Transition. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “transition” as a “passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another: change” (n. a. “transition). Today, we left our dorms and temporary classroom at University  College of Dublin and set out for Belfast. On the AirCoach, I peered out of the window at the passing landscape–blurs of greenery with picturesque farms, houses, and churches. These places that hold meaning to people who live there or have a connection to the area simply pass through my gaze–figures of a place with no fixed physical connection, but constantly changing images. Like being lost in a narrative, an imaginary time and place, my mind is enchanted by the moving spaces.

Sometimes I speculate about the towns and houses that move past. What is happening in that place in the split moment that I travel by? I try to find a static image in the flux of moving landscape, creating my own story and projecting my own meaning. For instance, we drove under a bridge where a herd of cows were crossing–where were they going? Who did they belong to? I can still recall the image of the cows crowding across the bridge even though the image crossed my gaze quickly as the bus continued its route.

Transition also foresees a new place, so that the moving landscapes and volatile images signify a progression to another place. Each passing image brings the thought of a new place. The motion of the bus and the quickly passing landscape incites my excitement, wonder, and curiosity.