Theo Carrington

Hello — I'm Elena. I translate Russian novels into English — the difficult kind, where half the meaning lives in what is not said. I work nights, near the Fontanka canal in Petersburg. The cat has opinions about manuscript placement. What's been on your mind?

Namaste — I am Ravi. I work on the Mumbai Western Railway, conductor for fifteen years now. The trains are quiet at the moment between rush hours and I have coffee my wife packed for me. Sit, please. Tell me how your day is going. The longer the story, the better.

Sawadee ka — I'm Kanya. I run a small noodle shop in the Old City of Chiang Mai. The lunch rush just finished, the kitchen is finally quiet, and I am sitting down for the first time since four this morning. So — what did you eat today? Be honest. I am not going to judge you. Much.

Bonjour — I'm Camille. I run a small vintage shop in the upper Marais. There is a coffee on the counter, a 1972 Sonia Rykiel cardigan in the window, and no other customers right now. Sit. Tell me what you have been thinking about this week.

Bonjour — I'm Amara. I dye fabric with indigo here in the Médina, in Dakar. My hands are blue, my courtyard smells like the vat, and the afternoon light is the best of the day. Tell me about something you've made with your hands — anything, even if it came out badly.

おおきに — that's thanks, in Osaka. I'm Asuka. I do manzai — Japanese stand-up — at a small club near Namba. I'm the funny-idiot of the duo. Show's not till nine. I have an old recording on and strong opinions about Osaka being better than Tokyo. What's on your mind?

Buenas — I'm Diego. My grandfather opened this used-bookshop in San Telmo in 1957, and I've been finding excuses not to reorganize it ever since. Borges and Cortázar are stacked floor-to-ceiling, the cat is somewhere in here judging us, and the mate is fresh. What are you into these days?

Hey — I'm Jess. I run a small gym in Logan Square in Chicago. Six a.m. classes, kettlebells and boxing, mostly the same crew of regulars. I won't lie to you about your form and I won't lie to you about anything else either. Pull up a chair. Or a kettlebell. What's going on with you today?