The Flaneur

Dear Reader,

Flaneur is a word that I first came across my freshman year in my intro to college writing class. Our teacher said the flaneur is simply an observer who takes no part in the environment around him, an"idle man-about-time" according to Webster. For an assignment we were required to take a walk in which there was no purpose other than to look at everything around us and then write about what we saw. 

There is something very refreshing about going on a walk just for the heck of it. Wandering around,  aimlessly exploring, discovering the little things we pass up each day.  This is one of the reasons that photography appeals to me so much and why this project has been so interesting. I have found that I have become so attuned to what is going on around me, as if my senses are heightened. I have my camera on hand at almost any given moment and I've found that almost any given moment is photographable. Even in the most mundane settings there can be some sort of magic, but usually only for a second. It is hard to put into words the feeling I get when I am able to capture this, nor the frustration when this moment is lost either due to a technical error or the fact that I left my camera at home. I look at everyday as a challenge to capture these moments for each is temporary, no record of it ever happening unless I can manage to somehow contain it within my camera.

I went for a walk in Chinatown today and in order to not be too distracted, I allowed one of my favorite composers Joe Hisaishi to guide me. Each time I walk around the neighborhood I seem to discover something new. While I usually spend most of my time in the residential areas, this time I went through many of the shops. Most of the souvenir stores carried pretty much the same merchandise (as expected), but still there was something interesting about walking the layout of each shop. Some felt like mazes as you tried to maneuver through narrow walkways, merchandise to the ceiling on each side of you. I also like looking at all of the different items in the Chinese grocery stores; one was mainly just shelves of glass jars which contained things like "dried shark fins" that went for hundreds a pound. I wonder how much dried shark fin you would really use in a dish? I wonder why you would use dried shark fin in a dish? My favorite store was the candy one; so much candy, so little money. I somehow managed to escape without buying a single piece despite my huge sweet tooth. I ended my trip with a quick stop at a bakery for some red bean paste cake and a moment of reflection at my favorite spot, the park (which I still don't know the name of) by the river.

Have I convinced you to be a flaneur?

lol

How about just for an hour?  

- Gonzalo

Next Window Please :D

Someone just left it on a bench...

 

My Chinese Zodiac Sign: The Ram

Red bean paste, surprisingly sweet

Umm...yeah

Ate at a British Bakery for Dinner

Chicken Batsi and Stake & Ale Pie... I was too hungry to actually care about taking a decent picture. They tasted a lot better than they look too lol