“ It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.” [Rachel Carson]
A few days ago I was on my way from a short trip to Niagara Falls, and the drive back was one I just can't possibly forget. From getting a speeding ticket for an amount that I would rather not share at this time, to having an on-coming car driving in the wrong lane I thought I'd seen it all.
Although the ticket was produced not even 1hour after I began the 5hour journey, I tried not to let it predetermine the remainder of the trip.
With that being said the next stop I gave up the drivers seat, and by this time a few hours had passed and I finally calmed my nerves about the horrendous ticket. Drinking in the scenery as passenger in our expedition I checked out others trekking along. Now about two hours away from home I spotted this wicked colored transport.
As usually look up to see the driver for no particular reason, and as we pass the neon bright purple and turquoise truck I noticed a sign taped to his window, and quickly read it- "Show me your Hooters!". I quickly grab my camera and snap a shot, the second one you can actually see his face looking at me...a little disappoint might I add. heehee
I never saw this before, but I am sure it happens quite often without the sign.
Less than an hour had passed and no sooner did we just get over the laughter from the dissatisfied trucker we ran into another bewildered moment. At this point in our drive we're commuting on a double lane highway that is now split from on coming traffic, as it is separated by a strip of land of about 20-30 feet wide or so.
All of a sudden, around the bend I can see a set of lights, but I refuse to admit what I am seeing. There's an on-coming car driving down in the passing lane.. on our side of the highway. How is this possible?! [honk!] We're honking for the person' attention, but being as prudent as possible so we pull off the road away from him. Still driving, but slower.
Whoa! That was so close, and I can't believe he didn't notice that there was another road going in the same direction on the other side of a strip of land.We figured that he must have been driving down for at least 20minutes from the next rest stop and got confused coming out, as it would have been stationed to his right.
In any case, I heard nothing on the news in result to it, and the remainder of our trip was pretty much standard.
This little French girl is being called Amelie Jr., and if you take a moment to listen you'll see she is wondrously creative and a fantastic story teller.
She has an extended amount of words and uses such genuine expression.
Not only is this video ridiculously charming, but it's just as imaginative as the movie about Amelie Poulain.
Just a quick note to announce my departure time from Canada. I have exactly 4 weeks left before I leave for South Korea. I received a confirmation this morning notifying me that there is a position in Busan, South Korea saved for me.
Today I have signed the contract for the school, and I sent off the paper work needed to apply for my E-2 visa. They expect me to be there working by the 18th, or 19th of December. From my understanding, I will start to work during their winter break session, and they will have extra classes during this time.
The recruiter for the school noted that I will have a schedule from early afternoon to early evening, and once I have been working for a few months she said they may offer me extra class hours. I'll be working with elementary and middle school children, and my contract is a year long.
I'm really ecstatic about traveling over and meandering on my own. I can't wait to see old friends like Jonesey, Lou,& Danyelle. It will be extraordinary.
I'm a little preoccupied in rearranging to plans for South Korea. Last week was one disaster after the next, and this week has not been quite as brutal but negatively discerning nonetheless.
Last week was the result of having to find and apply for another teaching position, for the original school that I applied with no longer can afford a foreign teacher. Happily, my friend Jonesy picked up my documents so that I could apply elsewhere, but to my dismay the second school that I chose decided to go with someone else. Still in limbo...
So, another week has come and gone, and I find myself in almost the same predicament as the week before. I'm not overly disappointed, but getting tired of this conundrum I now call my life.
I had a dream several weeks ago, and in this dream I kept tripping on these high heeled shoes I was wearing. Asides from the fact that I don't do high heels, my tripping could have just signified my sheer clumsiness, but something was telling me otherwise. [I never did fall, but I kept 'almost' tripping.]
In reality, this past month I felt that I was caught in this alternate world, and where I felt as though the life I was leading was moving in slow motion. As though I was suppose to just stay sat and think about...not thinking.
This feeling created a moment where I felt pulled under, and yet I didn't feel like I should struggle to come back up. I don't mean in a depressed sense, more or less I felt pulled back, but not to a point where I felt helpless. In hindsight, I felt as though I was to take in a deep and long breath of air. I still think that is the case.
I'm just sat here trying to appreciate this free time, and although I did take the time to be around family members and the few of those I've developed a profound and loving relationship with, I am still feeling a sense of being at a loss...a sense of losing....something.
This is also a bitter sweet feeling, too. It's a moment I've been waiting for for as long as I can remember. hehe I think sometimes it physically spawned from the time my mother took me on an 'oldies, but goodies' tour bus. On our way to New York City just us three ladies. I was one of the 4 youngest people there; yet, I was there by choice and was quite happy being surrounded by babyboomers. hehe That was a year ago and couple months today- give or take.
Definitely good times had by all. There was something about being a tourist in a place where you can just explore a different way of living. This reminds me of a story of when we first arrived in NYC we were dropped off in Times Square. For the first time the tour guide ever did this, he and the driver dropped us without a tour guide. We're all starved and head in all directions with who we came with. My mother, her friend and I proceed to drink in this busy, hectic and crazy atmosphere looking for a place to eat.
hee I can't stop laughing every time I think about it..who does this? Anyway, as we're about to cross Broadway and Seventh Avenue I spotted Him. Only in NYC you can find one such man as demented as Him; The Naked Cowboy.
Sorely, I had this grin, only because I thought; 'Man, I saw this guy on t.v. and of all things I get to see him.' Of course, I proceeded to the middle of the cross between both streets to have my poor mother and her friend become assaulted by Him, as he grabs their behinds for a photograph. [still laughing] Mind you, there were plenty of monumental sites that we went to visit, and it was fun being the tourist, but I had enough after 4 days in a city where I couldn't look up to the sky without seeing sky scrapper after sky scrapper. In fact, I don't think there was much room for the sky...I was getting nauseated, it was rather too claustrophobic for me.
What's more, is that in traveling to places that require you to almost become these people gives you a greater sense of gaining perspective on their own 'survival' if you will. When I was in that city there was something inside of me wanted that wanted more. Something appealed to me from within and wanted to explore greater things. My eyes wanted to see individuality and see its unity on this fine planet we live on. My heart wanted to feel individuality and feel its consequences of actions, good and bad. My ears and my hands wanted to know individuality is what's real, and to see, feel, and hear its stories, songs, smiles, laughter, touches, and its eyes. For it's in these few things is how we can see how individuality is projected in light of our own reality.
Regardless, that's what creates my world, and I need to explore all my sense to the extreem. The world is my play ground and I haven't even begun to meander along the furtherest of landscapes. I'm really ecstatic because I truly feel it's my time.
My Time.
Kind of like the sounds of that.
I'll try and keep an update as to my whereabouts, and basically catch up in the blogsphere!
I drove my friend to work the other evening, and I could not resist but take my camera out and snap a few pictures of the sun setting- I'm sure glad I did.
Here are a few that I would like to share.
Afterward, I drove down by the lake to catch a few more pictures from the waterfront.
Of course, by the time I was done taking these pictures the night had fallen upon me. In the past I have attempted taking a picture of the moon on several occasions and I was unsuccessful in doing so.. That was true until now. I was finally semi-successful in shooting a decent picture of the moon's surface.
I still can't get over how close of a shot I got, and now I can't wait to purchase an actual zoom lens. Unfortunately, you can't zoom up on this photo, but if you could- and I'm sure you can still see it from this size- the craters are quite visible.
