View allAll Photos Tagged Reflecting
Poland. Kraków’s central Grand Square (Rynek Główny) is the largest plaza of medieval Europe, and it also has its own leaning tower. The 70m tall Town Hall Tower leans just 55 cm, yet the reason is unusual – a strong wind moved it in 1703. Here it is reflected in a puddle on the wet afternoon of Sunday, May 6, 2001.
i don't have a tribute today, but i think back on 9/11 with a heavy heart...i look at gemma and think of all the things that were taken away from so many people. i can't put into words what i feel.
I went out again to finish documenting the "Tattie Bogle Pirates" that are "invading" our little town, and really enjoyed seeing all the creative characters that were on display. I don't normally post so many pictures at once, however I wanted to "picture" as many of them as possible, and enjoyed both their "portraits" and full views, so here they are! I know there are a lot of them, but if you have the time, you might get a kick out of these guys! (and gals!)
www.flickr.com/photos/arrow734/sets/72157625046532869/show/
This weeks theme is "My Day" and I spent the day documenting the pirate saga...I was surprised when I found myself reflected in the pirate's hook! I still didn't find all of the pirates, although I think I got most of them. : )
And....it was a lovely day for a walk around town!
For 52.5 of Twenty Ten
Theme: My Day
Reflecting on the reflection in Reflection Lake.
In 2009 my Mt. Rainier and Olympic National Park workshop will be July 18-26.
..puisque le patriotisme de mon dernier post n'inspire personne, voici une petite réflection qui devrait faire des vagues de commentaires...
;)))))
This is 'Reflecting Changers' Giraffe No.18 by artist Sarina Dickson. Giant fibreglass Giraffe sculptures, reaching 2.5 metres high, are now standing tall on the streets, parks and public spaces of Christchurch and surrounding areas until 24 January 2015. At the end of the public art exhibition, in February, the Giraffes will be auctioned so we can all be part of raising money for local charities and turn the city’s Summer of fun into a helping hand for those who are in need.
christchurch-stands-tall.co.nz/about/
Things I came across in the city on my walk home taking my car to get fixed November 3, 2014.
Looking down the Chicago River surrounded by glass skyscrapers that are reflecting the yellow hues of a sun at twilight.
This gadwall is contemplating life in the reflecting pool at Ridgefield NWR. I couldn't pass this up, since I'm taking a philosophy class this term.
It's a busy week for me, I'll try to catch up with your postings soon. Thanks so much for looking.
This is a reflection in a stainless steel wall panel. Film was Lucky 400 - or rather 200 branded as 400 as I discovered after development.
This is the reflected light on a wall at a nearby restaurant. I was up and photographing it before i even realized that might not be cool in a private establishment, but the waitress later said it was cool if neither Helen nor i were health inspectors.
Yes, that's the last time we'll eat there...
Armistice... The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month
Vietnam Veterans Memorial,Veterans Day Remembrance Service ,Savannah Georgia
For those who know ,Freedom is not Free!
#AbFav_MINIMALSISM✅
#AbFav_PHOTOSTORY
The coloured ones reflect beautifully bobbing on the sea!
I do like them, wonder if the different colours have a different meaning?
Thank you, M, (*_*)
For more: www.indigo2photography.com
Please do not use any of my images on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
Buoy, red, white, orange, , resting, beach, sand, chain, Gull, graphic, nautical, minimalism, colour, horizontal, NikonD7000, "Magda indigo"
Scavenge Challenge - 2) Find bamboo or something made from bamboo. It's very versatile as a fiber.
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© All rights reserved
Lost in Paradise
from Tim Robertson
robertsontim66@gmail.com
Sep 15， 2014
Dear Friends and Family,
I am back in China again after my summer of “couch surfing” as my daughters would call it. Since I had no friends in the Los Angeles area, the five days I spent there seeing Miranda at Moorpark College cost me more than the rest of my two months in the States. In addition to showing me her work in the teaching zoo, Miranda took me to see a Hindu Temple, Malibu Beach and Universal Studios, all somewhat iconic in their own ways. Because it was Labor Day weekend, the places were crowded and I felt like a tourist in a foreign land observing the strange customs of the natives. The waves of the Pacific Ocean seemed to be beckoning me to cross over to the other side, which is what I did the next day. It seemed that the most stressful part of the journey was getting through LA traffic to the airport and getting through security before the flight. I was thankful to be able to get a new ticket since I had made the silly mistake of not using my full name while booking my international ticket online. Not doing that again!
