Postcards From Croatia

At the Wing East complex, Shinagawa Prince Hotel, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
From left to right: Salvador, Ana, Francis (in back), Yours Truly, John (just the hand), Nik and John.

Received a bunch of photos over the weekend from Croatian Barista Champion Nik Orosi from our trip to Tokyo this summer. Well, they were mostly photos of Ana and me - okay, they were only of Ana and me, which was very cool. It's interesting to see pictures of yourselves together that you haven't seen before. Reminds me of certain things that happened and brings back the best memories.

While I won't be sharing any of those with you, the Gentle Readers, I thought I would share this group shot on our last night together in Japan. This was taken before the World Barista Championship Barista Party (I can tell because everyone looks sober). We had spent the last five days together and formed new friendships. By morning, everyone would be getting ready to leave Japan and would be heading back to our lives.

There's a special bond of camaraderie that comes from waging war for a common goal. Each barista champion (and their coaches) wanted to win the title and each of them worked very hard in their attempt. None of them came home with the world crown but I thnk we came away with something more: friendships.

Viewing this photo is a bit melancholy for me because chances are that all of us will never be together as a group ever again in our lives. It was just this one moment in time that we would share as a group of friends.