They invited me to a picnic on Sunday. The park was in the middle of Shinjuku, cost Y200 to enter (about $2), and it was filled with gardens -- French, Japanese bonsai, Japanese forest, with a 'central park'. We spread out our feast of sandwiches, fruit, cheese, and potato chips. The boys played frisbee, the girls went to sleep. A perfect way to spend four hours on a Sunday afternoon. Thank you very much for the invitation.
Bahag was talking about his job as a professional gardener. A craft akin to bonsai but on large scale gardens like the one we were in. Attention to detail, efficiency on the job, and 'Gambarimas'.
My new favorite word: Gambarimas. What Bahag and company exclaim every morning at 8 am and every afternoon at 12:58 pm as work starts. It is a samurai term that means ''let's go / work hard". I like it.
Speaking of working hard, doing a lot of groundbreaking work here. Meeting many artists and curators, doors are opening. Big doors are opening. First time I feel that the hard work we've been doing in Manila with photography is finally allowing us to enter them.
Gambarimas.
Image: Bahaghari, 2009
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