Small things matter

A cat, my scooter Biene and the main street of Old Town
Romano reached the point where he was close to abandoning his plans to produce music and I was at my personal low last weekend. How did we get there in just two weeks?! There was no massive set back, it was the cumulation of a lot of things. Things keep piling up and then there's this one thing that pushes it over the edge - in this case it's the damn wind. We're working/producing/living here, determined to accomplish things, this is not just a holiday. But we were looking for an atmosphere that is more laid back than the life we have back home and that point (except this one weekend at the beach - good we did it!) doesn't really come. Resilience, optimism and beer, we're getting there.

I'm an appreciator of the small things in life. So a few days ago we started listing things we really like about living here right now and that helped a bit. I could tell you that I work my normal 9 - 5 job (or here: 2 - 11) and besides that try to do more sports and thinking. But here are a few things that make my life here fundamentally different from my life back home and that excite me:

* the pursuit of the best snack in town (we agreed on this chewy bun thingie with sesame on the outside and peanut butter on the inside)
* time to think and write a lot
* sunrise and sunset at the ocean
* slow life in Old Town
* a mango shake with a dash of lime
* the sound of the ocean at any given time
* fairy lights

Also high on the list:


That fanny packs can be a fashion item.

We have pets, or that's what I call them. There's a chameleon living somewhere around my bathroom and it's sitting in the corner quietly from time to time. There's also this frog, who hops along the veranda ever so often. Or the "AH OOOH" bird you hear in the bushes at night. And the chickens running around everywhere. And my favorite café has the most adorable kitten. And cows and goats next to the street. Also, monkeys!

See that 7/11 sign there? Source of all good, food and emergency shopping. It's like the light at the of the tunnel if you approach it at night.

Streets - because learning to ride scooters on streets like this sure is a challenge.