Now that we’ve gotten back into the swing of things, with classes and studying and stress, its almost soothing (or maybe thats depression I don’t know for sure) to reminisce on the memories of Rio de Janeiro. This post circles back to my pre-departure post about the other flags seen in the airport. These flags pictured here were hanging from the ceiling at the train station at Corcovado mountain. These flags really spoke to me in a bigger way than the previous. Each flag has a different patten from the next, different colors, shapes, and story. Some share the same meaning, while others drastically different. And yet, with so much difference between them, they are all assembled beautifully together, assembled as separate entities all apart of one bigger picture. In Brazil, we experienced a culture different than our own, and that was only one country! Each flag can serve as a symbol of a different culture. This merely scratches the surface on the sheer vast amount of different cultures in this world to be experienced. There are so many more, with differences and similarities to others at all ends of the spectrum! I think one should strive to experience all of these cultures and develop a wider global awareness.
Finally, this picture remains one of my favorites from Rio. I am not the artist behind this awesome picture, COMPLETE PHOTO CREDIT TO ASHTON. Still, this picture resonates as such a cool and modernistic representation of the city in its entirety. The text pictured here (if you can’t see because it is cut off) has a heart and then Rio, in a very simple, modern font. Very evidently so, the “R” is damaged, which i think is such a strong parallel to city. The city of Rio is largely a modernistic and evolving one. There may be its rough patches, such as poverty, crime and violence as a whole, despite that it maintains its beautiful image as “Cidade Maravilhosa”.
Finally, one of my sketches. (No judgement I’m not an architecture student) This is from the botanical gardens, a wonderful experience. This is a sketch of one of the birds i briefly saw. I had been waiting for the majority of the trip to see some beautiful birds and upon visiting the botanical gardens, I was sure I would finally find them. Upon getting there, I saw a whole lot of beautiful vegetation and structures, but not a whole lot of beautiful birds. I spent the entirety of the visit looking to the sky hoping for a glimpse of the precious *golem voice*. Finally in a split second, it was there! A beautiful green bird, conure was my assumption. I stumbled to get out my phone to take a picture, and just like that, it was gone. At first i was disappointed, but that really is the nature of birds. They are fleeting, never in one place for too long, one moment they’re there, the next they’re gone. I think that accurately portrays society, always in a state of change, never placid. One could view this as sad, as sometimes things do not return to the original state, or one could view it as beautiful, and appreciate the fleeting moments as they come.