed. Out of curiosity, we went to have a look. Next thing I knew, I was quite excited because in a few hours I was about to visit a world I couldn’t have explored without the help of Scoopon…
I got to Exclusive Photography with my old colourful, patched travelling clothes. I was offered champagne in the shadows of huge painting-like portraits ornamenting the walls. Someone was there to do my hair and make-up, and then the real thing began. Damien, professional photographer, skilfully staged a sort of dance for me to perform while he was moving his equipment around. It was very funny to do the classical star look under the lights…soon enough Damien realized that I was not the glamorous type and started to take funky crazy photos. After 2.5 hours of fun, an elegant lady invited us in a lounge where we had a look at the photos on a giant screen. Fabulous work! Paying 29$ for a makeover photo shoot of 354$ value is quite a deal. So you know that the company expects you to buy many photos, if not all of them. They are all so beautiful, how can you resist?? I was already prepared not to buy any, but I just inquired about the price to please her… 1100$, just for the 18 pictures CD, and 200$ for each 8x10 print. Well, you can guess that she was disappointed with me! Thanks to Scoopon I paid 29$ for 3 hours of magic and a 5x7 professional photo! Hihihi! Anyway, I travel with the best photographer…
P.S. Thanks so much again for my birthday presents!
See HIS View
See His and Hers Pictures
Monday, May 10, 2010
A True Hippy Barbie for once?*
Lire l’original en français
It’s dreary. As it’s been for many of the last days. But this morning, I will get through this dreariness by listening to your hearts, for they will be metronomes to my writing.
I began to see the sunshine while practising my Yoga salute and reading a book on fairies, for which I couldn’t resist during the first week of our trip. I rush to read it because I believe I found a good home for it. A comforting nest where princesses and kind monsters, genies and white sorceresses live, and where the vaporous pictures and magic recipes of the book will be appreciated.
We didn’t travel much since April 20, but we visited the passions and history of the Deakin family and we have been so blessed by their good nature. Our universe was filled with conversations on LEGO’s novelties, organic markets, permaculture, board games, fairies, laser swords and Barbie movies.
Since I’m old enough to compare myself to others and find my own imperfections, I blamed much of my lack of self-esteem on Barbie and her unhealthy social models. The apotheosis of my frustration came when I learned her mensurations would never allow her to stay upright if she were to become human. So you’ll understand why I didn’t really want to watch a movie starring miss everything-in-pink, last Friday. I was afraid my organic boulghour would get stuck in my throat. But life played a trick on me by teaching me that beauty is everywhere and often in the last place you’d think it would be. However, don’t think Barbie had love handles and hair "stuck slump"… I would have been too pleased…
Barbie, still a child, was stranded on a deserted island where she was raised by animals. She can talk to them, take care of them and sing (every 5 minutes) the beauty of the world and the importance of taking care of Mother Earth. An adventurer prince finds her and brings her back to his castle where she suffers, of course, having no manners and preferring from far climbing trees with monkeys. Well well, for sure he falls in love but still, in order to marry Barbie, must refuse to marry a true blood princess who happens to like playing the harp and doesn’t ride horses. What a scandal at the court! Notwithstanding the extreme kitsch, my boulghour easily slid down my throat and Barbie surprised me. And instead of going shopping, she recycled nature elements to sew a dress. My friends, there’s hope!
I had a birthday party on the night of April 24th.You have to admit it’s incredible, to be able to organize a party with good friends only one month after arriving in Melbourne! Once again, our Nihon friends adorned the party with their cameras and their screams of excitement … This time, because they had never seen microwave popcorn!
On the 25 th, we attended a fund raising festival dedicated to save Australian and Filipino forests. It was delightful to be among friends, even if they were strangers! As in a dream, every beloved look-alike seemed to be assembled to dance in front of the Barons of Tang, which brings back Grim Skunk and Gogol Bordello, Combat Wombat and Loco Locass from the area. Free Narguileh salon, pirate vegetarian cuisine, grunge haircuts for a volunteer contribution and even real tattoos on the spot… Something to stay inspired for a long time and lots of money to regenerate the forest!!!
*Dedicated to the beautiful Sophie Laplante
See HIS view
See His and Hers Videos
See His and Hers Photos
It’s dreary. As it’s been for many of the last days. But this morning, I will get through this dreariness by listening to your hearts, for they will be metronomes to my writing.
