she got the beat

I was walking across the campus today and came across a woman tucked away in a corner playing a drum. I liked how her hands looked against the drum head and I took a couple of pictures. She noticed me and I went over and said hi. She asked if I was a journalism student and I told her I was. She told me she was a world music student. Camera meets drum.

I sat and listened to her play for a few minutes and she told me about her drum. It is an african drum--a djembe. She bought it about a month ago. Half-price.

She is from Taiwan. As she talked the conversation took a gradual transition from drums to martial arts--there was a connection between the two that I didn't quite get. I enjoyed hearing her talk, and I didn't take any more pictures.

We talked for about 15 minutes, and then I had to go. She looked a little disappointed--I think she would have liked to talk more.

Sometimes a camera can be something to hide behind, and sometimes it's a bridge.