Barbara's blog

Staying outside in such weather was all about keeping myself warm. I used to feel reluctant to go to my spot because I had to spend an hour there ALONE, and this attitude was soon changed because the I always enjoyed my hour. However, this time the situation was very different. I've been to the Labyrinth in complete darkness, without having breakfast, when I was exhuasted - All types of unpleasant situations, but I always had a positive recover after spending an hour at the Labyrinth. It did not work at all this time. The cold air invaded me. Probably because of the overcast background of the sky, the whole scene looked extremely gloomy. The trees near the Labyrinth were still somewhat lively, but several tress on the Senior Row looked completely spiritless. Even though with or without leaves those trees were quite alive biologically, I didn't feel the cheerfulness that spring/summer green trees usually delivered to me. Keep moving did not warm me up. (I should have gone there today. The sunlight may make a difference...) I was not able to really concentrate on anything and the restless short visit did not last long. I was really disappointed that I was not able to enjoy the visit because I could not resist the low temperature. I was the only one in that area then and honestly there weren't many people committed to outdoor activities these days. However, the squirrels really delighted me. After Sandy, my friend and I were really worried about them because we saw much fewer squirrels around after the hurricane.

"City is part of the ecology. People build cities just like any other animals build their habitats." During class last Tuesday, Sarah's comment on city left me a deep impression. City is the most complex form of human habitat, yet the fact that this complicated structure is a habitat, which people build to shelter themselves, makes me think about the vulnerability of mankind. Hurricane Sandy came in time for this meditation of mine. Through media, I could see how nervous people were when faced with the unparallel natural force. Yes we were prepared, but no one was absolutely out of fear. This is real humanity. We are not the ruler of the planet. Intelligence is not yet enough for us to combat unforeseen destiny designated by _______ . I leave this blank. Human force is so dominant in changing the "chemistry" of the planet in recent years, as Thomas Berry pointed out. We are probably contributing to our own destiny. On the other hand, the planet itself keeps challenging us now and then. Whether human civilization is developed to become aggression or self-defense to the natural forces really puzzles me. Or there may not be a clear border at all. Last night our customs group sticked together in darkness. The hearsay that Erdman was on fire (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Baldwin, actually) made us panic. At that point, I realized the need of reliance on each other individuals have. I could barely imagine me alone in such a dark windy cold night, uninformed and actionless.

Having been off campus most of the time during the fall break, I am very very surprised at how the campus has changed. Specifically, how the plants on Bryn Mawr campus have looked different. My spot, the Labyrinth is just not enough to represent the changes. (No, I'm not changing my spot.) I really want to jot down what I have observed for the change of season. And also I have some to add to the post I wrote at the beginning of fall break (a long time ago, huh), so I need to seperate this week's post to two parts.

a) The season - A manifest fall!

The Labyrinth is such a profound and sophisticated place, yet it is only fourteen years old. The profound sophisticated labyrinth is younger than me? I shake my head, "this recent creation just can not reflect the depth of history!"

Talking about history, several words come up into my mind: past, old, far and gone. However, history is never absence from present. History is accumulative. Interestingly, during the Thursday field trip, I realized that the Harriton House is most certainly a good example of how people make history sustainable. What I mean by "an effort that sustain history"" is an action to "ultilize creations derived from the history." The more than three hundred years of history of the Bryn Mawr town is really a wonderful wonderful story to hear. We need some passionate Welsh, some resistance to flood, some wisdom to survive a business and a lot more to be here at a College grounded on a piece of land that Native Americans gave up the "right to use". This is enough to make the 1704 Harriton House amazing and adorable. One thing I consider to be important in historical sustainability is adaptation. As we preserve historic site, it's crucial to keep in mind that things always change.

The siren of the art gallery in Canaday goes off out of nowhere. I am so pulled away by my work that I am very reluctant to react to the noise. There are at least thirty people on the floor. Actually NO ONE cares about it. It has been five minutes as I finish the work I am doing. The noise becomes louder and louder. Some burglar is around us and the warning bell really wants us to notice! I am finally hearing it. This turns out to be very annoying. The sound even fastened my heart beat. Shall I ask? Shall I leave? Shall I do anything? I know someone is going to fix it – within a short time – because circulation desk is making a phone call about the siren. I know I should definitely stay and work, to prepare for a better weekend. Oh, this is a struggle.  

