Moon: September 26, 2017

Photos of the Moon
Canon powershot 

#AdventWord 2016 Participation!

Hey y'all! I'm going to be participating in #AdventWord again daily this year on FB, Twitter, and Instagram for myself, for St. Paul's Episcopal NOLA, and I'll also be helping w/ Sewanee Seminary's posts, Yay! Expect photos, music, prayer, poetry, etc. in the posts. You are welcomed follow at any of the accounts listed below AND you too can participate: by praying, reading, pondering and/or by doing! Here's the list of words and the website is below that. Remember to include the following tag: #AdventWord and you might want to add your own. I always try add #Episcopal #Advent and #SSJE
Accounts:
-My Twitter & Instagram: @Conductor222
-My blog: theparsoncarson.blogspot.com
-St. Paul's Episcopal Twitter & IG = @stpaulsnola
-St. Paul's Facebook: St. Paul's Episcopal Church in New Orleans
-Sewanee's twitter: @SewaneeSeminary and the FB page is School of Theology at The University of the South (feel free to like that page!)
Things like this help me enjoy the expectancy and radiance of the meaningful Advent season. These posts help center my thoughts and focus. They help me to find depth in words and contemplation. Working on them daily is also a challenge I love to accept. :-)
I hope you will enjoy these posts and find something that resonates with you!
#Episcopal #SSJE #Anglican #Advent
WEBSITE
http://adventword.org/

Sewanee Moon: October 12, 2016

Just a few simple moon photos from this cool, crisp FALL evening! (YAY actual Fall!). The second one has Picasa's "inverted colors" and I liked it b/c it really highlights the craters.

A Prayer for Quiet Confidence

A Prayer for Quiet Confidence

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we will be saved, in quietness and confidence will be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ Book of Common Prayer

Photo by Caroline Carson

Jan. 22 Midnight Moon

Last night / this morning around midnight, the beautiful moon peeked through a windy sky full of cloud cover. These are three of my photos from my Canon Powershot 50x zoom :-)
I love that little camera! These I've posted here are copied from my FB post so quality isn't as fabulous as the raw file on my laptop at home, but still looks decent enough.

NOLA November Moon

Some of my photos of this evening's almost-full moon, November 23, 2015. Canon Powershot, 50X zoom. Not too shabby for an automatic!

Photo by Caroline Carson

Photo by Caroline Carson

Photo by Caroline Carson

Photo by Caroline Carson

A Prayer for Quiet Confidence

A Prayer for Quiet Confidence

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we will be saved, in quietness and confidence will be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ Book of Common Prayer

Photo by Caroline Carson

10 Reasons Why I'm Not Afraid to Travel Alone

I'm not afraid to travel alone - not in the least! 
I am pretty afraid of spiders though...as any of my friends or students will tell you!
It's a very common idea that it is dangerous to travel alone, and even more so as a woman. There are differences of experiences when you compare men and women traveling alone, but it's 2015 and taking safety precautions has become a habit for almost everyone. I'm occasionally more worried about getting to my car safely on an early, quiet Sunday morning on deserted Frenchmen Street in New Orleans, than I am worried about trying to find a train station and get myself to an airport in a foreign country. Knowing about where you're going, the cultural differences, knowing how to dress appropriately in that culture, and being resourceful are all things that are vital to traveling alone. Being watchful of your surroundings and having an idea of where others are is good advice for anyone at any time.

Me in the amazing UNESCO site of Uplistsikhe, Georgia

I've written some about some of my travels here in former blog posts. Here are a few:
Chiusa, Italy
Mungeli, India and Mandwa Mahal, India
South Korea and Cheorwon
I usually get questions about my travels, ranging from "How can you afford that?" to "WHY are you going to X when you could go to Y or Z?!"
I'm expecting similar questions and a little more concern from folks regarding possible upcoming trips. I will surely blog about them, but in the meantime, wanted to write down some thoughts I have on solo travel.

