i just gotta say

that my ultimate favorite kinds of fairy tales are the ones of lost islands and the maps that accompany them.

this one, which includes greenland and iceland and norway, also includes several other masses (“Frisland” and “Estotiland”) that Nicolo Zeno (creator of the map) claimed his ancestors had found and said they were part of the new world. 1558, but he said the map originated in 1400.

This one is my true favorite, hy-Brasil, which has appeared in many maps over time. it was said in Irish lore to be clouded in mist except one day every seven years when it would be clear to see but still unable to be reached. in 1694 John Nisbet claimed he stumbled across it and reported that the island was populated by black rabbits and one lone magician that lived in a stone castle on a hill that had cast a spell to keep the island from being found. imagine that. nowwwwww, there is a bank in the ocean near where it is on the map. which is so real and so perfect.

St. Brendan's shown as being west of the canaries, a group of monks said they held mass there which lasted for fifteen days but it was reported that they had actually been gone a year. described as a paradise where the sun doesn't set and fruit and flora were rich. appeared all throughout maps during Columbus's time and sights of it were recorded up until the 1770's.


there is also atlantis -- which is incredible too and probably even real also -- and others too but these are my favorites. things were just so beautiful and mystical and dreamy at a point. my favorite fairy tales.

Today

I made the mistake of pretending I cut my hair and now people believe me and I feel obligated to do it. I just started playing around after spending two days watching fragments of Amelie at a time. I'm still only half way through the movie and I think the haircut will become actuality by the time the film is finished

Edit:

I finished the movie

erie

this morning aaron left after we enjoyed greasy breakfast sandwhiches of sorts,
i spent six hours in class as he drove seven hours home.
this weekend we spent laying side by side, with him taking up most of the bed but never admitting it.
we drove to a beach on lake erie and there was a hill to watch the ripples in the water from. the surface was BIG and looked like a satin sheet. the blues and greys were perfect, and we ate green tea mochi icecream we drove thirty minutes to trader joes for.

i have so much homework my head is spinning.

orchards and other things

 Sundays are becoming a day to myself-- I don't have class Mondays so while all my friends spend their time in the library preparing for the next day's class, I take myself out. Yesterday it was to an apple orchard. I brought back ten pounds of apples soon to be made into two pies. I'm taking a student led class on nature journaling this semester, and tried to attempt some in the orchard but I had only brought a pink pen. The apples were so sweet and juicy, and while in the orchard you were allowed to eat as many as you liked and recycle the cores under the trees. I would sample each one (they had eight varieties)-- Jonagold wound up as my favorite.

 The breakfasts here are excellent: this was a blackberry banana and honeyed goat cheese crepe.

Driving home from taking my friends to Cracker Barrel for their first time, we spotted this building, which looked like an antique warehouse. It was, but abandoned, filled to the brim with broken and dusty merchandise, and covered in cobwebs. I wanted to explore the inside but was definitely too creeped out. eerie places and things

Each semester Oberlin offers an "art rental"-- students camp out over night and in the morning are allowed to borrow a framed piece of art for their dorm rooms for the semester. The work you can choose from include Picassos, Lichtenstein, etc... I meant to participate this semester but went home to get supplies for the all-nighter but my bed was way more convincing than the hard ground of the museum.

I've been here for a month and I can hardly believe it. I feel really at home.

I'm new to this

and not very good at it.
The past couple weeks have been very busy-- a two day trip to Maine, a couple in the capitol, several days back in Asheville, and the move to Oberlin. I've said "see you later" to many people, hello to many new friends, started new classes, ate loads of good food, and built a new room. It hasn't settled down yet-- a few days ago a friend of mine passed away, and this weekend makes for a long roadtrip down south for the service.

These are some pictures from these times. I will elaborate after I return back to Oberlin, once things settle down more, and once I have developed the loads of rolls of film that have been piling up.

 This was rose-pistachio icecream with an almond-fennel cookie in Philadelphia.

Portland, Maine; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Oberlin, Ohio