I am posting this blog about a month after I wrote it (and so these observations are from March), as well as the photos! I am excited to show the changes as we are finally getting through April, and into May. As I’m sitting, my “roots” encounter dry earth, pigeons, cigarette butts, and fresh daises […]
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Water and Energy
In South Africa, approximately 85 percent, or 42,000 MW, of the nation’s electricity is generated via coal-fired power stations. Burning coal is harmful to the environment in many ways. Burning coal in power plants emits hazardous outdoor air pollutants: particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, mercury, arsenic, and various other heavy metals. Despite […]
#2: Market Day
The sights, smells, and sounds were very different in the park today than when I last went. Fridays and Saturdays there tends to be a big market in the piazza adjourning, which also stretches up along the park. Closing my eyes, I hear viral Tik Tok songs, smell fried food, car exhaust, and rain, and […]
Gatinhos in Brazil #2
As I find myself in a place foreign to me, I ponder the many versions of me that could have existed. My sit spot in front of the tangled tree is home to a black cat whose meow is high-pitched and scratchy. I find it silly that, more than likely, this cat is more fluent […]
#1: In Bologna!
The sit spot I decided on is on my way to class, Parco della Montagnola. Italian cities are pretty paved over – there is very little greenery – and so this is the most natural space I was able to find. From my dormitory, the walk is shaped like an L, with the park at […]
6: Art, Literature, & Media
I ended up climbing a tree while my friends were visiting – a tree perfect for climbing, horizontal and with a trunk almost flat over the water. My friend ended up climbing way high into the tree, while I stayed back, looking at the roots and the water pooling around the edge. I started to […]
Week 6: Cézanne
The memory of Paul Cézanne looms omnipresent in Aix-en-Provence. The impressionist and cubist painter was born and raised in Aix and died in his studio here. The city is infinitely proud to have been the lifelong-home of this much celebrated painter, and they continue to admire him. He represented the landscape, the light, and the […]
3: Roots and Energy!
It was very rainy and very chilly. However, being able to stand and hear the rain was a really lovely experience. My roots encounter: cold ground on a physical level, a bit wet, the chill leaking through my soles. I am wondering what the plants and trees are doing, rooted into the cold ground. Are […]
Prompt 4: Local & Climate Change
I’ll start with some unfortunate news… construction has gotten a little too busy right next to my sit spot, and I’m forced to find another. I’ve been thinking about a place near a patch of bougainvillea trees on campus! It’s near the front of campus, so loads of students pass under them every day. I […]
Week 3: Roman Roots
Thinking about the subject of water in Aix-en-Provence is especially pertinent to the city’s history and the general history of modern civilization. In the first century BCE, modern-day Aix was under the control of the Roman Empire. They founded a city here named Aquae Sextiae, which is where the word “Aix” comes from in the […]