Serenity - First week photoblog.

Hello everyone! I really enjoyed my time in SL yesterday, so as I had some free time this morning, I thought I'd log back on and get some less newbie-ish gear, as well as have a bit of an explore.

I ended up giving in and purchasing an animation override, a new body, some makeup, and a lovely gothic dress. (I didn't replace my hair, as it was already a nice hair set and not one of the starter ones that someone had given me for free the previous day!) Then I decided to look for some gothic locations.

The first one I found was sadly uninhabited, but a beautifully made forest, complete with a castle and a graveyard.

 Obviously me, sitting in the graveyard.

And here you can see my new outfit better.

I went to a couple more locations before I found a place called Sanctuary, which was a heavy metal and rock club. The entire staff were real people, not bots, so I got a round of greetings as I teleported in, which surprised me! They also had a live DJ going, who was talking in between songs and running competitions. (The music was good, too, but I didn't buy a cool dance animation so was forced to stand and observe in order to avoid being laughed at.)

Then I decided to look for something a little more Japanese inspired. I happened upon this tea house and sakura garden that was small, but very detailed.

Lastly though, and my favourite place of all, was a reconstruction of Matsumoto Castle, when it would have just been finished around the 16th century, I believe.

The detail and amount of effort put into making the area realistic to the time was just amazing.

Unfortunately I didn't go very far into the area, as the sign at the entrance requests that all guests make an effort to dress for the era, so I guess finding appropriate clothes is my next goal!

There is a lot to take in with this program, so I'm sorry that there isn't much writing of substance in this entry. I'm finding myself bewildered by the size of everything, and how much time and effort people have put into something which I had always viewed, in the past, as not real (and inferior to the real world.). However, as Darryl said, there is something strangely addictive about the environment, and being able to communicate with others without the barrier of yourself being there. It's no wonder that so many language classes are held through it, then, as it must help to ease that self consciousness that is often such an issue when one is first learning to speak a foreign language (Hm, I bet that there's already research on whether it is more effective than traditional classroom based strategies. I guess I know what I'll be reading this afternoon!).