                           The beautiful rolling hills and cattle of Azerbaijan. Photo by Caroline Carson

I mostly travel alone, not because I dislike people, but because I actually LIKE to have freedom to make my own choices about places to visit or activities and to be on my own schedule. Often, I am traveling with a group first, on mission work, a choral trip, or workshop, and then I want to explore another place alone. If I'm in one location for a week, there might be a day when all I really want to do is drink coffee in a park staring at flowers and petting dogs in Italy or to read a book along the banks of a gently wafting river in Scotland. I prefer visiting UNESCO sites, churches, and museums, but I love meandering through markets, strolling down picturesque streets, or finding myself a spot on the ground where I can lie down on greeny grass, and look up at the sky to ponder the meaning of life.

Handsome and sweet dog in Padova, Italy. Photo by Caroline Carson

10 Reasons Why I'm Not Afraid to Travel Alone

1. I have a sense of adventure that I refuse to limit simply because I live alone
I'm not going to wait until someone comes along and says it's ok to go to a certain place or decides to join me. Planning can often be easier when preparing a trip for yourself. I like having adventurous "me time". 

Paragliding outside of Ljubliana, Slovenia. Selfie by Caroline Carson :-)

2. I Do My Research
I enjoy spending time carefully crafting a unique trip! I spend hours online looking for deals and looking into the distances between cities. I was able to see the oldest musical instrument in the world and go paragliding for the first time while in Slovenia after I discovered that balloon rides were temporarily banned in the country. If I had not looked into this, I would have missed out on some history AND some fun. This is not to say that one should not be spontaneous while traveling - that has its own awesomeness to it! 

Throwing paint on a Buddhist stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo by Caroline Carson

3. I Trust My Gut
Regarding safety, I try not to do anything abroad that I wouldn't do at home. I stay aware of my surroundings, decently aware of the time and how much daylight I have left. I don't flash money or my cell phone around. I ALWAYS let people know if I am hiking or climbing somewhere. If any hikes include forested areas, I have a walking stick as well as a knife with me. I take enough water and some food for energy. I always carry Benadryl with me. Yes, sometimes it's possible to forget something (like sunscreen) or do dumb things (like the time I was on a mountain when clouds & lightning came up too quickly), but less over time and with experience! If something feels unsafe, it very well may be so I will avoid it.

Sunlit reeds and tree outside of the UNESCO Bulguska temple site in North Gyeongsang province. 
Photo by Caroline Carson

4. The real world isn't always what we see on TV...even in the news
The media can display much more violence than nonviolence. Some assume that all people of a certain culture are what they have associated with a negative person, group, or incident. On the ground where the real folks are, people around the world eat dinner, they dress and go to work or school or about their days, and they laugh and cry JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. 
We are HUMANS on ONE planet.
We need to make an effort to get to know one another!

Dancer of Columbian origin at a Rafain show near Iguazu, Argentina. Photo by Caroline Carson

5. People are people
With solo travel, I feel that I become a better observer of people and places around me. I'm much more compassionate as a result. I also occasionally realize what it feels like to be an outsider, however minor or major the situation may be. It can be uncomfortable sometimes, when you stand out based on your looks, gender, religion, language, etc. It can be an especially strong difference when you spend time with some people who have been born into certain conditions which prevent them from having a healthy or free life and/or future. These are very important feelings that can change your life and open your mind to what goes on in the world.
I'll repeat what I said for # 4 here! 
We are HUMANS on ONE planet.
We need to make an effort to get to know one another!

Kids playing in the mud and water. There is something universal in having a great time.
Outside Bilaspur, India. Photo by Caroline Carson

6. I can stay within my budget. 
I have been EXTREMELY lucky to have traveled internationally on choir tours, mission trips, conducting workshops, partially or fully funded trips, and getting paid for teaching in various international programs. When I make trips like these, I try to go somewhere nearby afterwards - on the cheap. After a conducting workshop in Bulgaria when I was a student, I created a proposal to return the following year and teach about music and American music education. It was accepted and partially sponsored! I did this three times. Each time, after I left Bulgaria, I had saved up for a ticket and few days in a hostel, a friend of a friend, or a bed and breakfast in a nearby country. Buying tickets when and where I want them saves me time and money. Sometimes, I spend hours online, plugging in different cities within a specific distance from my original destination. I love Travelocity, SkyScanner, Booking.com, Hotels.com, and I read reviews ad nauseum.