The day before my flight, the recruiting agency sent me an message to ask if I could arrive two days earlier. Since I was west bound instead of east bound I could not arrive earlier than I left – my powers of time travel are somewhat limited that way. I suspected that something was up, because they had previously insisted on my arriving later. So I skipped my extra day in Shanghai to see my sister and friends from Fuyang and went straight to the train station the next morning after arriving at 9:00 the previous evening. I took the train from a different station, closer than the one I had used earlier in June. I managed to get on the 10:00 train just before it left by dropping my bags and jamming my hand between the doors as they closed. I had not realized it was leaving so soon since there was no crowd for me to follow - which is what I usually do. When I sat down I seemed to be the only passenger in that car so I briefly enjoyed the feeling of being a majority - of one - until the next stop when I saw two men sitting in the front. At any rate, I was able to find the office in Hangzhou by taking a bus, a train, the subway and a taxi before noon.
On my arrival at the office, the first item of business confirmed my suspicions that all would not go as I expected. I was informed that I would be teaching at Zhejiang University of Technology near the center of the city instead the small private vocational technical college in the suburbs that I had applied for and been accepted three months earlier. I do not know if I could have refused, but they said that the university was the second most respected one in Zhejiang Province and they wanted the best teachers, so I was recommended to them. I wonder if that was really true or if it was merely flattery to get me to go along with change, but it worked. It seems that ZUT was unable to fulfill their usual number of teachers through a program that sends new graduates to them from Princeton and Harvard and desperate to fill the gap. So I was the first teacher to be recruited by this agency to work there and of course they welcomed the opportunity. As it is, I will be one of only six foreign English teachers instead of the eight that the university had requested.
The next item on the agenda was to go over the contract and sign it before I had time to go to see the campus or my apartment. At that point I was so exhausted and in need of a good sleep due to the time difference and loss of sleep on the plane, that all I wanted to do was get into a bed. I chose to go directly to the apartment instead of stay in a hotel so I was driven to my new apartment by private car. It is on the sixth floor without an elevator. (Most apartment buildings in China have only six floors, which is the maximum before they are required to have an elevator.) When I arrived, I met the administrator and the building manager who gave me the keys and showed me where it was. Fortunately it has air-conditioning since I was sweating profusely from the heat and the exertion of hauling my luggage to the top floor.
My first night I awoke to the sensation of the whole building swaying and I thought it must have been an earthquake, but after waking three more times, I realized the trembling must be caused by passage of heavy trucks on the busy street below. It would be interesting to find out what it would feel like in an actual earthquake, but I am willing pass up on that experience and hope I don’t find out. Fortunately this area does not get earth quakes like Szechuan Province in the eastern part of the country, otherwise this building may not have been here so long. The next morning I had to go get my health check repeated since the one I did three months ago was in Anhui province and would not be accepted by a public university in Zhejiang. I got a ride to the subway station with my friendly next door neighbor only to find out I had brought the wrong wallet which had only US dollars instead of Chinese Ren Min Bi to pay for my ticket. I found my way back to my apartment on foot, exchanged wallets and walked to another subway station several blocks away, and still arrived early to my meeting with my recruiter.
After going through the battery of about a dozen tests again, in about a half hour, I was glad this was socialized medicine, where I am treated very efficiently like a number instead of having to wait for an personal appointment. I then returned to the office by subway and found the boxes I had shipped from Fuyang in June and got them back up to my apartment where I began to unpack. The next two days I slept and rearranged the furniture to my liking. I could not figure out why the bed was in the living room area, until I moved it to the bedroom and found out the traffic noise was much louder, since it faced the street in front of the building. I am gradually getting used to sleeping through the constant background noise and the feeling of sleeping on Jell-O. A student named Alex was assigned to help me find my way around the campus and take me to the local shopping center. She was most helpful and I was able to get a lot of things done on my list – like the all-important internet connection.
