おはよう (Ohayoo), Japan

(Photographer's Note: Due to unavoidable circumstances, this post was not published last year as initially planned. Apologies to K&M...)

Japan... a land of contrasts, where modern and tradition co-exist with seamless ease, where people bow in greeting while toting the latest technology in their pockets, where you might see a kimono-clad person walking side-by-side someone in avant-garde, almost anime-like fashion. And so, if Japan is a land of contrasts, then my friend, Kyoko, is the quintessential Japanese. She is traditional in the sense that she has high regard for custom, possesses an incredible work ethic that the Japanese are famous for and is a stickler for proper social etiquette (in Japan anyway... Hey, no PDA in front of the parents!), but quite unconventional in her choices in life. Kyoko took Shakespeare/English lit in college, had previously lived and studied in Spain, worked in a Brazilian bank (where she learned a bit of Portuguese too), and is now married to a Peruvian named Miguel.

A common tomodachi (friend) introduced Kyoko and Miguel at a small gathering. Miguel said that he was pleasantly shocked by the fact that not only could this pretty Japonesa speak Spanish, but also that she does it really well, and that she's able to utter those palabrotas (swearwords) as well as any Spanish-speaking person here, there and everywhere could, must have impressed him (and endeared her to him) ‘cause he never let her out of his sight after that meeting. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Kyoko wanted Miguel to experience Spain, so they used the few vacation days that their busy working sked would allow. They were able to squeeze in a super-short photo session with me and we chose Plaza de Oriente for the shoot. After an encounter with some very persistent Chinese people doing massages (Miguel wanted to get a massage, and he did, Kyoko didn’t but relented after being pulled to a chair by the Chino) and having a brief spat about being charged way too much, we happily snapped some photos…

Doomo arigatoo gozaimasu, Kyoko & Miguel - That’s one of the five things I remember from Japanese class ;-P - for the amazing albeit short time we got to spend together. See you back in Madrid soon!