Mask in Venice, Italy. Photo by Caroline Carson

7. You'll make plenty of friends if you want to
Sometimes, it's a kid sitting next to you in a train and he also has a big ice cream cone. Sometimes, it's a person you meet while asking directions. 
Whether it's a person, dog, elephant, butterfly, or capybara, you will have opportunities to make friends. 
You might even make friends with yourself.

My friend Bernardo, a Capybara from Brasil. Photo by Caroline Carson

8. Scenes like this:

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Caroline Carson                  

When traveling alone, I have often have time to ponder and document my journey. Personally, I love photography and having several hours to photograph an area, building, or event makes me happy. My father was a photographer and sometimes when I'm deeply transfixed by the beauty of afternoon light (as above) or a scenic view in a particular country, I feel closer to him when I'm photographing it.

Paprika at a market outside of Sighisoara, Romania

9. Personal Growth and Confidence
You have to follow directions, find your way around, problem solve on the spur of the moment, figure out where to eat, learn who to trust, etc. Once, due to a series of train delays, I arrived in my destination in Slovenia at 11:00 PM. The station was closed, everyone disembarked and went about their merry ways, and I had NO idea in which direction to go from the station to find the street where my hotel was. In fact, it was quite scary. I had no cell service and my battery was dying. I ended up walking eight blocks and popping into a bar or two before I found someone who spoke enough English to point me in the right direction! I learned from this: to check out not only the map on my phone before I went, but the street view as well so that I'd know how it looked on the ground. I also learned that sometimes you just have to start walking.

No matter how much personal growth one experiences, being able to have gelato
any time you want it is still cool.

10. Life is Bigger Than Me
You might find yourself in the back of a truck with eight Chinese tourists at midnight, about to climb over the locked fence to get back INSIDE the nature reserve where your hotel is in the jungle of Nepal only to find the power is out, it's 100 degrees, and the mosquitoes aren't deterred by your netting. It happens. Or, you might explore a cemetery at the top of a mountain in Sighisoara, Romania and climb down the wrong part, to find yourself, and your students, lost. You didn't expect that and now have to figure out how to get everyone back to the city safely before dark and you can't go back UP the mountain because the cemetery is walled on the other side and now locked. You might even end up being the only hotel guest in a gigantic and creepy mansion on the edge of a massive loch in northern Scotland which provides you with nightmares, but also homemade whiskey pecan pie, stories from the barkeep, and two hours of throwing stones into the loch and pondering life as the dreary sun sets around midnight. 
Whatever it is, it makes you grow. It doesn't just enrich your life, it GIVES you life.

Hiking to the Obergurgl glacier, Austria. Photo by Caroline Carson

Dunnottar Castle, Scotland. Photo by Caroline Carson

September Moon O'er the Grey Twilight

I'm a wee bit late in posting this, but I still love the way this photo came out! Taken on my Canon 50X, the sky went from blue to grey when I zoomed in and it's SUCH a pretty grey! I also love how you can see the Moon's craters! I'd say definitely not bad for a Canon Powershot!

Photo by Caroline Carson, 2015

A Dose of Louisiana NATURE!

This past weekend, I visited the Northlake Nature Center in Mandeville, Louisiana.

Photo by CPCarson

From their website:
"The Northlake Museum and Nature Center, Inc. was established in 1982 by as a project of the Greater Covington Junior Service League as an independent non-profit corporation directed to preserve, study, and publicly exhibit the natural and cultural resources of the Florida Parishes in southeastern Louisiana. In 1985, the Northlake Nature Center, Inc. entered into a 50-year lease with the State of Louisiana for a 52 acre tract of land situated along Bayou Castine on Highway 190 east of Mandeville across from Fontainebleau State Park, subsequently expanded to 400 ac, just 45 minutes from New Orleans. Situated in the heart of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, it is also adjacent to Pelican Park Sports Complex and the 31-mile Tammany Trace Rails-to-Trails path."