I began to see the sunshine while practising my Yoga salute and reading a book on fairies, for which I couldn’t resist during the first week of our trip. I rush to read it because I believe I found a good home for it. A comforting nest where princesses and kind monsters, genies and white sorceresses live, and where the vaporous pictures and magic recipes of the book will be appreciated.
We didn’t travel much since April 20, but we visited the passions and history of the Deakin family and we have been so blessed by their good nature. Our universe was filled with conversations on LEGO’s novelties, organic markets, permaculture, board games, fairies, laser swords and Barbie movies.
Since I’m old enough to compare myself to others and find my own imperfections, I blamed much of my lack of self-esteem on Barbie and her unhealthy social models. The apotheosis of my frustration came when I learned her mensurations would never allow her to stay upright if she were to become human. So you’ll understand why I didn’t really want to watch a movie starring miss everything-in-pink, last Friday. I was afraid my organic boulghour would get stuck in my throat. But life played a trick on me by teaching me that beauty is everywhere and often in the last place you’d think it would be. However, don’t think Barbie had love handles and hair "stuck slump"… I would have been too pleased…
Barbie, still a child, was stranded on a deserted island where she was raised by animals. She can talk to them, take care of them and sing (every 5 minutes) the beauty of the world and the importance of taking care of Mother Earth. An adventurer prince finds her and brings her back to his castle where she suffers, of course, having no manners and preferring from far climbing trees with monkeys. Well well, for sure he falls in love but still, in order to marry Barbie, must refuse to marry a true blood princess who happens to like playing the harp and doesn’t ride horses. What a scandal at the court! Notwithstanding the extreme kitsch, my boulghour easily slid down my throat and Barbie surprised me. And instead of going shopping, she recycled nature elements to sew a dress. My friends, there’s hope!
I had a birthday party on the night of April 24th.You have to admit it’s incredible, to be able to organize a party with good friends only one month after arriving in Melbourne! Once again, our Nihon friends adorned the party with their cameras and their screams of excitement … This time, because they had never seen microwave popcorn!
On the 25 th, we attended a fund raising festival dedicated to save Australian and Filipino forests. It was delightful to be among friends, even if they were strangers! As in a dream, every beloved look-alike seemed to be assembled to dance in front of the Barons of Tang, which brings back Grim Skunk and Gogol Bordello, Combat Wombat and Loco Locass from the area. Free Narguileh salon, pirate vegetarian cuisine, grunge haircuts for a volunteer contribution and even real tattoos on the spot… Something to stay inspired for a long time and lots of money to regenerate the forest!!!
*Dedicated to the beautiful Sophie Laplante
See HIS view
See His and Hers Videos
See His and Hers Photos
Monday, April 26, 2010
Lucky Star
Lire la traduction en français
This is blog number 20!! Thank you so much for being loyal readers, it makes our every-day life filled with your smiles.
Life is such a powerful wave. When you think you will crash on the shore, the under tow brings you back in the rolling surf. Please do not infer that we were about to crash; I just liked the ocean imagery. At the precise moment where, exhausted, we were strolling in Melbourne with no place to go, we got invited to stay at Katie’s, Cecilia’s sister, and during our stay at Katie’s a lovely family invited us over for another couple of days. How amazing is that? And there is still people trying to discourage me to believe in the true goodness of human beings and of the power of synchronicities…
Cabeza
While we were trying to find jobs on Katie’s couch, overlooking Melbourne’s zoo from the 7th floor, Elijah and Raphael learned how to eat a whole banana by themselves and learned how to put both their hands on their heads when daddy sais “cabeza” (he’s from East Timor, which by the way has a very interesting story…look it up on Wiki). Seeing how 10-month- old twins learn how to be human beings is as fascinating as any museum!
Old dump
Twenty-five years ago, visionary hippies decided to transform a local rubbish tip where no trees grew into an urban permaculture complex. It may sound familiar to many of you, like a utopia we all dreamed of. But they succeeded and it is now immense and addresses social justice issues as well as environmental ones. So many amazing things happen there every day; it is beyond my wildest dreams. We discovered this inspiring sustainable village on the day of their Harvest Festival, where we listened to world music choirs signing in the giant gardens, lit by fairy lanterns. We joined 148 other believers in a happier future for the famous feast, prepared with home grown organic veggies by immigrant women part of an integration project. Wow! And to top all this wonder, we met Charlie first, who took us to his tree house made out of recycled bicycle wheels, then Lizzie, Colleen and Rob. We connected right away: brilliant, curious and intelligent people forming a lovely family. We felt so good with them that we now live at their place (until we find a job and a proper place to live of course)!
