Adventuretime in the City (And a short rant about public transport in St. Louis)
Back in April, when I was stressed out by my over-commitment and my 18hr course load, I dreamt of all my summer adventures. The first week of summer, I was itching for adventure.
The trouble is, St. Louis doesn't have an approachable transportation system. Yes, there are the metrolink and the metrobus, but our metrolink stop has been closed all summer for construction purposes, and the metrobus just doesn't seem as reliable as my good old CTA. It is really hard to get out of the campus bubble if you lack a good method of transportation. I admit it, I am extremely spoiled by my public transportation system in Chicago. I love the L, the CTA, and the Metra. I spent my high school years hopping around the city via buses and trains. I am not afraid of public transportation and I do enjoy the downtime of the commute. I JUST WISH ST. LOUIS HAD SOMETHING EVEN SEMI-COMPARABLE TO CHITOWN'S PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM! End rant.
It would be so great if our country was bike-friendly. Bikes are green, bikes are fun, and bikes keep people in shape. Bikes, basically, would be the solution to a lot of our problems. I don't mind biking in the city, but wouldn't it be cool if instead of looking out the window of your car into another vehicle, you just looked into the next lane and saw a fellow biker? I have managed to see more off this city this summer than I had in the past two years, thanks to my Raleigh.
Buuuuuuutttt. In less than a month, I will be flying to Ireland for the semester (I just love saying that!) and there, I know I will be walking a lot. So this week I made up my mind to walk places instead of using my bike. Well, let me tell you that when there is a heat advisory out and you walk 3 miles in 100 degree weather, it really wears you out. I was .5 miles away from my destination but by then I was ready to collapse in some soft, green grass and drink a cold glass of water. Then, to my right, I spotted the Missouri Botanical Garden. My roommate Roma and our friend Danielle had been wanting to go there all summer for their free Wednesday night concerts, but we had never made it. And, miraculously, it was Wednesday night! I walked in, and seriously, I could feel my soul spasm-ing. Pulchritude. Pulchra. Beauty. I realllyyyy need to get a camera. In the garden, I felt a peace that my restless, free soul had not felt in a long time. There were beautiful plants, beautiful buildings, beautiful people all around. And in the background I could hear this beautiful music playing. I found a little bench hidden in the trees and I just sat there, journaling, absorbing the beauty surrounding me. I find out sometimes it's worth it to make room for Adventuretime.
The trouble is, St. Louis doesn't have an approachable transportation system. Yes, there are the metrolink and the metrobus, but our metrolink stop has been closed all summer for construction purposes, and the metrobus just doesn't seem as reliable as my good old CTA. It is really hard to get out of the campus bubble if you lack a good method of transportation. I admit it, I am extremely spoiled by my public transportation system in Chicago. I love the L, the CTA, and the Metra. I spent my high school years hopping around the city via buses and trains. I am not afraid of public transportation and I do enjoy the downtime of the commute. I JUST WISH ST. LOUIS HAD SOMETHING EVEN SEMI-COMPARABLE TO CHITOWN'S PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM! End rant.
It would be so great if our country was bike-friendly. Bikes are green, bikes are fun, and bikes keep people in shape. Bikes, basically, would be the solution to a lot of our problems. I don't mind biking in the city, but wouldn't it be cool if instead of looking out the window of your car into another vehicle, you just looked into the next lane and saw a fellow biker? I have managed to see more off this city this summer than I had in the past two years, thanks to my Raleigh.
Buuuuuuutttt. In less than a month, I will be flying to Ireland for the semester (I just love saying that!) and there, I know I will be walking a lot. So this week I made up my mind to walk places instead of using my bike. Well, let me tell you that when there is a heat advisory out and you walk 3 miles in 100 degree weather, it really wears you out. I was .5 miles away from my destination but by then I was ready to collapse in some soft, green grass and drink a cold glass of water. Then, to my right, I spotted the Missouri Botanical Garden. My roommate Roma and our friend Danielle had been wanting to go there all summer for their free Wednesday night concerts, but we had never made it. And, miraculously, it was Wednesday night! I walked in, and seriously, I could feel my soul spasm-ing. Pulchritude. Pulchra. Beauty. I realllyyyy need to get a camera. In the garden, I felt a peace that my restless, free soul had not felt in a long time. There were beautiful plants, beautiful buildings, beautiful people all around. And in the background I could hear this beautiful music playing. I found a little bench hidden in the trees and I just sat there, journaling, absorbing the beauty surrounding me. I find out sometimes it's worth it to make room for Adventuretime.
Let us sit down to eat
with all those who haven't eaten;
let us spread great tablecloths,
put salt in the lakes of the world,
set up planetary bakeries,
tables with strawberries in snow,
and a plate like the moon itself
from which we can all eat.
For now I ask no more
than the justice of eating.
-Pablo Neruda
I have never read much Pablo Neruda, but after reading this excerpt from his poem "The Great Tablecloth" I have put him on my list of writers to read. I think I will pick up a collection of some of his poems for my flight overseas--sidenote: it is going to be so sad for me to say goodbye to all of my books! This poem is so beautiful in English that it makes me want to know Spanish so I can see the power it has in the language in which it was written.
Five weeks from today...
Sunday, July 24, 2011
I will be flying overseas to Ireland! I can feel the adventures inside of me waiting to break free. It kind of feels like I'm starting college all over again, in a different country. Soooo, in honor of the five weeks I have left here in the good ol' US of A, here are five things I am looking forward to here and five things I am looking forward to in Galway.
In the next five weeks, I am excited to:
1. Read a lot of good books and spend some time hugging all of my books since I won't have them in Ireland. Right now I'm working on A Room with a View... probably should have read that in the fall when it was assigned for my class.
2. Eat sushi (for the first time) with all the new friends I've made in St. Louis this summer.
3. Spend some time with my family =]
4. See good friends from home, most of whom I haven't seen in at least eight months.
5. Create something.
In Ireland, I am anticipating:
1. Meeting my Irish cousins!
2. Experiencing a different culture.
3. Kissing the Blarney stone.
4. Making new friends.
5. Cozying up in some warm sweaters.
Love always,
Hilary
In the next five weeks, I am excited to:
1. Read a lot of good books and spend some time hugging all of my books since I won't have them in Ireland. Right now I'm working on A Room with a View... probably should have read that in the fall when it was assigned for my class.
2. Eat sushi (for the first time) with all the new friends I've made in St. Louis this summer.
3. Spend some time with my family =]
4. See good friends from home, most of whom I haven't seen in at least eight months.
5. Create something.
In Ireland, I am anticipating:
1. Meeting my Irish cousins!
2. Experiencing a different culture.
3. Kissing the Blarney stone.
4. Making new friends.
5. Cozying up in some warm sweaters.
Love always,
Hilary
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