Expression

Most of you who follow me realize that when I travel, my photos are usually of three basic topics: buildings, nature, and food. Seldom do I take pictures of people. This is because I find that most of the people I encounter are engaged in seemingly mundane tasks, but mostly because I don't wish to intrude upon people's space and image.

As you can see, I've made an exception here. Generally it is very poor policy for quinquagenarian men to take photos of young women, but there seems to be something happening in Semarang.  Or maybe this is a worldwide trend to which I have been utterly oblivious. Regardless, I have been astonished to witness almost every young woman in Semrang traveling in a group of two or three and they seem to spend all of their time taking each other's photos. Not regular old photos, but they are engaged in a range of dramatic and theatrical poses that seem rather unexpected to me. It's as though they are all vying to land on the cover of Elle. Or Semarang Elle. Or something I can't comprehend.

Perhaps, as is often my nature, I am reading way too much into this, searching for meaning where there is none, but I feel like these young women are telling us something about their lives in Semarang. Especially after listening to the vague hints of dissatisfaction the female SU students I have recently met seem to be communicating. There's something going on related to this. I think.

I didn't spot a single boy in Semarang engaged in photography, certainly not in this way. Is it just young women having fun? Or is there some elusive meaning I am not fully grasping?  Or should I just go back to taking pictures of temples and pagodas and my entree at dinner?