On Sunday I found the location of the Hangzhou International Christian Fellowship on the map and found my way there by walking and subway. The congregation of foreigners (Chinese citizens are not allowed to attend) is made up mostly of students from various African countries. So the worship style is a mixture of contemporary songs, southern Black gospel and African rhythms which is a new experience for me. I have to admit that I dozed of listening to the American (white) teacher since his delivery was quite dry (in comparison) and I needed the sleep. It is a great encouragement to meet friendly people, many of whom have lived here many years. This is a spiritual benefit of living in a major city in China with a significant ex-patriot community, unlike Fuyang.
The next day was Mid-autumn Festival so I got my bicycle out of the shipping crate and put it back together. I then decided to go see West Lake, one of the most famous tourist sites in China. I rode around the lake and noticed how the causeways were thick with pedestrians as they walked across the lake and over the low arching bridges. On the far side of the lake I was surprised to find myself riding into the low hills between tea plantations that produce the best tea in China – according to the locals. I resolved to return another day when I have more energy to climb one of several mountain peaks on the west side of the city. Deep emerald green forest and well maintained gardens create the impression of a subtropical paradise. The lake is lined with the stately and classic architecture of luxury resorts, sumptuous restaurants and traditional tea houses. I noticed a traffic jam at Lei Feng Tower which was built to commemorate a tragic love story that had happened at this lake according to ancient mythology. Unfortunately they were charging an entrance fee so I decided I would wait until I have actually made some money here.
As I returned along the shoreline close to the downtown area I was seduced into stopping to watch the gondolas floating on the lake, the brightly lit dinner party boats and the various street performers that drew crowds. Although I had planned to make the trip in two hours, darkness arrived before I could tear myself away and begin my return to campus. I had brought a map to help guide me back, but in the dark I became hopelessly disoriented and had to stop several times to ask for directions. After getting various contradictory directions, I realized I was being sent to the other ZUT Campus which caused me to ride around in circles for a couple of hours. By the time I got back it was 9:00pm and I needed to find dinner quickly, so I went to the place called “Dirty Alley” to buy some street food as I often did at my previous school. By comparison, the conditions here are much cleaner than Fuyang but the fried noodles were not nearly as good to my taste.
I spent the last week catching up on sleep and trying to get my stuff organized in the available living space – an ongoing project. I was able to contact two of the veteran teachers (not Ivy Leaguers) from previous years who were very helpful in giving advice from several years of teaching here and elsewhere in China. I did not get my class schedule until Friday since it had to be revised for only six teachers. Although my contract is for a maximum of 20 hours, I was given 26 class hours to teach, and I was dismayed to find that the school will not pay overtime as is stated in my contract About half of my classes will be post-graduate students, and the rest will be first and second and third year students. About half of the classes will be at the old campus near downtown (which is across the street from my apartment) and the other half will be at the new campus, which is about an hour away by shuttle bus. My schedule requires that I do the two hour round trip commute four days each week.
On Saturday I was able to swap two of the classes which I have never taught before (Advanced Writing and Western Media) with a veteran teacher for more oral English classes and reduce my class hours to 24 per week. I also met the three new teachers who really are from Princeton and Harvard – in China, one never knows. As often happens when I move to a new location I picked up a local flu bug that I spent the weekend recovering from. Today is Monday and I taught my first class. When I arrived at the classroom I found I had stupidly left my memory stick in my computer at my apartment, so I returned to get it during the class break between the two sessions and my bike lock jammed. Other than these two minor disasters, I felt the class went as well as could be expected. I hope I am learning from my mistakes, since I am making so many of them.
As always I count on your prayers and Divine Providence to see me through the various obstacles and barriers that pop up as regularly as a video game - or a pinball game if you remember those. I am constantly amazed at what God has brought me through and stressing out over the new ones that I am facing each day. This is by far the biggest city I have lived in and the greatest teaching challenge that I have faced, “and all I have to do is follow.”
