I’m sure I’m not the only one who has had this experience, the moment when you see something you’ve heard a lot about and may have seen in pictures or movies. I’m talking about that moment when you spot a well-known monument. It’s the realization that you’re not home any more and that all those things you’ve heard about a place or whatever, exist. They are real and right in front of you. It’s a humbling experience, that’s for sure.
First, the Parthenon. I first spotted this ancient monument on a trip to Greece with my Mom after completing an undergraduate degree in Classics. We spent two weeks touring around mainland Greece, a couple of islands and Ephesus on the edge of Turkey. But the first moment I spotted the Parthenon was when we were taking a tour of downtown Athens in our tour bus (yes, it was a catered tour.) The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, the protectress and goddess of Athens. Originally there was a massive marble statue dedicated to Athena housed at the back of the temple. Although the Parthenon is only partially complete, it’s seen its fare share of history: the modern Greek revolution, a couple of world wars (that saw it used as an armoury), and even had its marble friezes taken by the British (also known as the Elgin Marbles Debacle).
So here is it, my first glimpse of the Parthenon.
Next, would be the Colosseum. After my trip to Greece and after trying my hand at working retail, I decided to return to university again to acquire a Master’s degree in the same subject, that is, Classics. This time, however, I’d focus on ancient Greek music. Yep, obscure to say the least, but I’m glad I did it. It opened me to a world of music I never knew existed. That being the case, after I finished my graduate degree (and completely sick of studying and being a student), I took off to backpack Europe for a couple of months (before teaching ESL in South Korea). I remember asking for directions to the Colosseum, and the nice hostel lady gave them to me, but as I headed out I simply got lost in Rome. It was only by chance that I rounded one corner and saw the Colosseum in the distance. Unbelievable, to say the least! I walked around the place a couple of times, taking in its ginorminosity and trying my best to remember the history of the place (I couldn’t, all I could think of was Gladiator.)
Here it is, my first glimpse of the Colosseum.
Oh, and my last glimpse at night:
Next, I’d have to say the next time it hit me that I wasn’t in Canada any more was when I arrived in South Korea to begin teaching English. All of those funny looking characters (known as the Korean alphabet, Hangul), suddenly became so much more real, as in… oh shit, they really don’t speak English here. I’d spend a year in South Korea teaching ESL to them youngens in which time I’d learn enough Korean to get around and hold a very, very… VERY basic conversation (though not enough to say “no chicken feet please.”) And here it is, my first glimpse of South Korea from the airplane followed by a picture of my first look at my new home in Busan.
I lived in the corner apartment on the right.
A funny realization hit me while in South Korea: I had flown across the world holding a Canadian passport to teach English and had no idea if and when I was going to return to Canada. This reminded me of my grandparents who had emigrated from Ukraine years ago. That got me thinking, I had never been to my “homelands”. I let the thought simmer in the back of my mind, I should go to Ukraine.
I would finally make my way to Ukraine a year or so later. The realization of what my grandparents had done hit me when I finally found an old cemetery in Stare Brusno, which is buried somewhere in southeastern Poland. It took a bit of work to find it but when I did, the tranquility, the snow-covered crosses, the stillness, the history, it all hit me. Before that it was all vodka drinking and hostel partying, same same but different to my life in Asia.
So here it is, my first glimpse of the Stare Brusno cemetery, an area from which my family claims its lineage.
The next time it would hit me that I wasn’t in Canada any more was when I crossed the border from Poland into Ukraine and saw the Lviv train station.
Finally, my latest “holy shit, it really exists” moments was in Australia. You’re probably familiar with the big red rock in the middle of the continent. You’ve probably seen pictures of it before. That big red rock, known as Uluru / Ayers Rock (it’s dual named both for the aboriginal name for the rock and after a South Australian premier when it was first seen by Europeans), is a rock to behold. It really is big. I was on a tour of the area, including nearby Kata Tjutja, with about 12 other folks with whom I watched both the sunset and sunrise against the rock. THAT was pretty cool, seeing the rock change colours as the rays of the sun bounced off of it. Of course, I caught it on camera, though I’d really love to go back and make a clip of the entire production, from sun up to sun down. A goal for another time.
And here it is, my first glimpse of Uluru / Ayers Rock:
All that is well and good, but one of the other moments that really humbles me is when I look up at the night sky, specifically when I arrived in Australia and, lo and behold, the stars had changed! Gone were the Big Dipper and Ursa Major and, for whatever reason, Orion was standing on his head. In their place was the Southern Cross and, of all things, the Milky Way! Seeing the night sky from the other side of the world is one of the few things that really put my life in perspective: it’s just so short. We are so small. 😀
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Aaaaaah, I bet you were expecting a photo of the Milky Way. Sadly, I have no picture of the Milky way or of the Australian night sky as the cameras I had didn’t work in such low light. 🙁