Hello from Virginia

[Sarapva]

Hello,
I'm from Petersburg, Virginia. I've never been to Japan - the only Asian countries I've visited are India and Sri Lanka, more than 20 years ago! I've known Japanese people in the U.S., though, some who live here permanently and some who were here only for a short time before moving back to Japan. I look forward to learning more about the Japanese culture!

 

[made of stone]

Welcome Sarapva!

I'm new here too, and just starting to find my way around the site and get to know one or two characters a little. I must say people seem very friendly so far

Please feel free to tell us a little more about yourself if you like! And it'd be nice to hear a little about Virginia - I came across some of it's political past in my student days, but know absolutely nothing about the realities of living there.

Hope you enjoy your stay here and we get to chat!

:joyful:

 

[Philip]

Welcome enjoy!

 

[Sarapva]

Thank you!! There were a lot of civil war battles in Virginia, and now those sites are memorialized in parks and sometimes just a sign on the side of the road of what happened there during the civil war. Virginia is kind of in between the north and south U.S., though it's considered a southern state. I've traveled all over the U.S., and although some states have majestic mountains and beautiful scenery, I think Virginia is beautiful in its way. I lived in Alaska for a few years, and when I came back to Virginia I always noticed how many trees there were, especially from the air where it looks like a carpet of trees.

I was born in England though, just outside of London. My mother is from England and my father is from Mississippi, a very southern state!

 

[kirei_na_me]

Hey Sarapva! I'm from Virginia too! Welcome to the forum.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Hello and welcome, new person. Welcome to the site and enjoy your stay at Jref.

 

[made of stone]

Thank you!! There were a lot of civil war battles in Virginia, and now those sites are memorialized in parks and sometimes just a sign on the side of the road of what happened there during the civil war. Virginia is kind of in between the north and south U.S., though it's considered a southern state. I've traveled all over the U.S., and although some states have majestic mountains and beautiful scenery, I think Virginia is beautiful in its way. I lived in Alaska for a few years, and when I came back to Virginia I always noticed how many trees there were, especially from the air where it looks like a carpet of trees.
I was born in England though, just outside of London. My mother is from England and my father is from Mississippi, a very southern state!

Many thanks, Sarapva, it's lovely to hear about other parts of the world, and get to understand them a little better!

Virginia sounds quite beautiful, and I believe it's mainly agricultural, isn't it? Lots of good fresh oxygen from the trees, and tasty and cheap local farm produce, I imagine.

Btw, is that a pic from where you live in your avatar? It does indeed look very nice there. It'd be cool to see more pics from your home state, or different places in the US even, to get more of a sense of them

Ah, Mississipi - I cannot get the image of a steamboat out of my mind lol, or memories of the book, film or television versions of the wonderful Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer I enjoyed so much growing up - absolute classics, I must remember to read them again!

I'm from just outside London myself (south-east), have you ever had a chance to visit here since you were born?

Again, enjoy the Forum!

 

[Sarapva]

Thank you for all the warm welcomes. Kirei_na-me: What part of Virginia do you live? I'm in Petersburg, or just outside of it.

Made of stone: Yes, the picture in my avatar is about 3 miles from where I live, taken on a path next to the Appomattox River. You're right, there is a lot of agriculture in Virginia and we do get local produce, especially in the summer. I'll try posting some more pictures.

Yes, Huckleberry Finn was set on the Mississippi River. I don't remember if the story was in the state of Mississippi, though, but I think it was. The M. River (too long to keep typing!) goes right through the middle of the country, north to south. It starts in Minnesota and borders quite a few states, including Missouri (St. Louis, Missouri is right on the river), before getting to the state of Mississippi, then empties out into the Gulf of Mexico, near New Orleans, Louisiana. There was an interesting book written by a man who paddled a canoe from the beginning to end of the M. River (I'll look up the name).

I have visited England a few times with my family as I was growing up, but the last time I was there was 1984. My relatives live in Kent, and I have very fond memories of visiting them there and going other places around England. My mother still visits once a year.

I haven't figured out yet how to post pictures!

