100 Strangers Project - 32/100 /  by Michael Pung

Gerardo moved to London over a year ago to look for work. At the time, it was a huge move since this was his first time out of Italy.  

Many of his hours are filled with work as a sous chef in west London and although busy; he appreciates the value of hard work.  He hopes to move to Australia next year and work somewhere remote, where he can take a step back and appreciate the simpler things in life.

He has a considerable admiration for rugby:  "I like it, It's a spiritual sport. There's always a good team spirit.  I played it back at school for four years.  It's a game where you really need to trust your team."  

Unluckily, his time playing it was cut short from injury, "After, I broke three bones right here," he said pointing to his collar bone, "I stopped playing because I didn't feel the same (after recovering)."

We chatted about who were some of the important people in his life and he exclaimed, "In Italy, we have a saying, 'We have just one woman in your life, it is your mother."

Thank you Gerardo for taking part in the project!



100 Strangers Project - 31/100 /  by Michael Pung

A little while back, Arthur spent some time living in the Czech Republic.  His plan was to spend three years living in Prague after receiving an inheritance.  And although he did not have the travel bug, he adored the architecture.  Unfortunately, he only spent a year living there after he discovered how  difficult it was to learn the language. He made the trip for philosophical reasons.

"Everyone has a philosophy, it's the balance of their mind, body and spirit," he explained after sipping his coffee.

 "Are you from New Zealand?" he enquired detecting my accent. When I told him that I was from Australia he said that his old boss was from there. They didn't get along. 

 "He used to finish almost every sentence with the phrase 'cool bananas."

Arthur comes from north London and was taking a coffee break while he was out shopping for his mother's birthday present. "I don't know what to get her," he exclaimed.  "It's always difficult to know what to get for a loved one."

Thank you for taking part in the project and I hope you found the present!



100 Strangers Project - 30/100 /  by Michael Pung

On a chilly, Sunday afternoon in Hyde Park, I came across a man who performed freestyle football on a footpath.  Practicing his skills, he juggled the ball with expert control and balanced it on his head.  After all, he used to play football professionally.

Stef was born and raised in south-east London by an Irish mother and a Trinidadian father.  His parents endured through a tough time due to the stigma on interracial relationships around the period he was born.  He has strong views when it comes to the topic of racism and tolerance, although is optimistic about the future through the younger generation.

"London was built on immigration," he stated.

"The younger generation, they are making a difference and things are changing."

Stef likes to stay fit and in addition to practicing his skills, he rides his bicycle; something he has been doing since he was 4 years old.  And although passionate about fitness, he simply does it out of enjoyment.

I enjoyed our chat, but by the time I got to taking the last photo, the sky became very dark.  He said that he had to get going, so I gave him my business card.  This was when he admitted that he's not one to worry about the internet too much and also doesn't bother with Facebook or iPhones, but despite the fact, he said he may check out my site when he gets the chance.  

Hope you enjoy the photos and thank you for taking part in the project Stef!

Stef


100 Strangers Project - 29/100 /  by Michael Pung

Mollie and Jayden

I was on my way to a catchup with a couple of my friends, when I met Jayden and Mollie. I was taking photos near Westminster Chapel when I spotted them sitting in front of the blue doors.  Jayden waved when I took a photo in their direction (I missed that shot though!) and then I approached them.

They are both college students studying in Kent.  Mollie is studying Fashion and Jayden is studying Sports science.  When it comes to football, Mollie is a Middlesborough fan and Jayden follows Arsenal.  They met through a mutual friend in college.

Jayden is passionate about football and used to play as a defender.  He now coaches his own side.  

Mollie's passion is in her field of study and she hopes to one day live in either Paris and pursue her dream of working in the fashion industry, but also harbours another dream of moving to California and take up surfing.

I enjoyed our brief encounter and wish you both all the best.  Thanks for taking part in my project!

100 Strangers Project - 27/100 /  by Michael Pung

Finding a new home. From Left to right: Anas, Oula, Sumaia, Bassam and Rama.

Traveling brings opportunities to meet new people.  From travellers to locals, I'm interested in meeting everyone.  Through my time in Turkey, I have been fortunate enough to encounter a variety of amazing individuals.  Among those were a few that I met in a humble hostel dorm within the city of Izmir, on the Turkish west coast.

