Saturday photo, er...

 ...I meant video!  Okay... and some photos, too.

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by PAM

Beyond the backyard...

The horses at the stable located at the 

Baker Institute for Animal Health

of Cornell University

One of the things that I love about living in Ithaca in Upstate New York is how one can be very close to nature.  There is always an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of nature whatever time of year... although winter can be truly harsh.  

An assortment of blooms in the 
Cornell campus in Ithaca, NY
during spring time.

This is the beauty of studying at Cornell University, too, specifically in its Ithaca campus.  Aside from it being an Ivy League... and, therefore, the quality of education is topnotch, the Ithaca campus is surrounded by nature in its unadulterated beauty.  The campus itself is beautiful:  dramatic in Autumn, surreal in winter time, deliciously pretty in spring, and totally smashing during summer time.  More than anything else though, the company of brilliant and fun students, and awesome mentors, was totally wonderful and unforgettable.  I spent five years in the Ithaca campus of Cornell as a PhD student in the mid 2000s.  I thank the Fulbright-Philippine Agriculture scholarship program endlessly for the opportunity... because those were some of the very best years of my life!      

So, in AY 2021-2022, I had the opportunity to return to Cornell.  This time, I return as a Hubert H. Humphrey (HHH) Fellowship grantee.  The HHH Fellowship Program is under the Fulbright Scholarship Program of the US Department of State.  It is a highly competitive program that is usually awarded to professionals in their mid-career or leaders who are ready to move up to more influential leadership roles in their field of work.  In my Humphrey Fellowship, I was primarily hosted by the Penn State University in State College, PA but I chose Cornell as the venue for one of my two six-week non-local Professional Affiliations. The other one is Boise State University in Idaho.  I couldn't be any happier! 

Enjoying a lovely spring time
evening, walking around East Hill
area of Ithaca, NY.

In Ithaca, I stayed at the eastern side of the campus... up a hill, towards downtown. The house where I stayed this time was the same house where I lived on my last year as a PhD student in Cornell.  Its location is adjacent to that of the Baker Institute for Animal Health of the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, which is recognized as one of the very best Vet Schools in the world.  The house has among the most beautiful views of Ithaca sunset, which gets dramatic during spring time because of the usually thick dark rain clouds that contrasted with the burning red-orange color of the sun as it sank in the horizon among the tall trees on the hills. It is absolutely lovely!  

Every single day, I was motivated to start the day well by the cheerful tweets of birds outside my window... and the gentle fingers of the rising sun that knocked on my window with its comforting warmth.  They brought smile to my lips as I prayed for that beautiful day that beckoned.  All day long, the horses at the stable of the Baker Institute grazed around the hills, and they usually wandered at the house's backyard.  I enjoyed watching them, especially the two most active ones who loved to run around.  They are the ones featured in the video above.  

Towards the end of the day, I put all my concentration on my work so I can eat dinner early with the kind family who owns the house... and relax as I watched the beautiful sunset at the backyard.  In the evening, I put on my walking/running shoes, put on my earphones, and pull down my favorite playlist on Spotify - mostly BTS music, of course!  I then joined some of our neighbors as I walked/ran a minimum of 4km, chasing the colors of the sunset fade into the night.  Perfect day for Namjooning, indeed!  

I usually went to bed every single night satisfied with my day... and happy that I got to rest well as I anticipated another lovely day to come my way in the morning.  Looking back, those days that were full of hope reminded me of my favorite line in one of the newest BTS songs, "Yet to come".  The line went, "dream and hope, and go forward - we're so about it!"  Yes, I am so about it, too!

Ahhh... Ithaca!  Take me back!  

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Video credit:  The video featured in this post belong to me.  I shot it for the sole use of this post.

Photo credit:  All photos used in this post belong to me.  I took and processed them for the sole purpose of this post.

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