Drift Assessment 3

3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drifts and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)



One of biggest surprises that I personally had was facing my discomfort with natural ‘silence.’ When walking down the railroad tracks, although feeling at peace, I also felt very aware of my isolation within an urban context. A second instance was also personal, but somewhat general. I did my drifts around my neighborhood which I have lived in for a year, but during these walks I found myself much more aware of everything that was happening around me, there were streets I hadn’t noticed, and small things that made each block or house unique amongst the others. Finally I felt a personal surprise that I was able to take myself out of the mindset that silence was what existed in natural arenas and replace it with an understanding that each piece of the world offers something different and that if we pay close enough attention the silence is peeled away and there is a whole new layer of information that is provided by a material object in its natural space.