Photo by CPCarson

Northlake Nature Center is across from the Fountainebleau State Park, and just down the road from Big Branch Marsh, which we also visited.

Photo by CPCarson

Aside from the mosquitoes eating us up, it was fantastic to be outside and to have a fun day of taking photos! My personal photo successes of the day are as follows:

A bird eating a frog - The spacey-looking other bird, who didn't look like he was paying attention, attacked the bird eating the frog and a battle ensued about one second after I got this photo at Fountainebleau State Park.

Photo by CPCarson

A Green Heron - I don't see them very much, but this little guy was stunning!

Photo by CPCarson

Dragonfly eye - a very cool closeup! I have always loved dragonflies. I used to sit on the back stoop of our house called "Seafair" on Daniel Island, SC (waaaaay before it was developed) and hold out my finger. One by one, dragonflies would rest for a spell. Of course I had to name them and my little self started out with such original names as "Bluey" and then "Greeny". As you can probably guess, other names included "Orangey", "Purpley", and "Silvery" etc.

Photo by CPCarson

Turtle under water - There was a baby turtle resting above water on a branch and I think this is its mother keeping an eye on him. I love seeing the shell under water.

Photo by CPCarson

Hawk in flight - This one is, well, over-cropped and grainy to say the least, but I still like it :-)

Photo by CPCarson

Red-eared slider turtle head up close - I've never ever noticed turtle pupils before, but they are wild! When zooming in, I saw him blink too - very strange, but cool!

Photo by CPCarson

Here is the whole album - it's on FB, but I made it public so you should be able to see it. 

Photo by CPCarson

Photo by CPCarson

Photo by CPCarson

Our Moon 3/28/15

Here's my photo of our moon from Saturday, march 28, 2015. I'll probably update this with the hi-res image later today (3/30). Canon Powershot (50X)

CCarson 3.28.2015

Tiny Planet

I can't believe that I JUST found this photo app! It turns your photographs into either tiny planets or rabbit holes and is pretty cool! You have to take a panorama shot and the edges of your picture should be on the same plane for it to work well. Here are some of my tries. The first one is one from two years ago in Innsbruck, Austria when I was teaching there over the summer and the second one is from this past Fall's UNO Space Day. (I need to finish writing that blog post!) Since I'm headed to San Francisco, I expect I'll be trying it out some more over there!

BARAKA

I have a recommendation! If you have never seen the movie Baraka, make an effort to do so. Baraka is Sufi for "Blessing". It means blessing in Hebrew, Arabic and Arabic-influenced languages I've seen this documentary many times and recently watched it yet again since I have now been to India, Nepal, Brasil, and several more of the 24 countries in which it was filmed. It speaks of humanity, spirituality, and the natural rhythm and order of our living Earth and its place in the Universe. It also makes huge statements on prayer & ritual, technology & "progress", community and communion with one another, and is an amazing stream of life that acutely makes one aware of the passage of time on the grand scale. This kind of awareness is not academic. Rather, you feel it and in so doing, you gain a sense of being connected to all things. It is at once mystic and blatant, it breathes stillness, yet embodies motion. It touches on cultural homage, glorification, deification, and how spirituality is intertwined within the worlds we have made separate from one another. It is AMAZING.

Just Plane Fun :-)

Call me crazy, but I love taking photographs from my plane trips. I thought I'd post some here since I took a bazillion on my past two trips. :-)

Delta flight over Lake Ponchartrain New Orleans

A collage of plane shadows as we land

Waiting to taxi away from ATL

Heading back to NOLA in the clouds

On the way from DFW to SLC, it looks like somebody's playing PacMan down there!

Our star shining brightly above the clouds from MSY to DFW

CLOUDS!

CHS to ATL