Gauchos could be (and I think some English-speaking sources have) described as the equivalent of cowboys. That feels kind of disrespectful, I think. To my limited understanding since I mostly lived in a city, gauchos are people who tend to cattle and pasture in the grasslands of Argentina and Uruguay. This image and the rural esthetics bred […]
Month: December 2025
“La Suiza de América”
The circumstances that led to Montevideo’s birth are incredibly curious for a Spanish colony. It is all about land and military control. The Portuguese had settled east, founding a city called Colônia do Sacramento. I have been there briefly, and it is a lovely place to visit. Unlike the Spanish colonial cities with their rigid grid […]
Candid Campus; Blog #7
When I return to my sit spot this week, the seasonal shift is easy to notice. The air feels cooler, and the oak tree beside me has lost more leaves since my original drawing. The remaining leaves have changed from deep green to lighter yellows and browns, and more of the branches are visible. Fallen […]
Post #7: Final feliz!
I noticed the leaves falling very slowly. Many times there were branches a meter long with only three small leaves. For one of my posts, I made a drawing that showed the beautiful mix of green leaves and others already starting to turn golden, still strong even with the wind on a cloudy day in […]
#7: Emergency
So I lied–the previous post wasn’t my last one. I’m about to enter my final week in Geneva, and things have changed since I first came here. The first time I passed through Parc Barton was in late August, at an apéro to meet other students. I remember watching the sunset turn the sky pink […]
Post #6: I am the tree
Aix is the city of plane trees. Of course, Aix is the city of many things: water, fountains, Cézanne. But, in my opinion, plane trees represent all of these themes quite clearly and abundantly. They line all the main streets, noticeable immediately with their distinctive bark patterns. They surround my sit spot, throwing shade onto […]
Post #5: sans nature
It’s nearly winter now. We don’t get snow here, but it’s cold all the same. I’m shivering in my winter jacket, scarf wrapped tight around my neck as I write with bare hands. I hear the leaves rustle, those that still hang on to the tree while their friends litter the ground. I hear the […]
Legacy; Blog Post #5
When I close my eyes at my sit spot, I hear layers of sound–some loud and close, others softer and drifting from farther away. Footsteps, distant conversations, and the occasional car passing blend with quieter, more natural sounds like rustling leaves or the wind moving through the trees. Once I tune out the human noise, […]
Seasonal Shifts; Blog Post #6
When I return to my sit spot, the air feels colder now and the shift in season is easy to feel. If I try to embody one of the trees nearby, I imagine my feet planted firmly like roots and my arms stretching upward like branches adjusting to the colder weather. My spot would likely […]
#6: Sunset
It’s the last blog post, which means my time in Geneva is coming to an end! It’s also getting chillier, and the sun isn’t out as long, which makes getting up to run to my sit spot a bit of a drag. Still, after class yesterday, I grabbed my fleece-lined leggings and beanie, and headed […]