We Dream #1 : Anna PolakKrasnoyarsk, Siberia Russia
“Life is short, you must enjoy good food.”
Age: 26Occupation: Formerly a journalist in Russia, but now studies the Korean language and Food Management in South KoreaFavorite Habit: Eating good food and drinking dry red wine.Favorite Food: Meat and savory baked goodsParent’s Occupation: Restaurant ownersChildhood Dream: To be an animal doctor
When I met Anna for our interview, I immediately noticed her bright eyes and effortless sophistication. She is a women with many passions, interests and with a vision. She comes from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, the third largest city in Siberia, with a population of almost one million people. After she graduating, she worked as a journalist. Yet after just two years at a Russian newspaper, the work lost it’s thrill, and she felt that she needed to look for something more. Her friends suggested that she learn a new language, something Asian, because she loved Japanese culture. She took their advice and started a Korean language course. A few weeks into the course, she learned that her professor was going to South Korea for 2 weeks, and invited her to come. She went, and she immediately was enchanted by the country.She loved it so much that she moved to South Korea to study its language and get a degree in food management. She will be live in Korea for five years.When I asked her what her dreams are in the 10 to 15 years of life, Anna's eyes grow brighter and brighter. She has many dreams, and they stem from her priorities: family and her belief in tolerance.Why tolerance? I ask. Because when you have tolerance, you don’t have to hate people, she said.She explains that when she was young her father left her family, and she didn't meet him again until she was 16 years old. When she met him again, she asked him why he had left and never contacted her. He couldn't explain it, she said. This hurt her, and every time that she was around he father she would feel sad."I hate feeling sad. I don’t want to be sad when I’m with my father; I don’t want to cry," she said.So Anna decided that she must learn to understand and tolerate him so that they could be friends. Regardless of what he had done, he was still her father, she said.This principle guides her not only in her family relationships, but even with strangers who are rude or unkind to her. She says that she tries to find tolerance and understanding for everyone, and not care about their opinions, so that they won’t effect her day or life. And I think this is the wisdom which allows her to dream so freely.What are her dreams, you ask? Well, let's see.....In the future, Anna sees herself as a farmer and a restaurant owner in New Zealand or somewhere similar She wants to live in a two-story house with farmland, 3 children, 2 boys and a girl, and having a chef husband. "He doesn’t need to be beautiful just have a strong body and mind," she said.Her restaurant will have simple food, she says, but have spectacular ambiance."Atmosphere is important," she says while taking a moment to look upward, as if she is envisioning the details her spectacular future restaurant.Anna goes on to explain why atmosphere is vital."Why does ok food, eaten at a friends house taste soooo good?" she asks. "because you’re surrounded by people you love in a familiar, comfortable atmosphere. This is why good food can taste great."So if you're in New Zealand in the next 10-15 years look Anna up, she will for sure have the most delicious of restaurants on the island.Here are a few images from a photography shoot that I did with the lovely Anna Polak. She’s could be a movie actress, couldn’t she?
I just got back from a lovely weekend in Laos with my dear Canadian friend Dave. He treated me to the best fruit smoothies in all of the land and let me crash in his fancy guest bedroom and sleep in for hours and hours. My bus-weary body thanks him so very much! This picture was taken while exploring the Mekong Riverside one evening.
