Post by Lux on Apr 22, 2008 17:40:48 GMT 12
I'm reading a book at the moment called 'Shame' by Jasvinder Sanghera
Which is the story of a young Indian girl raised in England who ran away to escape an arranged marriage:
Wanted to share this passage with you, her first visit to the seaside at aged 16.
...I'll never forget my first sight of it, ever. I stood there on the promenade looking at this vast expanse of sand and beyond it sea, sea, sea right out to the horizon and I just thought 'Wow'. I couldn't believe that I had lived in England all my life and never before seen this extraordinary phenomenon. There was so much more of it than I had ever considered possible. I stood there I could feel the boundaries of my world expanding: If this exists, I thought, what else is there that I haven't seen?
The silvery sand felt so heavy underfoot: I sank a bit with every step and it poured over the edges of my shoes. I stooped to pick up handfuls of the stuff and found it was nothing, it just flowed through my fingers and was gone, caught on the wind and carried off to infinity. I kicked off my shoes. The dry sand scratched and crunched between my toes, but when we crossed the tide line, I was astonished to find it transformed into a hard cold surface...
The thing I like about this passage is because of the girls age she is able to describe very well her discoveries in her exploration...of something most kiwi kids experience so young that they'd hardly be able to put into words what they were experiencing.
Also made me wonder about the true beauty of nature that we take for granted because it is so available to us. There must be many people on this planet who have never experienced the wonder of the seaside.
Which is the story of a young Indian girl raised in England who ran away to escape an arranged marriage:
Wanted to share this passage with you, her first visit to the seaside at aged 16.
...I'll never forget my first sight of it, ever. I stood there on the promenade looking at this vast expanse of sand and beyond it sea, sea, sea right out to the horizon and I just thought 'Wow'. I couldn't believe that I had lived in England all my life and never before seen this extraordinary phenomenon. There was so much more of it than I had ever considered possible. I stood there I could feel the boundaries of my world expanding: If this exists, I thought, what else is there that I haven't seen?
The silvery sand felt so heavy underfoot: I sank a bit with every step and it poured over the edges of my shoes. I stooped to pick up handfuls of the stuff and found it was nothing, it just flowed through my fingers and was gone, caught on the wind and carried off to infinity. I kicked off my shoes. The dry sand scratched and crunched between my toes, but when we crossed the tide line, I was astonished to find it transformed into a hard cold surface...
The thing I like about this passage is because of the girls age she is able to describe very well her discoveries in her exploration...of something most kiwi kids experience so young that they'd hardly be able to put into words what they were experiencing.
Also made me wonder about the true beauty of nature that we take for granted because it is so available to us. There must be many people on this planet who have never experienced the wonder of the seaside.
