Memories Sep 25

京都のあるカフェにて。今年の４月のお気に入りの一枚。

Passion Fruit

It was so pretty, and I couldn't help taking photos. I love the intense flavour of passion fruit. You don't imagine inside like this before cutting it open, considering the shrivelled look. I remember eating this for the first time in Guyana. I was so impressed and thought "wow it tastes just like passion fruit candies!" I used to eat a half like this every morning with my Kenyan roommate in Georgetown.

I discovered recent month an organic vegetable shop run by Japanese NGO. I am a regular customer there! This is one of my purchases of this week. 

Special day

最近、３８歳になりました。

今年の誕生日は、FR氏と二人でニューヨークで一日ブラブラ。

前から行ってみたいと思っていたハイライン（昔の鉄道を遊歩道に変えた）に初めて行って大満足。元々、パリにあるプロムナードプロンテという同じコンセプトの場所が大好きで、６月にパリを訪れた時も行ったのだけど、そこをモデルにしているらしいのです。ここは、野草がたくさん生えてて、手入れしてある花もきれいだけど、こうやってそこに元から生えている雑草（？）も趣のあるもの。

真夏日だったので、途中でポプシクル（ピンクグレープフルーツ味！）を買って、食べ歩き。nyの観光スポットらしく、地元の人達や色んな国の観光客でごったがえしていた。歩いている人達を見ているだけでも楽しい。

その後、彼が学んだ法学院のある大学の辺りをウロウロして、懐かしい場所を訪ねて、買い物したり公園で昼寝したり。

お寿司が食べたかったけど、レイバーデイでお休みの店が多く、代わりにインド料理のレストランで夕食を頂き、久しぶりに映画館でイギリスの映画を見て帰宅。

ニューヨークはそこにいるだけで、ワクワクしてくる大好きな街です。私の我がままを聞いて、色んな場所に連れていってくれてどうもありがとう。たくさん歩いて、足が痛かったけど、幸せな一日でした！３８歳になって、少しは精神的に成長できますように...。

新しい仕事

"Life" just happens and sometimes I can't keep up with its speed.

I got a new job in BKK and started working there two weeks ago. I am a bit tired of the routine of finding a place to live and getting used to the new city etc. However, this time it is close to home in YGN and I consider my apt like a satellite home where I will be commuting back and forth. I will be moving into the apt in a week.

The position is in a Asia-Pacific regional programme of four UN agencies, three of which I have already worked with. It is my first time to be in the regional office, so I hope to get to know people and build a network. I hope this was a good choice for my future career.  Two of my friends whom I worked with the previous job this year recommended me to the position, so the recruitment was rather quick. The team seems very nice and the working environment is friendly and quite relaxed.

More to come about the life in Bangkok!

気が付いたらもう９月もほぼ終わり、カナダとニューヨークに遊びに行って忙しかったのだけど、バタバタと帰国してそのまま新しい仕事を始めました。お隣の国の首都で、初の地域事務所勤務。またまた通いの生活になってしまうのだけど、ちょうどその都市にいたい理由もあるし、飛行機で１時間ちょっとなので、決めました。

時間もないので、アパートも足早に決めて、週末に帰宅し、今週中は自宅からの勤務で、比較的のんびり。来週の月曜日にアパートに入居します。便利な場所なんだけど、歓楽街のど真ん中で、私の理想のアパート立地にはかけ離れているけど、まあ短期なのでしょうがない。sex workerの女性達がうろうろしている地域でも、治安は良いし、日本人エリアにもスカイトレインで二駅。近所にスーパーもあるし。でも、こんな高層ビル（プールもジムも付いているようなところ！）に住んだこともないし、なんだかおかしな感じ。１階に見るも恥ずかしげなダイナーがあるのが、玉に瑕だけど。私のアパートはなんと22階です。これから、ここと家を行ったり来たりです。

Colorless M and her week of pilgrimage

I went to Canada last month. I hadn’t been there for longer than three years since my last brief trip to Montreal, when I was living in NY.

One of my close girl friends was getting married (Helen and I lived together in Malawi), so I decided to combine attending her wedding and visiting some of my other very close friends.

M. FR joined me in Toronto (as he was on his annual back-packing trip in wilderness.)

I have been living in Asia for the past six years working with the UN, and I never had a chance to visit this now a very far but familiar country, which I call my second home.

We spent three nights in Toronto and then made our way along the highway 401 where I took greyhound buses numerous times when I was a student in Guelph. I never lived in Toronto, but here I was able to get re-connected with a friend whom I knew when I was living in Ottawa many years ago. M.FR and I were invited over to their home, and it was just amazing to see her and her partner.

In Montreal, I stayed with my Japanese friend whom I've known since the very first year when I moved to Canada as a student in a French class. She is now a mother of two beautiful boys. We had long catch-up sessions to fill a gap of three years of not seeing each other. 

It was special to show M.FR around the town, which is filled with my sad and happy memories just full of emotions. I pointed out the streets where I used to live and workplace, my school etc. We went to my favorite ice-cream place, ate at a thai food stall in a mall where I frequented, also ate poutine, walked around in Mont Royal and Old Port. It was surreal.  

I happened to walk by a church where the women’s organization where I volunteered was housed when I couldn’t find a job in my field. I just walked in to see if anyone I know was there. There I found my colleague, and I was so happy to see her! It was really this volunteer work that got me a job in Ottawa, and this led to many other following jobs.

I also saw a few other very close friends in Montreal (my French girlfriend and her baby!) Toronto (another friend from Ottawa who now lives in Hamilton. She drove to the airport to see me with her new born daughter) and Ottawa (friend from Guleph), traveling to places and tracing my history in Canada. This was such a special trip. These are friends who knew some of my most difficult time and supported me. So, being able to come see them after many years and introduce M.FR meant a lot for me. It also reminded me again how many friends I have who truly care about me even when we don't see each other for a long time. 

Surely, I wish I had much more time to spend with each of my friends. I got to attend Helen's wedding and also was able to see some of my most important friends. It was busy going from place to place, but I was just so happy that I could go on this trip with M.FR.