Chester
Things are coming back to me stronger now more than ever; am I longing for the place I lived for only four months, a place I quickly grew tired of. I find myself stopping, and for however brief a moment, I am back in Chester. Not everything was completely tiresome; I enjoyed the library, the River Dee, the Meadows, the Race Course, the cheese and onion sandwiches that assuredly put on an extra pound or two, raspberries, the cinema, and the atmosphere of the history and ancient ruins of St. John's Church, the Ampitheatre and the Rows.
Pictures can only capture so much; flipping through them over the years is monotonous and leaks other possible memories out. I look through these photos and I want more, I wonder where is the rest of my album? Didn't I take so many more pictures? As much as I knew I wanted to record every inch of every building and landscape, at the time I felt like a nerdy tourist and I wished for nothing more than to blend in and become unrecognizable as an American. However, as time passed and school came to a close, I wanted nothing to do with the British; never before had I felt such an on rush of patriotism and pride that I wanted to boast with joy that yes, I am an American and yes, I think my country is better than yours.
I loved walking along the canal; that perhaps was one of my most favorite parts of Chester. Although the canal's waters were at times dirtied with food containers, bird feathers and metallic oil swirls, the brown free-flowing liquid gave me some relief and peace. As an Aries my principle element is fire and my opposite is water; as I learned in Italy, I cannot live somewhere that does not have a significant water source, be it a lake, river, or sea. I used the canal as my guide as I let it take me through the city and beyond. I went to the outskirts of Chester to the east and discovered a idllyic house and garden that would fit perfectly as a tabletop fountain. I say fountain because near the front of the house is a waterfall, which looks and acts more like a natural water slide. From somewhere near the house water comes bubbling out and tumbles down, twists and then finally shoots out into the canal. The house was small, painted white, had a trim garden and yard complimented with a clothes line with billowing men's white shirts and knickers. The yard extended a few yards back to fence in a pony. I watched enviously as the owners of the house went about their duties; the woman pinning up evermore laundry, the man hunched over toiling endlessly in a garden that would yield enough vegetables for a couple sides to their dinners. They were not poor, nor were they rich; in that small glimpse into their lives I knew they were content with their lives. They could be a retired couple; the house was probably not theirs entirely. The house was situated on a part of the canal that had a lock; doubtless the house belonged to the city and whomever lived there their duty would be to watch the canal for houseboats and consequentially help the boats pass through the lock. I walked slightly along the canal path until I came to a curve that ended with a large electric station. Common sense told me to begin to head back since it took me awhile to get there and the sun surely would not stay so high in the sky much longer.
Heading west, I followed the canal behind the University of Chester and was rewarded with an altogether different view of the city, actually, not the city at all but the outlying residential and eventually, meadows of Chester.
Today, (March 20th, 2009) I was at work and randomly thought about the Information Center in Chester--the one near St. John's Ruins. I remember going there a few times; they had some Roman artifacts on display in the upstairs part. I think a few of the Spanish girls were with me and we used the bathroom up there. Another time I went it was more towards the time in which I would be leaving forever. I remember it was raining and cold but I trekked over there because I wanted to pickup some good souvieneers for home. I don't remember what I bought there. There were a lot of Roman things and random.
Pictures can only capture so much; flipping through them over the years is monotonous and leaks other possible memories out. I look through these photos and I want more, I wonder where is the rest of my album? Didn't I take so many more pictures? As much as I knew I wanted to record every inch of every building and landscape, at the time I felt like a nerdy tourist and I wished for nothing more than to blend in and become unrecognizable as an American. However, as time passed and school came to a close, I wanted nothing to do with the British; never before had I felt such an on rush of patriotism and pride that I wanted to boast with joy that yes, I am an American and yes, I think my country is better than yours.
I loved walking along the canal; that perhaps was one of my most favorite parts of Chester. Although the canal's waters were at times dirtied with food containers, bird feathers and metallic oil swirls, the brown free-flowing liquid gave me some relief and peace. As an Aries my principle element is fire and my opposite is water; as I learned in Italy, I cannot live somewhere that does not have a significant water source, be it a lake, river, or sea. I used the canal as my guide as I let it take me through the city and beyond. I went to the outskirts of Chester to the east and discovered a idllyic house and garden that would fit perfectly as a tabletop fountain. I say fountain because near the front of the house is a waterfall, which looks and acts more like a natural water slide. From somewhere near the house water comes bubbling out and tumbles down, twists and then finally shoots out into the canal. The house was small, painted white, had a trim garden and yard complimented with a clothes line with billowing men's white shirts and knickers. The yard extended a few yards back to fence in a pony. I watched enviously as the owners of the house went about their duties; the woman pinning up evermore laundry, the man hunched over toiling endlessly in a garden that would yield enough vegetables for a couple sides to their dinners. They were not poor, nor were they rich; in that small glimpse into their lives I knew they were content with their lives. They could be a retired couple; the house was probably not theirs entirely. The house was situated on a part of the canal that had a lock; doubtless the house belonged to the city and whomever lived there their duty would be to watch the canal for houseboats and consequentially help the boats pass through the lock. I walked slightly along the canal path until I came to a curve that ended with a large electric station. Common sense told me to begin to head back since it took me awhile to get there and the sun surely would not stay so high in the sky much longer.
Heading west, I followed the canal behind the University of Chester and was rewarded with an altogether different view of the city, actually, not the city at all but the outlying residential and eventually, meadows of Chester.
Today, (March 20th, 2009) I was at work and randomly thought about the Information Center in Chester--the one near St. John's Ruins. I remember going there a few times; they had some Roman artifacts on display in the upstairs part. I think a few of the Spanish girls were with me and we used the bathroom up there. Another time I went it was more towards the time in which I would be leaving forever. I remember it was raining and cold but I trekked over there because I wanted to pickup some good souvieneers for home. I don't remember what I bought there. There were a lot of Roman things and random.