As this is my first post, I guess I should say welcome! Thanks for giving this a read, whoever you are. Most likely, hello friend/family member, and I miss you dearly.
So, why this blog?
Who: Me, Michelle
What: About six months of working, studying, and living internationally
When: June to December 2014 Where: Rhode Island, Iceland, The Netherlands, Slovenia (and surrounding countries), California, Vietnam, Morocco, Bolivia
Why: Because the chance to do all this was there and the time is now.
Carpe-ing these diems so hard.
The name was inspired by 1) the fact that I like birds 2) more specifically, the feeling you get when you see something delightfully unexpected, like an uncommon bird. Sparrows and blackbirds become common sights, but once in a while, a stellar jay or yellow warbler might show up. At least for me, childlike joy is a good phrase to describe the reaction to these appearances - but I'm probably just easily excited. I can still remember the first times I’ve seen cardinals in both the springs I’ve spent here in New England (2012 – from the basement of the library over spring break, 2013 – walking home from the mail room).
Back home in California, there would always be the following routine: sight a colorful bird in our backyard from our kitchen, freeze, loud-whisper into the other room, “MOOOOOM LOOK LOOK LOOK”, wait for the mad dash for the camera, spend a good ten minutes staring out the window on my end; find new angles to shoot from on hers. Probably a quarter of the photos on our computer are of family vacations, and another quarter of birds.
Not to get too flowery on you now, but it's appealing, the thought of living bundles of feathers flying around, blissfully unaware of the thoughts and emotions that they stir behind the human gaze. Unaware that many buy guidebooks and gear and travel the world to get a look at them, devoting their free time to the discovery of different varieties of these feather-bundles.
But I’m no birder. I don’t know what to expect from this year. I know there are more birds than I can possibly name out there, but I figure I’ll identify them after I see them rather than before. I’ll let the experiences sing for themselves before I give them names. And when I do name them, I'll write about them on here and tell their stories to family and friends so I can remember their sounds, smells, tastes, sights.
Here’s to an unprecedentedly adventurous year.
So, why this blog?
Who: Me, Michelle
What: About six months of working, studying, and living internationally
When: June to December 2014 Where: Rhode Island, Iceland, The Netherlands, Slovenia (and surrounding countries), California, Vietnam, Morocco, Bolivia
Why: Because the chance to do all this was there and the time is now.
Carpe-ing these diems so hard.
The name was inspired by 1) the fact that I like birds 2) more specifically, the feeling you get when you see something delightfully unexpected, like an uncommon bird. Sparrows and blackbirds become common sights, but once in a while, a stellar jay or yellow warbler might show up. At least for me, childlike joy is a good phrase to describe the reaction to these appearances - but I'm probably just easily excited. I can still remember the first times I’ve seen cardinals in both the springs I’ve spent here in New England (2012 – from the basement of the library over spring break, 2013 – walking home from the mail room).
Back home in California, there would always be the following routine: sight a colorful bird in our backyard from our kitchen, freeze, loud-whisper into the other room, “MOOOOOM LOOK LOOK LOOK”, wait for the mad dash for the camera, spend a good ten minutes staring out the window on my end; find new angles to shoot from on hers. Probably a quarter of the photos on our computer are of family vacations, and another quarter of birds.
Not to get too flowery on you now, but it's appealing, the thought of living bundles of feathers flying around, blissfully unaware of the thoughts and emotions that they stir behind the human gaze. Unaware that many buy guidebooks and gear and travel the world to get a look at them, devoting their free time to the discovery of different varieties of these feather-bundles.
But I’m no birder. I don’t know what to expect from this year. I know there are more birds than I can possibly name out there, but I figure I’ll identify them after I see them rather than before. I’ll let the experiences sing for themselves before I give them names. And when I do name them, I'll write about them on here and tell their stories to family and friends so I can remember their sounds, smells, tastes, sights.
Here’s to an unprecedentedly adventurous year.
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