Trains, people, traffic, and steak.
I miss Uraguay already.

this day was freezing cold. in fact, a lot of days up in tohoku were freezing cold. if i was on a surf trip, i’d probably be complaining. but after experiencing what i have in the past year, i can’t complain about anything. my life has surely changed.

a lot of people lost everything. if something were to happen to my house, the first thing i would grab are my precious photos. so making new memories is a start to a new life.

from a kid, i always had a hard time thanking people. don’t get me wrong. i really appreciate everything people do for me, but i just was kind of shy saying “thank you.” even till this day, i sometimes forget. but when i go back and look at photos like this, i don’t realize how thankful i am to have such amazing people around me. the volunteers on our missions have hearts of gold. and i want to say “Thank You!”

i remember eating some of this pork. it was soooo good!

seeing such a long line at the register was so amazing. Naomi-san’s dream became a reality and her hard work made a lot of people smile. the We Are One Market turned out to be a success!

and the hot sweet malasada’s brought smiles to the kids faces. to eat something so sweet and warm for the first time was fun to watch.

it’s always sad at the end of the day when we have to say our “bye bye’s.” the people in tohoku are so kind, warm hearted, and inspire me so much. the only way i can keep smiling is knowing that i’m going back there again, again, and again! this was one of the happiest days of my entire life!
thank you to our team, and thank you matsu for these precious photos. We Are One!

what a crazy time i’m having. i’ve only been in south america for 4 days and it feels like i’ve been here for a month. after the loud night in buenos aires, i jumped in a taxi, took a 3 hour ferry, then a 2.5 hour bus ride into the beautiful country of uraguay. got there at 11pm, got a bite to eat, a beer to drink, and slept. next morning, ride a bike around punta del este, walked, and just explored that little city. it was so beautiful!

that evening, i rented a car, watched the sunset, slept early, woke up early, watched the sunrise, threw my backpack in the car, and headed to cabo polonio. the 2.5. hour was so beautiful. pristine untouched ranches and olive farms going forever. the cows, the horses, and all the trees and flowers were breath taking. i finally see the sign “cabo polonio” and pull over. there is a small parking lot where i left my car and paid $3 for a ride on a 4×4 over the sand dunes into the little hippie village. 30 minutes later, i arrived. the ride was so fun! i felt so dam free!

i get there and find a nice little hostel settled right on the beach. pay my $15/night, put my backpack down, and take a nice 2 hour walk around the beach. i felt like i was in movie set or something. this little town was amazing. no electricity so they use car batteries to make power for the basic necessities. my room was the smallest room ever. just enough to get a good night sleep right in front of the waves and seals swimming by.

there is so much wildlife there. birds flying around everywhere. penguins, sea birds, and some areas you can only see on the discovery channel. nobody was around when i took the walk near the rocks and it was pretty cool watching the seals play around. try to count how many are in this photo. it was totally amazing!

i’m sitting in the kitchen drinking a beer while some of the other backpackers were cooking dinner. then one of my local friends comes in at 8:30pm and says “hey, the sky is pink!’ what? it was cloudy all day long so i thought there would be no chance for a sunset. he says “come on, follow me!” i grab my camera in one hand, grab my beer in the other, and we ran towards the other side of the hill. and when got over, i felt the chicken skin. it was one of the most beautiful sunsets i’ve ever seen in my life. i was screaming, yelling, and snapping away as many photos as possible. i was in a great place!

it’s 2 weeks before the summer season starts in uraguay. nobody was here! all the hostels were empty, the restaurants closed, and totally empty beaches and streets. the timing was perfect! i sat down on the beach with my beer and camera watching the yellow sky turn red, pink, and orange right in front of my eyes. i wanted some peace and this is were i found it. yes, it’s on the other side of the world but i’ll take it.

then back to the hostel for homemade dinner, wine, beer, grappa, music, drums, and lots of fun! thank you pancho, sophia, diego, and the other backpackers that made my stay so memorable. i will be back!
by the way, wanted to wish everybody a happy thanksgiving! i will never forget this 2012 thanksgiving. i was thankful for having so many beautiful people and so many family and friends around this world. thank you!