Hello from the past!
If you are reading this in November 20th, 2024 it’s been a year since I started this series.
I shared the first memories post on Nov. 21st, 2023.
I chose the date as it’s an anniversary for Ismo and me, but also the day we met our furbaby Nero for the first time.
But…
This was actually the first draft I made for this series.
I had saved some of my Facebook memories on my phone before I decided to share them here.
They were originally just some short notes written to my friends, that I decided to share with the whole world.
Unedited, uncensored.
With a weird mixture of different languages.
So, at the same time, I shared my first post on this series, on November 21st, 2023, I saved this one and scheduled it to be published on November 20th, 2024.
For the sake of transparency, I’ve written this post a year before it saw daylight!
When you are reading this, it probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but writing this I’m thinking…
I don’t even know in which country I’ll be living in November 2024.
Gosh, I’m sending prayers that I’m still alive when this post comes out!
I don’t know how you feel, but it just gives me goosebumps to post something so much in advance. Days, weeks, a few months in advance, all fine, but an entire year!
Anyway, you are here now, this post is out, so
let’s dig deeper.
20.11. travel memories from different years
20.11. travel memories from my Facebook posts tell that I’ve been at least in Portugal and Japan on this exact date. Pretty sure that I’ve been elsewhere also, but at least my FB didn’t tell me anything interesting. I’ve been doing something very secret?
2014 trip to Portugal was completely work, but half a day off while waiting for work to continue.
2015 trip to Japan was for my personal book project.
2017 I was in Japan for work and fun with Ismo – that was already during our nomad years.
20.11.2014
Espinho, Portugal
Noin itseni ikäiset nahkasaappaat sai juuri jatkoikää taitavalta kengänkiillottajalta. Itselleni haen seuraavaksi nuorennusta kampaajalta. Odottavan aika ei käy pitkäksi.
Jumitamme Espinhossa kunnes työt etenee.
*
I was telling here that I went to a shoe polisher who made my old boots new again. These boots were about the same age as I am (had bought them from a flea market years before). I had also gone to a hairdresser as I was waiting to get back to work.
Being a photojournalist often means you just have to be patient and wait for the green light to continue your work – a possible interviewee to reply, workers to return from a holiday, or a company to accept a visit to their premises.
This time I was waiting in Espinho, Portugal, and killed my time going to a shoe polisher and a hairdresser. Both are very rare things on work trips. Mostly waiting means doing a plan B or simply running some other task that needs to be taken care of.
*
20.11.2015
Ito, Japan
Ready to go. When I told the staff that I was leaving, she said “No check-out time”. (It is officially 11 am)
Gotta love this place!
But I’ve got a train to catch. Sigh.
The downside of continuous traveling is the constant goodbyes.
Home for the next three nights. Someone won this race and got the best place for sleeping, but I ran second 🙂
Actually, I wanted the one by the window, but if there will be only two of us, would be kind of weird for him/her to have to be sleeping with my toes in his mouth, even though I will go to onsen tonight.
Very nice building but can’t be compared to Kyoto’s hostel by atmosphere. But will do for this weekend. The river scene behind the window is awesome and Ito is a neat little town. Also totally new for me.
Notes from tonight
Two Yankees make more noise in a huge building than 20 Europeans and Asians together having a drinking party or just hanging out in a tiny hostel lounge.
This ryokan building is absolutely stunning, but made me understand one absolute concept for my project, a matter of void.
Very beautiful walls can be so empty, only booming to become sounding brasses.
Not getting there without people who bring the feeling, to make it special.
Or maybe I am just too tired to make any more new friends with people I’ll probably never see again.
This trip is changing me.
I knew it would, but I didn’t know before how and how much.
And I am not drunk (at least yet), just thinking out loud.
(To be honest, one of the worst ones I’ve experienced in Japan.
There were proper ones also, but they had a sign saying those were for the staff only, so I didn’t dare to try.)
Guess I’d better go to relax in an onsen before they close it. There are so many rules and signs telling what you are not allowed to do, that it makes me feel uncomfortable.
In my Kyoto hostel, nobody left their dishes or garbage lying around, didn’t shout in the middle of the night, and there was no need to lock the doors, even though there weren’t big signs or staff to say that.
Respect brings respect.
And speaking this out, I probably will tomorrow make new friends with either staff or Yankees, or both of them.
But well, then I can say I was wrong.
My guesthouse Rakuen in Kyoto just was so great, that I am being very unfair now.
I will give this place a chance. Like I said, it surely is beautiful.
And now I will drop myself into the onsen, those I love everywhere. Only places I trust to have hot enough water for me.
And sorry Finns, I’ll translate if needed to, but most of the time I am rejecting my international friends by writing only in Finnish. And at the moment it is really hard to write in Finnish.
But I also noticed that I’ve lost my English vocabulary so badly, that will probably write my book in Finnish after all. And try to find someone to fund the translations into English and French.
And gosh I must be bored and restless to write these novels here!
Sorry and have a great weekend guys, I’ll rest before work.
At least I seem to be able to walk again.
And my luck is that most of you will never read until here 😀
20.11.2017
Nara, Japan
This. And still need to do it again and again. Wish to get some here in Japan too.
Last time here I climbed a dozen or so.