Some weeks ago, I met a family of five who have been traveling since 2013 from their hometown of Damascus, Syria.  Sumaia and Bassam were traveling with their two daughters: Rama and Oula and their son in law: Anas.  They told me that one day, they arrived home from a trip to Egypt to discover that their house was ransacked and have since been on a journey to find a new home for themselves.  That's when they made the painstaking decision to leave their home to find somewhere new to live.  Through the last two years, the family have moved around Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.  And now they are in the process of making the long journey to Germany.

Sumaia and Bassam

Anas and Oula

Making the trip to Germany isn't an easy trip as they would have to take a boat from Bodrum to Greece and then pass through the borders of Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and then finally into the land of their choice, where their two other daughters are living.  

Rama

The youngest daughter, Rama recalled a time when she was stuck in school during a siege.  She witnessed her friend and her friend's father being shot at and had to stay under a desk in the classroom for 6 hours.  She thanked her teacher for keeping her safe throughout the ordeal and helping her escape to safety.  Though, despite all that has happened to her and her family, she's looking forward to finishing her studies and wants to someday work for the Secret Service.

"My mum said one day I'll wake up and find out that this is a dream." said Rama.

Oula described their homeland as place of beauty and up until the war, everything was safe.  They hope to eventually stay in a country for a long time.

From the time I met them, I recognised a warmth and a sense of optimism and recently, I have learned that they have just gotten into Germany to start a new chapter in their lives.  Thank you for letting me hear your story and I hope things all go well in your new home.

On their way

100 Strangers Project - 26/100 /  by Michael Pung

"I'm meeting a friend here for professional help."

Those were the words Van uttered to me when I inquired about his style and his hair.  Up until last year, Van had enjoyed possessing a copious amount of hair on his scalp when he realised that he was losing it at a rapid rate.  As it turns out, the prognosis was that it was damaged from the braids that he had last year.  This was why he was outside Shoreditch High Street Station the day that I met him, waiting for a friend to take him to a hair specialist to save his hair and perhaps even reverse the damage that has been done.

Regardless of the situation with his hair though, I thought that Van still had a striking look to him.  He exclaimed to that he started growing his beard to balance out his hair loss. 

I was on my way to my own hair appointment that day and fortunately for me, it was for less dire reasons. Van's predicament really made me think about how lucky I am with my hair and made me realise how important it is to look after your hair.  

Thanks for taking part in the project Van and hope things went well with the appointment!

100 Strangers Project - 25/100 /  by Michael Pung

I was out on a picnic with friends watching over the London Skyline at Primrose Hill when my friend Emma exclaimed that she's found the next stranger for my project!  The individual, who would later become my next stranger, was a man who had just finished running up and down the steep hill not too far from us.  He must have done the trek at least 5 times.

Kitted out in his Chelsea Football team gear and despite being exhausted from his run, he agreed to take part in the project.  His name was Darius and his companion: Tessa.  He indicated that she was a crossbreed between a German shepherd and a collie- he then went on to explain how simple it was to train her (they are among the top 3 smartest dog breeds after all!).  He named her after Tess of the d'Urbervilles who is a character from the titular Thomas Hardy novel.  Curiously, I asked him about the inspiration for her name and he explained to me that she was a strong, young female lead.

Darius stated that he runs his own IT company which in part was due to inspiration from his father who also works in the industry.  He then went on to say:

"I got into the University of London at 18. To do a foundation course and later a BA in art direction, with the idea of getting into the fashion industry.  But I sort of weighed up the options and it was during the time that the iPhone was becoming a real success. It was the rise of Apple again after years of Microsoft domination. And I sort of thought I could combine my art experience and my knowledge of programming to take advantage of the market at that point.  I started a company then that did mobile app design and 5 years later, it's quite a big success... It was a manner of luck with how early I entered the market and with a couple of lucky deals I did early on, it gave me some sort of footing."

We also spoke about a few other things such as about how he is passions (he listed, among other things: sports, old philosophers, video games and animals), football and about the fact that he sees cats as ornaments.

Thank you Darius for being a part of the project!