A little hope
Tibet might not have anything to do with Australia but I really want to share something. As I am always trying to learn more and do more about social justice, I ran downtown Melbourne when I heard about a conference being given about the effect of climate change on the nomads of Tibet. I was ready to be brought to tears as usual but the speeches ended on a positive note I felt the world should know about, so that we could stay motivated to support this brutalized people. There is a movement in Tibet, initialized by the uproar stirred around the Olympics, in which Tibetans are being Tibetans once a week. They don’t use Chinese words or eat at Chinese restaurants. This way they manifest their desire without being shot or imprisoned. This simple action got the Tibetan language back to life and now people can have their Facebook page in it, there is even video of Tibetan hip-hop on you tube. Just another example that we shouldn’t underestimate the effect of small actions!
See HIS View
See His and Hers Picture
This is blog number 20!! Thank you so much for being loyal readers, it makes our every-day life filled with your smiles.
Life is such a powerful wave. When you think you will crash on the shore, the under tow brings you back in the rolling surf. Please do not infer that we were about to crash; I just liked the ocean imagery. At the precise moment where, exhausted, we were strolling in Melbourne with no place to go, we got invited to stay at Katie’s, Cecilia’s sister, and during our stay at Katie’s a lovely family invited us over for another couple of days. How amazing is that? And there is still people trying to discourage me to believe in the true goodness of human beings and of the power of synchronicities…
Cabeza
While we were trying to find jobs on Katie’s couch, overlooking Melbourne’s zoo from the 7th floor, Elijah and Raphael learned how to eat a whole banana by themselves and learned how to put both their hands on their heads when daddy sais “cabeza” (he’s from East Timor, which by the way has a very interesting story…look it up on Wiki). Seeing how 10-month- old twins learn how to be human beings is as fascinating as any museum!
Old dump
Twenty-five years ago, visionary hippies decided to transform a local rubbish tip where no trees grew into an urban permaculture complex. It may sound familiar to many of you, like a utopia we all dreamed of. But they succeeded and it is now immense and addresses social justice issues as well as environmental ones. So many amazing things happen there every day; it is beyond my wildest dreams. We discovered this inspiring sustainable village on the day of their Harvest Festival, where we listened to world music choirs signing in the giant gardens, lit by fairy lanterns. We joined 148 other believers in a happier future for the famous feast, prepared with home grown organic veggies by immigrant women part of an integration project. Wow! And to top all this wonder, we met Charlie first, who took us to his tree house made out of recycled bicycle wheels, then Lizzie, Colleen and Rob. We connected right away: brilliant, curious and intelligent people forming a lovely family. We felt so good with them that we now live at their place (until we find a job and a proper place to live of course)!
A little hope
Tibet might not have anything to do with Australia but I really want to share something. As I am always trying to learn more and do more about social justice, I ran downtown Melbourne when I heard about a conference being given about the effect of climate change on the nomads of Tibet. I was ready to be brought to tears as usual but the speeches ended on a positive note I felt the world should know about, so that we could stay motivated to support this brutalized people. There is a movement in Tibet, initialized by the uproar stirred around the Olympics, in which Tibetans are being Tibetans once a week. They don’t use Chinese words or eat at Chinese restaurants. This way they manifest their desire without being shot or imprisoned. This simple action got the Tibetan language back to life and now people can have their Facebook page in it, there is even video of Tibetan hip-hop on you tube. Just another example that we shouldn’t underestimate the effect of small actions!
See HIS View
See His and Hers Picture
Monday, April 19, 2010
No need to pay for a Qi-Gong lesson of relaxation …
Lire l’original en Français
It seems sad to take a week off from our blog. It’s as if we miss you. As if we felt a loss of your eyes on our words. I’m so glad to be back!
The great Qi-Gong Master Xhan-Fan Soa Ka Liay*softly told me I had the right to not always be cranked up MegaSuperAlways positive. So yesterday, I accepted the fact that being homeless and jobless in the heart of Babylon at the beginning of the Australian winter could be draining, even if it’s a chosen situation of being nomad. Once this conclusion well anchored in the calm of my being, everything immediately came back multicoloured and once again I saw all the magic of my life. The problem, once observed and accepted, covers itself with a positive learning fleece.
No need to pay to fulfill a big dream (moreover!)
