Miss Chayah

Chayah needed some photographs to include with her teaching resume. I had so much fun catching up with her this afternoon while we braved the sudden snowfall that blanketed Elgin.

20 January

Rocks on the side of a stream

This man has sat in the exact same spot every year to watch the Candor Peach Festival Parade, ever since it began many years ago. 
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He makes me happy. 

Old MacDonald

Overalls are a lost gem. I like wearing them because of the amount of practical pockets they employ. 

Mostly I like that they make my little fashionista sister exasperated. 

These are some quick snapshots from the Peach Festival in my previous post. Proof of how overalls are definitely making a comeback.

Divorce the Dividing Wall

We met Auntie Jude in Canberra, Australia. She is an Aboriginal woman who is fighting for the rights of other Aborigines in the areas of national land, law, and representation. 
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We listened as she told her story through very tired eyes. It was difficult to watch, but so important to hear. 
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A few quotes from what she shared with us:
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“We’ve had 6 generations of genocide.”
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“Our place (Australia) was a perfect place, a beautiful place – a haven.”
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“I don’t want to get sucked into the system.”
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“This is democracy, I suppose. I’m living it – breathing it.”
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“All governments, per se, are just businesses …. Where does the humanity come into it?”
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“Closed doors where the inside dies more …”
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“Divorce the dividing wall.” 

Rosa's Tomatoes

Today I finally, officially, met Rosa.

Rosa is an Italian woman who lives on the corner of one of the streets I cross to go to uni in the morning. Each time Allana (my roommate) or I walk past, and she is out gardening, she greets our wandering faces with, “Ciao bella!” She seems to be the type of woman who smiles just because the sun chose to rise in the morning, and feels the crisp evening air strongly enough to require that all wear a jacket so as to not catch vicious colds.

While I walked home this afternoon, she was out on the sidewalk scrutinizing the sky. I paused to say hello. She asked if I was walking back from work. When I replied that I was, instead, returning from school, she quickly and resolutely hugged me.

Then, while holding my hands, she told me about her tomatoes, her granddaughter who will turn 21 in October, and that I should go put on a jacket.