Memories of a Coffee Farm 6
It was a quiet hour, when sunlight had only just begun to dissolve into the darkness and morning was barely perceptible. Yet the silence remained unchanged from the night before, still carrying something of midnight’s lingering scent. I felt an unnatural chill in my thighs. I had no idea how the other two found the temperature inside the truck, but I thought that if I simply sat still, the sensation would eventually subside. While I was still trying to make sense of it, the young man in denim...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 6
It was a quiet hour, when sunlight had only just begun to dissolve into the darkness and morning was barely perceptible. Yet the silence remained unchanged from the night before, still carrying something of midnight’s lingering scent. I felt an unnatural chill in my thighs. I had no idea how the other two found the temperature inside the truck, but I thought that if I simply sat still, the sensation would eventually subside. While I was still trying to make sense of it, the young man in denim...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 5
It was night outside. The Japanese man walking ahead turned only halfway back toward me. Even the Japanese entering my ears still sounded somehow like a foreign language. And yet the sound made it seem strangely remarkable that all the time I had spent getting here had somehow led to this place—even though, of course, there was no other way it could have turned out. After passing through the deep night road, we arrived at a building whose thickly whitewashed walls immediately stood out. It ap...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 5
It was night outside. The Japanese man walking ahead turned only halfway back toward me. Even the Japanese entering my ears still sounded somehow like a foreign language. And yet the sound made it seem strangely remarkable that all the time I had spent getting here had somehow led to this place—even though, of course, there was no other way it could have turned out. After passing through the deep night road, we arrived at a building whose thickly whitewashed walls immediately stood out. It ap...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 4
A little boy was laughing. I slowly closed again one of the eyes I had only barely opened. I had fallen asleep with the seat reclined halfway, and I could feel a prickling pain in the joints of my body. The boy was still laughing. His mouth was full of banana. His cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel’s, and because he had probably stuffed too much into his mouth, he looked as though he was about to spit it all out. Without thinking, I was looking at a device in my hand. It was the same thin...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 4
A little boy was laughing. I slowly closed again one of the eyes I had only barely opened. I had fallen asleep with the seat reclined halfway, and I could feel a prickling pain in the joints of my body. The boy was still laughing. His mouth was full of banana. His cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel’s, and because he had probably stuffed too much into his mouth, he looked as though he was about to spit it all out. Without thinking, I was looking at a device in my hand. It was the same thin...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 3
After using the spotless restroom, I noticed how thirsty I was, so I bought another bottle of water and a carton of brightly colored tropical juice from a kiosk. “Dollars!” The clerk said this when I handed over the bill. I could not tell whether she meant that local currency would have been preferable, or simply that dollars were fine. The casual circulation of several different currencies was something I could hardly understand from the common sense of the country where I had lived all my l...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 3
After using the spotless restroom, I noticed how thirsty I was, so I bought another bottle of water and a carton of brightly colored tropical juice from a kiosk. “Dollars!” The clerk said this when I handed over the bill. I could not tell whether she meant that local currency would have been preferable, or simply that dollars were fine. The casual circulation of several different currencies was something I could hardly understand from the common sense of the country where I had lived all my l...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 2
After passing through the heavy glass revolving doors of the hotel, I crossed the entrance hall and sat down in a velvet chair at the edge of the lobby. My body sank softly into it. I felt slightly dizzy and thought that perhaps I was simply tired. A high ceiling stretched above a molasses-colored carpet, and a huge wooden canoe was mounted on the wall. It had such a presence that it looked as though it might fall at any moment. Beside the scars on its hull, a map of the country stood out in ...
Memories of a Coffee Farm 2
After passing through the heavy glass revolving doors of the hotel, I crossed the entrance hall and sat down in a velvet chair at the edge of the lobby. My body sank softly into it. I felt slightly dizzy and thought that perhaps I was simply tired. A high ceiling stretched above a molasses-colored carpet, and a huge wooden canoe was mounted on the wall. It had such a presence that it looked as though it might fall at any moment. Beside the scars on its hull, a map of the country stood out in ...