Who read Memoirs of a Geisha? I believe every other people has read this excellent “ bestseller ”, because the night I took small steps in a beautiful violet kimono, everybody commented on my appearance based on what they had learned from that novel. So you never know when your reading will be useful to hold a sophisticated conversation! On the night of April 10, I was gloating. It was so emotional to see Mariko tie up the red obi on my kimono; I almost ruined my beautiful make-up! She was so absorbed in her task and was pushing me around from left to right to tug on the endless fabric. A swift pull on the collar to reveal the nape of the neck and she would shout ingenuously: “sexy!”! An elegant movement to teach me how to reveal the underside of my wrist and she would shout: “sexy!”! Her eyes filled with pride when I succeeded kneeling without having the slit of the kimono opening outrageously. Finally, after a flock of emotion filled “sexy!” she explained to me that the free lock of hair on the left side of my face meant my wild and exciting side and the slick right side meant my discipline and submission, attractive qualities in Japanese culture. I spent the first hour of the costume party in the most Nihon attitude, but I quickly realized I needed to move a little bit more, I needed more roundness. So I tried something never seen before, which resulted in an explosion of laughter from my Japanese friends and the multicultural group filling the living room; I danced in a sexy-afro-hip-hop style wearing an ultra restrictive kimono. It was an intense cultural conflict. Honestly, it was really something to merge such distant cultures, which weren’t even mine!
Speaking of cultural merging, I also want to say I didn’t have to pay to witness a thrilling “first” … While preparing lunch for the film crew of a documentary on urban permaculture (under the watchful eye of the camera), I handed a carrot and grater to my dear Mariko, in order to add bright orange colour to the salad. She had never ever grated a carrot and she was soooo thrilled! Just to show you what’s mundane to us isn’t necessarily to Nihons!!!
*Jean-François Carrier
See HIS view
See His and Hers Photos
See His and Hers Videos
It seems sad to take a week off from our blog. It’s as if we miss you. As if we felt a loss of your eyes on our words. I’m so glad to be back!
The great Qi-Gong Master Xhan-Fan Soa Ka Liay*softly told me I had the right to not always be cranked up MegaSuperAlways positive. So yesterday, I accepted the fact that being homeless and jobless in the heart of Babylon at the beginning of the Australian winter could be draining, even if it’s a chosen situation of being nomad. Once this conclusion well anchored in the calm of my being, everything immediately came back multicoloured and once again I saw all the magic of my life. The problem, once observed and accepted, covers itself with a positive learning fleece.
No need to pay to fulfill a big dream (moreover!)
Who read Memoirs of a Geisha? I believe every other people has read this excellent “ bestseller ”, because the night I took small steps in a beautiful violet kimono, everybody commented on my appearance based on what they had learned from that novel. So you never know when your reading will be useful to hold a sophisticated conversation! On the night of April 10, I was gloating. It was so emotional to see Mariko tie up the red obi on my kimono; I almost ruined my beautiful make-up! She was so absorbed in her task and was pushing me around from left to right to tug on the endless fabric. A swift pull on the collar to reveal the nape of the neck and she would shout ingenuously: “sexy!”! An elegant movement to teach me how to reveal the underside of my wrist and she would shout: “sexy!”! Her eyes filled with pride when I succeeded kneeling without having the slit of the kimono opening outrageously. Finally, after a flock of emotion filled “sexy!” she explained to me that the free lock of hair on the left side of my face meant my wild and exciting side and the slick right side meant my discipline and submission, attractive qualities in Japanese culture. I spent the first hour of the costume party in the most Nihon attitude, but I quickly realized I needed to move a little bit more, I needed more roundness. So I tried something never seen before, which resulted in an explosion of laughter from my Japanese friends and the multicultural group filling the living room; I danced in a sexy-afro-hip-hop style wearing an ultra restrictive kimono. It was an intense cultural conflict. Honestly, it was really something to merge such distant cultures, which weren’t even mine!
Speaking of cultural merging, I also want to say I didn’t have to pay to witness a thrilling “first” … While preparing lunch for the film crew of a documentary on urban permaculture (under the watchful eye of the camera), I handed a carrot and grater to my dear Mariko, in order to add bright orange colour to the salad. She had never ever grated a carrot and she was soooo thrilled! Just to show you what’s mundane to us isn’t necessarily to Nihons!!!
*Jean-François Carrier
See HIS view
See His and Hers Photos
See His and Hers Videos
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