May His goodness and mercy follow you,
Tim
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from Tim Robertson, robertsontim66@gmail.com
Aug 17, 2014
Dear Friends and Family,
In a month’s time I will be occupied with my new classes at Yuying Vocational Technical College in Hangzhou and too busy to write. Since I have the time now I will keep up with my schedule of writing this monthly newsletter to stay in touch with all of you. I am now in Sequim, WA and staying in Stan and Patti Chapple’s basement apartment. They have graciously allowed me to store the boxes of books, clothing and leftovers from my previous life here. I have been sorting through the stuff to find some useful items that I can take back with me and adding a few others that I brought with me from Michigan. I am thankful for the free storage since it would hardly be worth paying good money for storage of detritus pressed down by time.
I look forward to the challenges and changes that I will face in Hangzhou and try not to form too many expectations that are sure to be altered by reality. I know the culture will be much different since Zhejiang is considered to the wealthiest province in China due to its proximity to Shanghai which is the largest city in the world and is governed as a separate municipality (one of four in China) rather than being part of a province. Since Anhui province is the poorest province in China (by per capita income), and Fuyang, my former city of residence, was probably the poorest part of Anhui, I will no doubt be experiencing a certain level of culture shock. Hangzhou has a subway system, connections by fast train and an international airport, not to mention a much higher cost of living. Although my salary will remain largely the same, I will not be able to live on 25% of it, and save the rest as I was able to do in Fuyang.
For that reason among others, I am considering taking on the additional responsibility of training other English teachers for Echo English, the recruiting agency with which I have signed my contract. The Academic Director has just sent me a job description as part of a proposal to teach other foreign teachers that they have hired to work in various places in China. (Most foreign English teachers only stay one or two years, so they are usually lacking in experience and training.) They seem to think that I am qualified and I am reluctant to try and convince them otherwise, although I definitely feel that way. I have not yet received a contract for that job, so I am waiting for more details before I commit to another new role for myself. Since I have not yet received my class schedule from the college, I am not sure whether I will have the time to commute across town by subway to put in four or five hours at the Echo office each week. It is likely that I will be teaching both first and second year students at the college which will require additional lesson preparation time. Being the only foreign English teacher on campus may also bring other duties and expectations that I am not currently aware of.
After being away for so long (especially from Stanton) it is interesting for me to look for the changes that have happened during my time in China. But the biggest differences are changes that have happened to me. I find myself noticing things that would not have attracted my attention before and seeing details that seem strange to my altered state of perception. For example, I have been noticing cemeteries which do not exist in traditional Chinese culture. As I went cycling through the fields and villages near Fuyang, I would sometimes stop at random points to count the burial mounds that I could see without turning around – usually between 20 and 30. Sometimes there were groups of 10 or 20 clustered together with black stone markers that stood three to four feet tall with personal details and poetry carved on it, but usually the brown conical mounds are scattered somewhat randomly through the small family plots of ground that provide subsistence to most rural village dwellers. Only close relatives can be depended upon to maintain the grave sites of their ancestors and this strengthens the filial bonds that bind families together with the land.
Tomb Sweeping Day (aka Qing Ming Festival, often translated as Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestor’s Day), was reinstated in 2008 as a national holiday and is held in April each year. My first impression was that it was celebrated to remind families of their duties to perform rituals for their ancestors as required by the teachings of Confucius. But on further research I found that the date was originally designated in 732 AD by the Emperor in the Tang dynasty in order to limit the time and money spent on expensive and extravagant ceremonies honoring departed family members. Now the concern of the government is that so much of the scarce fertile land is taken up by burial mounds that there is not enough land left for food production. The burial mounds of dark soil are also an obstruction to mechanized farming so that many small farms must use manual labor to till, plant and harvest the wheat in May and the corn in September.
Since Anhui is largely an agricultural province, the provincial government has recently begun to enforce the law against burying bodies. As part of the ban, police have been raiding local carpentry shops to destroy the coffins that are on sale for traditional burials. News stories (*see below) tell of elderly people killing themselves in order to be buried before the deadline of June 1st this year and thus escape the penalty of breaking the law and the necessity of cremation. With the announcement of changes to the residential registration system, 13 million people each year are moving from the rural areas into booming cities to get jobs, better education and health care. Many are reluctant to move as it will mean giving up the security of growing their own food and abandoning the tombs of their ancestors.
