As I sit on the plane flying back home, reading Ernest Hemingway’s A Movable Feast, I have a feeling of disappointment. A feeling that I didn’t make the most of my time while abroad. Like I spent too much time alone and not meeting new people and creating new and wonderful relationships.
When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people, and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few who were as good as the spring itself (A Movable Feast, pg. 41)
Now I disagree strongly with Hemingway’s views of people and happiness. I think that it is our own egos that gets in the way of our own happiness. That is to say we just allow people to get us down when we don’t need to. But where he is right is there are people out there that truly are as good as the spring itself. And I think it’s not just a very few. I like to believe it is most. All this is to say that I think true happiness comes with people and relationships. I forget that often, and I feel that I forgot that too often on this trip to Paris. Of course I was extremely happy and made some amazing memories Biking through the Alsace wine region, and hiking to the top of Ben Nevis in Scotland. But what is sort of amusing that is I found more joy making small talk with the baker down the street from my apartment most mornings than I did summiting the tallest peak in the united kingdom.
I have had the time of my life on this trip and I will never forget the memories I have made and music I have heard. I just want to share that the memories that that made me happier than anything else were the ones that involved positive human interaction.
I am home now and it feels so good! But I am already starting to miss the places I’ve been on my trip. Getting up in this morning I wasn’t able to walk two blocks down the street to the nearest cafe or bakery, or another two blocks to the next nearest bakery and cafe. I wont be able to walk around Olympia at night on any given day of the week and fine wonderful live jazz being played at some random bar or cafe. Also I woke up at 5:00 this morning which is a pain. Stupid jet lag. But It is nice to have the apartment to myself this morning to be able to just sit, sip some (actually good) coffee and write my last blog post for this quarter.
Once again it has been an amazing trip and I look froward to sharing in detail all of my adventures with the class, friends and my family. And what will be even cooler over the next week will be to condense down all that I have learned over the past 6 weeks and turn it into something I can present to all of you.
Thank you all so much for reading this and and keeping in touch. And for leaving such thoughtful and thought provoking comments that helped make my trip so much better than it already was. I hope to see all of you very soon.
With lots of love,
Aaron
The Sunset from my apartment on my last might in Paris.
May 22, 2015 at 4:14 am
Aaron,
The flight home. Can you believe it went so fast. Of course it was predicted we would be saying that. What could be done to make it seem longer, like years. Well maybe it does seem like years because the changes within from visiting a place with such different accommodations makes the world seem different, and you. If time were measured by experience than it would be a lot of time. In a way, maybe time is measured by experience? Maybe what we look back and remember are the moments that change us forever, like your bike ride? The people in France carry the attitude that is found in the music and food. What is it? can you pin it down? How is it different, simple and decadent? I love that espresso is the most common form of coffee in Europe. Maybe its a metaphor, small and potent. Less is more. You mentioned you wish you would have spent more time with people. It’s not easy to get over the language boarder. Its perfectly understandable that there were few people along the way that you could really socialize with. Sometimes less is more, and maybe its good that it left you wanting to visit spring through interactions. Bring that to Olympia PLEASE! We need more sunshine! Won’t it be nice to socialize without the language barrier? It will be fluid like water! One thing that I’ve noticed is that I need to be simple with my words and ideas with the language barrier. It kind of made life easier to not worry about sharing more than the simple things. I hear your feelings of sadness to not have the bakeries on every block. It is so different. This ties to city planning huh? The west side of Oly could really be less isolated from small local shops. Wherever you travel, it works out the way the locals live too. I suppose its better to have a glimpse than nothing at all.
So happy that you had a grand adventure!
Lindsy Carmen
May 22, 2015 at 5:39 pm
Aaron, I really could identify with your post, which I find kind of amusing considering I only went to Seattle.
I also had a feeling of disappointment when thinking about my time in Seattle, I think that disappointment came two fold. Firstly (and similarly to you), I was disappointed thinking of whether I made the most of my visits, but secondly I was disappointed knowing that just 9 months ago living in Seattle was my life. I found it hard to study a city I used to live in and not long to be living there again. This reminded me of the part of your post where you talk about missing being able to go into the bakeries in the morning and into jazz clubs at night. I miss being able to get coffee from a cafe essential below my home, and being only a block away from my favorite bar. And I love olympia, but there does seem to be something missing when I think of the nightlife or just the amount of options I have. Do you have similar feelings? After going to multiple countries did you come back with a favorite one you visited? Where was the best coffee? Did anywhere remind you of Olympia?
I really enjoyed your post, and welcome back!
May 29, 2015 at 8:00 pm
Hey Aaron! First off I wanted to say you gave a great presentation in class yesterday. It sounds like you had a lot of fun and learned a lot along the way. I was most interested in learning about Gypsy Jazz and Selmer guitars. I’ve always been intrigued by the sound of Django and Grappelli but have never gotten around to learning how to play any of their tunes. However, I enjoyed your demonstration and learning about how Django’s music was technically played. It’s inspiring to hear about musicians who find ways to overcome physical disadvantages in order to play their music. Another similarly-afflicted guitarist that comes to mind, is Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath. Iommi had to wear artificial finger tips while playing after his real fingers got partially chopped off in an accident he had while working at a factory. Pretty brutal, I know. Anyway, about your trip, you said that you wish you had more experiences that involved positive human interaction. Although you felt that this was something that was lacking in your trip, I think it’s valuable to realize this so that next time you will make a greater effort in making this a part of your future travels. Thanks for sharing!
February 7, 2023 at 10:13 pm
بتونیر یا میکسر بتون ابزاری میباشد که برای هم زدن و مخلوط کردن بتن استفاده میگردد. از بتونیر یا میکسر بتن برای مقادیر و حجمهای متفاوتی از میکس و ساخت بتن میتوان استفاده کرد. همانطور که میدانید بتن از ترکیب سنگ، شن، ماسه، سیمان و آب با مقادیر مختلف تشکیل شدهاست که به نسبتهای مرتب داخل دستگاه میسکر بتن یا خلاطه ریخته شده و به مدت زمان مشخص هم میخورند تا بتن تشکیل بشود.میکسرها در ابعاد بزرگ دارای مقسم جهت تعیین مقادیر مختلف از ماده جهت تشکیل بتن میباشند. بهطور کلی میکسرهای بتن در ابعاد خیلی بزرگ در کارخانههای تولید بتن به کار میرود و از بتونیر با قابلیت جابجایی در سایتهای بتن ریزی و برای کارهایی محصولات بتن ماشین با حجم کمتر استفاده میشود. جابجایی دستگاه مخلوط کن بتون نیز توسط دو چرخ یا چهار چرخ انجام میگردد.این دستگاه که با نامهای ملات ساز، خلاطه، میکسر بتون و مخلوط کن بتن نیز شناخته شده، جز جدیدترین دستگاههای بتن ریزی و با نازلترین قیمت میباشد و برای تولید بتن با حجم کم و متوسط، مثلاً تا ۳۰ متر مکعب در روز کاربرد دارد. عملکرد این دستگاه مانند پیمانه کردن مصالح توسط نیروی انسانی صورت میگیرد لذا این نیروهای انسانی میبایست آموزش کافی را در این زمینه ببینند. البته درهنگام کار با دستگاه بتونیر باید از مخلوط کردن بیش از حد مصالح پرهیز شود، زیرا باعث آب اندازی بتن میگردد.