2/25/12
It is strange being so isolated from
the world around me. While biking, I was passing through towns and
cities, sometimes a dozen a day, taking in billboards and bus
advertisements, passing TVs in bars and retail stores, chatting with
people plugged into an ever more electronically connected world. I
am now living in a camp in the woods, which I have left only a
handful of times in 2 weeks, and even then, only to purchase
essentials or hang out in some other remote, isolated place. More
than 50% of Americans now live in cities, and this number is
predicted only to rise.
There is a line somewhere between
isolation and overpopulation, and I haven't quite figured out my
place on that spectrum. The times when I've felt most like I
belonged somewhere, it had almost entirely to do with the people I've
been with, and not necessarily with the place. I like a tight knit
social community, accessible when necessary, but not always sharing
the same space. I did not expect to feel as anxious as I do when I
am alone here. I like being alone outside, but not inside. Instead
of feeling at peace, and one with the world as I do when I'm camping,
I instead feel trapped and disconnected and shut off from what is
going on elsewhere. I'm getting a bit of cabin fever with the cold
weather too, due to the fact that I have to keep my windows and door
shut most of the time to keep the heat in.
My room has blank walls. I am the only
one of my colleagues who arrived without a car, and thus, without
things to hang on the walls of my room. I'm not particularly
interested in buying things to hang on my wall, either. I should,
instead, make some art. Make the inside look more like the outside.
2/21/12
Training for Mountain Trail Outdoor
School officially ended today, and we welcome our first group of
children tomorrow. For the end of training, we went on a staff
“expedition,” which usually means backpacking in the woods
somewhere for a couple of days, but we got a more cushy experience.
To cover the last few serious topics, to bond as staff and to have a
fun learning experience, we went to a camp outside of Charleston, SC.
From there, we took a bicycle tour around Kiawah Island with a very
knowledgeable naturalist, visited 2 nature centers and a tiny
aquarium, and went sea kayaking to another barrier island scattered
with countless seashells. Highlights included holding 2 young
alligators at the nature centers, watching dolphins play in the surf
less than 20 feet away from us, and hanging out on the beach with a
wonderful group of co-workers.
In the last couple of weeks, I have had
a chance to ride almost all of the trails around camp on my mountain
bike (there are about 20 miles of trails total), practice archery
with my co-workers, and we have started training for the Warrior Dash
by doing hang-board workouts on the porch of our house. I also
attended my first contra dance, which was an amazingly fun, sweaty
and fabulous experience.
Don't know if you know this but I was a naturalist at Kiawah running their kayaking programs, bird walks and nature center classes for 6 years. Glad you got to visit. It's beautiful there, huh?
ReplyDelete