The loss of family members recently has made me more sympathetic to their concerns. After the burial of my mother in the cemetery next to my father I spent some time wandering among the headstones and noticing the names on them. Although I left Stanton right after my high school graduation in 1976, I saw surprised at how many names I recognized and remembered those people who I used to know. I found the graves of many former teachers, neighbors, paper route customers and church members among the markers that date as far back as Civil War dead. This being the only large hill in town, we would often come to “cemetery hill” to go sledding in the winter. Now I notice a sign the prohibits that activity out of concern for the danger of hitting grave stones and trees on the steep slope. When I visited once more before leaving I was struck by the wild flowers blooming around the edges of the gravesite and felt God had planted and caused them to grow for both of them.
Since that time I have been noticing the small green cemeteries in each town with small white headstones and colorful flowers and thinking how they express the traditional beliefs of Christians. Although Americans are known for highly valuing individualism and private property, they share the community space set aside for honoring the dead, while Chinese, known for their values of community and family, honor their dead privately on land that they do not own and are abandoning in large numbers. Perhaps that reflects the expectation of Christians that they will rise together to eternal life at the second coming of Christ, while the majority of Chinese traditionally believe in the reincarnation of individuals after they die. as taught by Buddhism. The only color at a gravesite in China is usually the red paper left from exploded firecrackers and remains of burned incense, “spirit money” and fake ingots of gold and silver for the next life, after which they will die again.
I am looking forward to living in Hangzhou, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in China because of its natural scenery. Much of its reputation is due to the famous West Lake gardens which are pictured on the one-Yuan note and have been recreated in Japan and Korea. Another interesting feature is the Qiantang River which runs close to the Yuying College campus and is famous for having the highest tidal bore in the world which can be as high as 30 feet and travel up to 25 miles an hour inland from the East China Sea. The city is the capital of Zhejiang Province and is the fourth largest metropolitan area in China with a population of over 21 million people. I am looking forward to being able to cycling on top of the levy along the river as the tide changes and watching the “Silver Dragon” sweep up the river and into the harbor. Yes, they actually hold surfing competitions in the Qiantang River!
As you may have noticed, I am not one to take a lot of pictures, but I may have to change that and send along some to you in future newsletters. I have been looking at some of the pictures my mother gave me from the many photo albums that she kept of our large family. Many of them are of me as a young boy in the villages of the Ashaninka people where we lived on the headwaters of the upper tributaries of the Amazon River. There are some of the missionary boarding school in Tournavista, named after R. G. Letourneau who built the town and the school for MKs. Looking back, I can see many differences and similarities to what I am doing now. My father and mother went out as singles to the mission field where they got to know each other in a small Ashaninka village where they were both working. Dad was 32 when he married mom and they had 6 children, 5 of whom were born in Peru. As I go out alone to China, I feel a sense of following a pattern. I will live with the students on campus and enjoy the adventure of walking by faith.
I remember the old hymn sung at my mother’s funeral, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’ve come.” (Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing)
Thank-you for remembering to pray for me as I seek to represent Christ.
Tim
P.S. *Article: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2639757/Elderly-Chinese-...
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Tim Robertson's posts about his time as an English teacher in Anhui at the Fuyang Teachers College are uploaded at: www.flickr.com/photos/ray_mahoney/9114089397/in/photostream, www.flickr.com/photos/ray_mahoney/8302698850/in/photostream, www.flickr.com/photos/ray_mahoney/14217075257/in/photostream; www.flickr.com/photos/ray_mahoney/9012874492/
Reflected in the oily waters of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal 45 058 heads west with the 10.20 Leeds - Plymouth on 24th April 1975. The scene is near Somerset Road in Edgbaston Birmingham.
45058 was built as D97 and put into traffic 22/04/1961, it lasted until 03/09/1987 when it was withdrawn, cutting took place 15/03/1994 at M.C. Metals, Springburn.
Copyright Geoff Dowling; All rights reserved
ODC - Portrait
I'm certainly not skilled in the portrait much less the selfie. But this is me. In a field. Reflecting my mug, trees, sky, and said field on a car hood. Before a theatrical production of Footloose. The End. :)