Solitude is Green

Still trying out this new-fangled camera. Thanks Hannah H. for sending me a recent copy of Marie Claire! My favorite magazine and one that is a special treat from the States. That, and Skittles - yum!

I went on 3-hour bike ride today. A river runs near my neighborhood, three bus stops down from where I live. I had walked down there before, but today I rode all the way to the end of the path. I ended up somewhere...not sure where, but poverty was prevalent. It was strange realizing that people actually lived there. I didn't snap any photos. I thought that might be pretentious. "Ooh, look at me, fancy foreigner, with my fancy camera, taking pictures of you like you're some tourist attraction." But National Geographic does it all the time and calls it art. Hmm...

Mosaics under the bridge

Behind the weeping willow are apartment buildings under construction. Renovations are constantly being done in this city.

I couldn't pass up this exotic wild flower. I've never seen anything like it in N.C.!

Because it's all about being happy where you are.

I started finding numbers painted everywhere and got a little shutter-happy.

My friend, the egret, who joined me as I was reading on a rock at the river. 

Alright, please don't judge me. Having been homeschooled, I was not required to do the normal reading that everyone else was in school. I learned as I pleased. I don't feel deprived of anything that people who went to school experienced. Contrary to popular condemnation, homeschoolers do interact with others and are not locked away in closets. However, some find rice cakes tasty, and others gravitate towards baggy, Godly, blue-jean jumpers and long ropes of braids down their backs. 

I digress. Back to school: my mother didn't force me to pick up the "classics" and write endless essays on themes, motifs and whatnot ...so I didn't. I've never read  Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, 1984, Brave New World, Catcher in the Rye - you name it and I probably haven't touched it. Now, with my recent living situation, with fewer social responsibilities, I'm finding that I have more time to devote to reading! There's a tiny foreigner library downtown that carries many of the titles my knowledge repertoire has been lacking. Here we go!

Perhaps you can see the outline of a person squatting. Under the bridge were many older men and women napping, playing cards, chatting, resting with their bikes or walking sticks. It was a lazy kind of day and the coolness from under the bridge was a welcome reprieve.

I really enjoy being down near the water and green things. I'm beginning to realize how much I love nature. It wasn't until I moved to the city did I find myself craving fresh air and nature. Maybe someday I'll live in the mountains somewhere...