 

[kirei_na_me]

Virginia is the best state! I'm not biased, of course!

Sara, I'm from a place about 30 miles south of Lynchburg. I have family all over the state. My ancestors came here from England in 1622. Virginian, through and through!

 

[made of stone]

Sarapva, I'm in Kent, your relatives and I might be neighbours, isn't that amazing?!

Wikipedia says that Huck Finn was from Missouri (the fictional St. Petesburg, based on Hannibal) and journeyed south, but it doesn't say if he got as far as Virginia. Guess i'll just have to read the book again after all.

(I think to post pics you need at least 20 posts, then you need to put your pic on an image host, and then click on the insert image icon in your reply and copy the url in there. I'll try posting a pic on my own hello thread in a minute to see if it works)

kirei_na_me, another Virginian! hello to you, nice to meet you here

 

[Sarapva]

Kirei_na_me - You're in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains! I'm not biased either, of course - but I think Virginia is the best state, too.

Made of stone - Thanks for the information about posting pictures. I'll try it after 20 posts.

 

[made of stone]

Made of stone - Thanks for the information about posting pictures. I'll try it after 20 posts.

Hurry up now there, miss, you have only three posts to go before our long awaited Virginia snaps!

 

[Sarapva]

Yes, I think this might be 19?

And this should be 20!

 

[made of stone]

Happy 19 posts, Sarapva!

One more and you're a true super-picture-posting-trouper!

 

[Sarapva]

Darn! I think my last two posts were merged.

 

[Sarapva]

Pictures! (hopefully)

Here's an attempt at some pictures. Thanks, made of stone, for your help and postday party!

(I just saw in the Gallery that my pictures are pending approval, so I'll try this again tomorrow! Thanks!)

 

[Sarapva]

Second try

Now let's see if this works!

The James River from Chippokes State Park in Virginia:





And a maple tree in the fall in Virginia:





The Outer Banks in North Carolina:

 

[made of stone]

Just delightful pictures, Sarapva, thank you very much for posting them.

Very beautiful!

The first looks like an ideal place for a family stroll to me, perhaps after a big lunch at the weekend: it seems like both a restive and contemplative place. The second, I would like to visit again with family, or perhaps someone I felt deeply at ease with, that rare, special connection - we could admire the beauty of the maple tree both together and alone, in silence.

The third cries out to me 'where's the bar, let's get drunk and celebrate life!'

 

[Sarapva]

Thanks, mos! The James River picture was taken after a family picnic at the park! It was very peaceful there. The maple tree is in front of my parents' house. The beach picture was taken last summer - I think it was in the morning before people came out in droves! I've got more photos - will post in the gallery!

 

[made of stone]

Cool, then be sure to tell us here the way to find your section of the gallery!

(some of us are still newbies on this forum lol)

Oyasumi Sarapva chan (goodnight!)

 

[kirei_na_me]

Beautiful pictures! I should post some one of these days.

I've always thought Virginia was one of the most rural states around here. There is so much lush countryside. Rolling hills of green are plentiful around here.

One of my best friends is from Reading, England. She's been to a lot of states in the US, and she says she thinks VA is the most like the "Mother" country...

What do you think, Sarapva?

Oh, and made of stone, nice to meet you too!

 

[Damicci]

What's the town in Virginia that still has very colonial style buildings.
Gettysburgh?
I love that town.

 

[kirei_na_me]

Colonial Williamsburg?

 

[Sarapva]

Kirei_na_me - Yes, I think Virginia is a lot like England, especially in the rural areas. I'd like to see some of your pictures. You're in a very pretty part of the state! (No rolling hills around Petersburg, but 25 miles to the west it starts to look more England-like.) New England (Vermont, New Hampshire) also has nice green rolling hills, and also western Pennsylvania.

Damicci - I think you might mean Williamsburg or Jamestown. Williamsburg (in the eastern part of the state) still has old Colonial buildings, and in the summer they have people dressed in 18th-19th century clothing that give demonstrations of the way they used to make shoes and other things, and have horse carriage rides.

 

[lcrystal]

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