“Every year before Christmas I give a bit of my time to collect toys for poor kids that have limited chances to get a gift under the tree. Parents going to this toys store to buy their gifts, most of the time buy also for us.”
Diane is part of the California Highway patrol in Marin County, she is a very generous woman.
“One day I will buy a ranch in Montana, there will be a very long fence all over it, I will paint it in white, and I will spend my days seated on that fence, looking at the horses, like the one I had in France when I was younger. I will renovate the barn; I have always loved building houses and furniture. When we arrived from France 2 years ago we bought two cars, one truck F150 for me, a Jeep 4X4 for my wife.”
Francois travels all over the USA to sell a high technology cork to the best wineries; along with the boots, the Stetson hat, the truck, Francois is now realizing his dream of living the American life style, just like he dreamed of when he was a kid.
“Studying art led me to living in Europe, with such a rich culture life that existed long before America. You see it not just in the museums, education and sights, but in the way people interact as well. I love San Francisco because it reminds me of Europe, it is architecturally rich, people care about food, create art and cultivate relationships.
“In Europe I like how meals are long because people tell stories and hang out. I like wide boulevards and parks where people live a more public life. I like being surrounded by languages I don’t understand.
The US and SF are home though. They are comfortable because they are so familiar. Unlike in Europe, sometimes it is nice being able to speak to anyone and have some common ground; in San Francisco I love the variety, from hipsters to technerds, crazy downtown to the peaceful parks. There is every sort of ethnicity, each with their own food.”
Lucas is a young man dreaming of a world where creativity and artistic intuition are a part of daily life for everyone. “Art shouldn’t be something that is stored away in a collection or that requires a ticket to be seen or an education to understand. Everyone should be able to see it, and have an education that stresses its importance.”
I like Lucas’s vision of arts
” That woman came to my place the other day, he husband just had passed away and she wanted a tattoo to continue her life with him, this was weird but I was honored. For me tattooing is like creating art pieces that will stay for ever, or almost, art pieces that travel, move, unlike a painting on a wall for ever.”
Marama is a world famous tattooer. I was told by a customer in the waiting room that people come from all over the world to get tattooed by Marama, like Rihanna. But Marama is happy with his simple life, just one employee and this tiny cabin on the beach for office, he does not want a web site nor meet with the customers in their five star hotels on the lagoon, here in bora Bora. Marama is tattooed on only the left half of his body, he does not like chaos.
“I have two daughters, the first one is Kinimai (look for me ) and the second one’s name is Kawaiki, the flowing river. We gave her that name as we were living in a bamboo house near a river that we could hear flowing, this was very peacefull. I am a lucky man, every morning I pass by the school with the boat where my wife is a teacher, and she makes me signs like “go away, do not provoke me with your freedom.”
Shaq has been living in Bora Bora for fourteen years now. He is a tourist guide, he shows the tourists the bests snorkeling spots of the lagoon, dances with the rays and swims with the lemon sharks outside the coral reef. Shaq and his wife (from Switzerland) have a dream, go to the USA,; they have booked their trip for 2015, fifteen full days in Las Vegas…