Mira Zaki Photography: December 2009

The truth lies there.. in black lettering... it has been almost 2 months since I posted a blog entry, this is a bit more difficult than I thought it would be. My apologies- things have been a whirlwind of adventure and busyness since I got back to the USA.. I plan to continue the blog with some outtakes from Melbourne, as well as catching up to my projects for the present day.

And now... we will go back in time for a bit!

I couldn’t wait to get back to Australia.. I was literally on a countdown from the day that I arrived in New Zealand- I constantly heard my own patronizing voice in my head saying “this is my punishment for leaving Australia” which surprised me because I always say that to myself when I go to neighbouring cities outside of NY and everything is suddenly completely unavailable and starkly different… I always say “this is why people never leave NY” (Slight Sex and the City reference there, that I now totally get)

So, I felt a bit torn- I was thrilled to be getting back to what felt like my “home” albeit adopted home- where everything was familiar, comfortable, reachable, able, possible, and where my brain was able to finally do the math for the currency conversions… then there was that part of me that constantly lives in the future- planning for something I knew was looming ahead of me with a date attached to it… September 8…. Doomsday… my brain defaulted to putting it aside and enjoying the last part of my trip…but all the while knowing that the sooner it crept to September- the sooner I would have to fulfill the other end of my airline ticket- and return back to the USA to Los Angeles. HOW? How could that be possible? How could I leave this place? It was not only ridiculous, it was impossible… I seriously considered for some time- getting a job, and just.. well… staying.. because when I am traveling and enjoying myself- I am content to live out of a bag- and the thought of all of the other clothes that I didn’t bring with me, I didn’t miss, all of the things I spend my time collecting, it turns out I don’t need but I ENJOY having, the boxes full of papers, hairclips, pennies, and fortunes from fortune cookies- somehow seem not only irrelevant, they are completely unnecessary. Big inhale of breath! Time to live in the present and enjoy myself….

At the end of my New Zealand tour- with no Ipod, no functioning laptop, and a BEAUTIFUL taste in my mouth from the last person I ended up staying with in Auckland- probably the nicest person I’ve ever met- an osteopathy student originally from England studying in NZ because NZ is sorely lacking people in the medical field and pays them extremely handsomely (there goes another failed attempt at having a niche in the right market… I’ll get it right one day ;) Auckland was a bizarre and underwhelming city to me- fair enough I was only there for a few days- mainly to catch my flight back to my beloved Melbourne- I have never been so thrilled to see an airport before! But, Auckland- along with its bad reputation seemed to live up to its name… I couldn’t find anything authentic about it- I couldn’t even place what it reminded me of? Seattle mixed with ? At any rate, I couldn’t say that Auckland treated me badly, in fact, my stay was so nice that I would go back just to see my new friends.

Upon arrival in Melbourne.. I breathed a big sigh of relief…I was home! Although I had only been to Tullamarine airport a few times, it felt like this was the airport that I was always leaving from- as though I was born here, and just going through the motions of traveling- its surprising to me that I can acclimate to almost anywhere so quickly- I wonder if that is part of being open to- and trying to fully experience the culture and people of the country I am visiting- or whether it was easier on me because Australians speak English?

I spent the last few weeks running around with some of the most thoughtful new friends I could have hoped to ever find.. from the funky graffiti, hip coffee shop and book store lined streets of Brunswick to the quiet Northern suburbs of Northcote and Reservoir, to the extremely relevant and ever changing St. Kilda, I then ended my remarkable trip with 2 of the kindest people on Earth- seriously. If there was a contest, they WIN on every level.. I met Tina and Chris on my birthday- after they drove an HOUR to come pick me up since I was sick and planning to spend it alone- they took me out to the hidden boutique bars in Chinatown- and we shared some delicious Greek food afterwards—when I saw them arrive dressed all in black and driving a gorgeous, fast black car with tinted windows, wide awake and ready to talk all night, I felt an instant connection to these two extremely open-hearted people, and today, I feel like they are some of my closest friends. Tina is a genius web designer, philosopher, friend, and all around- incredible woman… these people … it is difficult to find words that can possibly express how profoundly genuine and deep they are. I count myself absolutely insanely lucky to have them in my life, and to remain in touch with them weekly.

Tina's husband Chris is absolutely her equal- I spend a lot of my time observing people and their behaviours, their relationships... To be around Tina and Chris is sort of a miracle in and of itself because of how incredible they are individually, but when you see and experience them together, you see a couple that not only loves and respects each other, but they really LIKE each other, too. They way that they adore each other is refreshing and invigorating to be around- they are best friends and lovers, and their respect for each other is out of this world- I felt privileged to witness their relationship and to be invited into their gorgeous home in the suburbs of Melbourne and the glorious Mornington Peninsula near Frankston. As fellow night owls, we united- we laughed so much we nearly peed ourselves, we shared food, ran around shopping malls, watched and judged tv shows, watched AFL, visited the Mornington Peninsula, did an impromptu food photoshoot in their kitchen, and just enjoyed each others company. The part that I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around is that… after staying with them for nearly 2 weeks in which I felt I way overstayed my welcome, they treated me to EVERYTHING!!

AND…this part I still cannot wrap my head around.. they drove me to the airport (over an hour from their home) we all slept very late, after 1-2 am … and my flight was at 9 or 10 am… so after getting little to no sleep, they both awoke, happy to drive me to the airport, loaded my luggage for me, and not only STAYED with me, but when I found out my flight was delayed, they had breakfast with me as we tried to waste the time in the airport stores…. Um, what??????? They also kept thinking of clever ways to stop my plane so that I wouldn’t have to leave… I thought for certain I would spend the entire trip home crying- sobbing uncontrollably, because I just didn’t want to come home… luckily, I didn’t… I decided to drown myself in watching as many current movies as I could cram into 14 hours and until my heavy eyelids won.

There’s something that rings inside of me whenever I think of Tina and Chris… their generosity and kindness I still cannot seem to fathom- but I am grateful everyday that the connection through humanity still exists- even if I had to travel 10,355 miles to see it- I have been forever changed by this trip to Australia, and I hope that every single time I go back, I will feel it all over again.

My first AFL game @ Etihad Stadium. I cannot believe the Aussies got my attention for sports- the ONLY sport on Earth I can tolerate :)

My friend and world traveler Paul walking down the funky alleyways of Brunswick

Hahaha, I couldn't resist taking this photo!

This was one of the coolest places I have EVER been to- the most authentic and original chocolate shop/cafe. Delectable beyond words- Coco LOCO beats EVERY other chocolate shop on EARTH!