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Awkward Conversations with Burnzy

And some of them in Spanish!

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Feliz Cumpleaños: The Legend of Peru

It’s my second birthday in Peru. Getting sick after? I must be getting old.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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I used to live here for a year, working full time with the homeless. But that was 10 years ago. Coming back from an 18 month adventure in Peru, I saw everything differently. Had it all changed, or was I more aware of the Mandarin also spoken on the train, the Vienamese bakeries, and the small asian restaurants on the street like the little Peruvian menus in Lima. In a nearby suburb, the national paper told me, an electoral debate was held in mandarin. At the same time, the Australian flags on the colonial buildings felt in your face, as if forcing me to remember where I am. I am excited at all the unique flavours, but scared too that everyone flashed ahead of me. This is the literary capital of Australia, and I'm not quite sure how I fit into it anymore. It all seems faster, more competitive, a new generation leading but playing by different rules.

Just a regular at a #Melbournecbd park bench near parliament, reading a newspaper amd watching the awkward married couple getting their formal photography done by a fountain. Also...selfie.

Melbourne: new and different. old and worn. Old gen. New gen. Shoved together.

#aussie animals....and Mum versus an #ostrich #kangaroos, #koalas #cockatoos Suddemly I notice that all the birds calling "hello!" have a very strong Aussie accent

Feeding ol mate #kangaroo!

Found my old #pokemonpearl game file 😅 241 hours on one game!!!

I went to Grandma's place and found the boxes of stuff I stored. Amd what a treasure trove! My sonic screwdriver, the Gryffindor scarf mum knitted, old books, journals, xbox and #DS games, school relics, photos of my family, and even the only copy of the short story I had published in the now non existing #wetink magazine.

Not going to give up. Being #bilingual is so important.

Gazing and cycling.

Cycling with #quokkas

Young love (I think). #quokkaisland

CAUTION: never do a Tim Tam slam one handed.

Friendly faces reminding me to go to la isla de las quokkas

I remember the guy on the left, wearing a hat (RIP Brixton). I had no idea how long I would be in Peru. I thought there was a good chance I might not even return to Australia. 17 months later at the Sydney International. In between there has been great times, scary moments, sadness, loneliness, frustration, love. #Peru is a place of extremes. Photos capture a moment. They don't represent the gaps in between. I don't think people will understand or get that. But after talking to a mentor who embraces weightlifting in his 60s, I realised...I went to Peru for myself. I didn't do it for others.

So I am reading a book about a journalist who worked 20 yrs in Peru, and in it she says she was at this cafe-bar during one of many bombings that happened in the early 90s. History is a collection of stories, and there are stories about every place we walk past. (In hindsight i should say the bombing didn't happen here. She heard it here."

Hola #converse , I bought you from my first #paycheck in #Peru and it had nothing to do with your matching colours to the white and red stripes. We have gone on some cool adventures together. Adios.

Goodbye #Trujillo. You've been orright, ay!

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