This seems silly, but being abroad has made me realize that there’s over 8 billion simultaneous experiences in an endless number of places; this came after basking in the sunshine on a particularly nice day in Dunedin, and remembering that back home in Wellesley, the lake has frozen over. I read Michelle Maheu’s email about Lake Waban, and laughed at idea of having a frozen lake near me to even walk on. My friends back home are living in 30 degree temperatures, while I am in a warm 60 degree climate (sorry guys).

Sitting here, I hear the Water of Leith river flowing quickly, rushing over rocks and plants; the sun shines into it, and at times it seems like the water sparkles with a vitality that Lake Waban will only see in a couple months’ time. The Water of Leith is not very deep, and yet the edge of the water is teeming with life. There are several types of plants growing along the sides. Unfortunately, I cannot get close enough to look it up on iNaturalist or Google, so I can only wonder what these types of plants are. I also wonder how long they’ve been there, and if people from a hundred years ago saw the same sorts of plants in the water that I see. It’s funny to think about how this river has and will outlive me; it somehow transcends time yet is just as subject to time as I am. There are several ducks enjoying themselves in the water. I imagine it’s cooling, given that it’s also a particularly hot and humid day.

Water of Leith is one of the many rivers running through cities like Dunedin that I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. Considering that Dunedin doesn’t experience such extreme temperature fluctuations with the season changing like in Boston, I want to think that the river itself also has not experienced drastic changes; however, the water level of the river was much higher after a flooding event in October of last year. I don’t have the capacity to give a scientific reasoning, but I find it amazing that these natural systems have the capacity to recover and bounce back from disastrous events. It reminds me of the chemical systems that I study, and I shake my fist at how I have come back to the realization that everything is connected.