England: Cassidy Quandt (Forest Bathing)

Program: UW Global Launch in London

Today, I had the opportunity to go to Holland Park, specifically the Kyoto Garden.  On my walk over to the Kyoto Garden, all I could think about was the warm sunlight hitting my skin.  It had been one of the first days of my time in London when it was not dreary and raining.

As I continued along the trail, I ran into many walkers with their dogs.  All of these dogs made me think of my friend and fellow UW Launch student, Jeremy, where every time he sees a dog, he asks the owner if he can pet it.  Continuing down the trail to the Kyoto Garden, I remember noticing all of the green cracked open nutshells from the squirrels and the sensation of my shoes stepping on the occasional crunchy leaf, signaling the seasonal transition to fall.  I continued walking, accompanied with the clicking of the squirrels and the chirping of the birds.

Just as I was about to enter the gardens, I came across a wooden playground.  I was immediately reminded of my own childhood with the wooden jungle gym I played on everyday in elementary school.  After reflecting for a few seconds, I reached to open the door of the Kyoto Gardens.  As soon as I stepped in, it felt like an entirely different place.  Previously, I felt as if I was going for a walk on the pavement, just surrounded by trees.  But when I entered the gardens, I no longer felt any reminiscence of the city and its urbanization.  All I could see was green: green grass, green bushes, tall trees, and the slightly green/ blue of the pond in the middle.  As I entered further into the park, I walked along the wooden bridge across the pond.  In there I saw the biggest koi fish I had ever seen.  The orange, red, and white were overwhelming, and with a closer look, you saw all the little baby koi fish as well.  There were probably hundreds in such a small pond.

I continued walking and as I approached the most central tree, I noticed the heron standing perfectly beside it.  It barely moved, giving it almost a regal look and calming effect.  As I continued to watch it, a blue and green peacock started to walk in my direction.  At this point, I am less than a foot away from it in which it turns back around, retreating.  I remember noticing its beautifully colored feathers, and again, am reminded of my childhood at the Milwaukee County Zoo with the peacocks walking freely around just the same.  I am so surprised though, never would I have thought a peacock would just be walking about in a park.  After noticing this, I take in all of the different kinds of birds around me.  There are pigeons, crows, peacocks, herons, and others I couldn’t name.  I was astounded, for being so close to the bustling city, there was so much biodiversity.

Finally, I walk around the rest of the garden, approaching the waterfall.  This was the most calming part of this experience, just listening to the water and watching the koi around me.  Continuing to listen and watch the birds around me, I think about my time in London.  It is still so crazy to me that I can live in such a big city with no grass on the sidewalk and barely any trees, but then go to a place like Holland Park and feel as though I am fully immersed in nature, with no city in sight.  This diversity and range of opportunities is one of the things I love most about London and something I have not experienced anywhere else.

This walk has made me so grateful to be where I am and excited to see what I will continue to explore, while also reminding me of little aspects of home.  If I were to do this exercise again, I think it would be fun to not only focus on the nature and animals around me, but also to sit and observe the other people around me as well, and how they interact with the garden; do they act similar or different to me?