Goodbye 2020
This year has been challenging for all of us, but we made it through. Just want to say how grateful I am to be healthy, to be alive; to have food on the table and a warm(ish) place to live; for technology allowing to be connected with the beautiful souls from all over the World; for knowing you guys and having your support.
Please stay healthy and strong, don’t lose hope and keep on dreaming! Love you all!
Sharing some festive season memories of the past:
2016, Jamaica. Christmas in the West is all about family gatherings, but not in the West Indies. At least, that’s the impression I’ve got: massive speakers on the streets, people are dancing everywhere, beach parties… I was staying in the Reggae Hostel in the downtown of Kingston. Are you crazy? This is the most dangerous part of Jamaica! Trench Town was frequently mentioned in Bob Marley’s songs and I wanted to get the first-hand experience. One of the most vivid memories was the Xmas tree at the Nelson Mandela Park. It was completely dry (did you ever leave your Christmas decorations till May? That was the state of the tree: crooked, golden-brown with branches pointing downwards). And people were ready to pay a small fee to take a picture next to it.
The hostel was organising a traditional Jamaican dinner, there were some local artists visiting us too. Later this evening we went to the Dub Club, located up in the mountains with the view over the whole Kingston. It would have been the most perfect day if not the news about George Michael’s death…
2017, Cuba. my heart melts every time I think about this country. The culture is so close to Russia motherland, but yet so different. On 31 December I was on the way to Havana from another side of the country and reached my hostel at 23:55! Here came midnight and all the neighbours started throwing buckets of water out of their doors and windows. Apparently, it is a Cuban tradition and symbolises washing away all the bad things of the year that is ending. People were dancing on the streets and the music choice was something that surprised me the most: Rasputin by Boney M. (those who grew up in the USSR know this song by heart as it was a Soviet anthem).
2018, Indonesia (Bali). I arrived to Ubud just before the start of an important Hindu festival called Galungan, a celebration of the victory of good over evil. There were hairy creatures (Barongs) paraded around the village, accompanied by heavy drumming. This festival marks the time when the ancestral spirits visit the Earth. I was so privileged to participate at the temple ceremony with the family of my homestay, they even dressed me in a traditional clothing and explained the meaning and traditions surrounding Galungan. Priceless experience it was.
2019, Ghana. The Year of Return and Afronation; jollof and Red Red… Kente textiles and the most elegant ladies. If I could teleport myself somewhere right now, Ghana would be that place.