But sorry, I just cannot stay. I am going to the Labyrinth, to calm down myself from the chaos. Unfortunately, those restless crickets just don’t know when to stop!

…

This has been a busy, easy, chaotic and very unusual Friday night!

I have some reflection on the exercise that we took turn to read our Sunday online post in the class today. A lot of us did pictures last week, and we didn’t have a chance to look at them but listened to excerpted words. Nevertheless, I found many of those words very visual and vivid. I felt I saw the objects that were described by listening to the words - the spinning leaves and the deep far sky… And they left me such a deep impression, which I don’t think would have been achieved by reading those words. Because when we read, alphabets are what we first see, and it requires a second process of creating a visual impression. Moreover, I don’t think it is only language (the descriptive words that are being used) that is contributing to deepening an image in my mind. I could not have seen those images if I haven’t experienced them myself. For example I wasn’t able to see the circus rehearsal so vividly because I wasn’t there. My brief reflections are 1) it helps to  grasp a literal idea if I move my eyes off the text from time to time; 2) in this case languages served to record one’s own experience and evoke other’s similar experience and it is more effective if the reader/listener have similar experience.

For the second time, I returned to the Bryn Mawr Labyrinth to observe. I planned to devote myself to the surrounding itself. I wanted to record the vision, the feel, the smell and the sound. I brought so much curiosity with me when I went. I wanted to figure out if there was anything new? What was different as I went at a different time of the day? Any changes happened during the past seven days? However, as soon as I stayed for just a couple of minutes, I could not help thinking about the word "anthropocentric". This is a word that was accused by one of the writers we had read (I can't specify because I don't remember exactly). As I walked around the Labyrinth, sat on the bench, lay in the hammock, the instinct that - what I saw, felt, smelt, heard was really my own perception only - became stronger and stronger. Every time I moved, my experience was different. Even two places were only one meter apart, the fact that one was in the shade, the other was in the sun changed their property drastically. If there was a writing assignment that asks people to describe the lawn under their feet. One might say the grass was wet, it was true because the area was in the shade. The other person could say the grass was dry, which is no less true as well if the area was in the sun. In most cases, what is recorded is determined by the writer's stand point.

Detached Moment

Cold in the morning.
Hammock was damp.
Bench was in shade.
Grass was thick and green, nourished by last night's rain.
Sunshine was soft and clear,
and the sun was hiding from me behind the huge pine-like tree.

Walking in the Labyrinth,
not thinking about the route.
Each step brings me to a new angle of view.

Athletic training was going on at the Applebee.
Sunshine gloriously projected on the wall of Rhoads.
Squirrels sneakily jump up and down the trees.

My hot drink was cooled.
I walked faster to keep myself warm.
One part of the Labyrinth was in the sun:
just like the most inviting slice of pizza - tempting.

I ignored the route I was walking on
and indulged in the gentle slow air flow,
the clear sky
the grass dew
the walk
the pleasant quiet alone hour
the meditation. 

*Side notes:

I spent six minutes walking from the start to the terminal, which was way less time than one time that I cheated. But I felt the course of time should be longer. It reminds me of the Wellness course of last week where we closed our eyes and followed the instruction to breath in and out, which was an extremely relaxing exercise. That was another time when the psychological time I experienced was longer than the physical time. Whenever I am indulged in something, I feel I am doing more with my time.

The visualization I chose for Bryn Mawr was the Pembroke Hall (http://triptych.brynmawr.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/BMC_postcard/id/367/rec/18). In my essay, I described my experience running through the Arch on the Parade Night. Freshwomen run into the campus, through Pembroke Arch. Four years later, we will on the Senior Step and welcome newcomers. Though it was physically a short distance to travel through, I think it is a condensed epitome of a Bryn Mawr experience as an undergraduate. Before I came to Bryn Mawr this summer, all my visual impression of the college was built up by the digital pictures that I had access to. Pembroke is definitely a widely used visualization of our college. I loved the architecture and the view on the first sight because it looked like an entrance to a community filled with vigor and wisdom to me. Also, my residential life experience in Pem is another reason I chose it. Each dorm has its own culture, but there are characteristics shared by all, such as the self-governance.

For everyone who is interested, this is an Asia centered world map, which is used widely by Asian countries. How we define a center is largely influenced by where we are.