Fort Worth Water Gardens

Arguably the best part of this entire course has been the opportunities to go on field trips around Fort Worth to explore water in different ways. From canoeing on the trinity to touring the Amon G. Carter art museum, these hands on experiences have made me grow to truly love this class. One of our most recent trips to the Fort Worth Water Gardens was particularly interesting. I had never actually visited the gardens, and I had no idea that they were hidden right in the middle of downtown Fort Worth. I also had no idea what to expect, because what exactly is a "water garden"? Many definitions of water gardens describe them as gardens of aquatic plants, but that is not the case in Fort Worth. The water gardens we visited were focused primarily on the water, not on any aquatic wildlife.

One of my favorite water features was the active pool that has gallons of water cascading down large steps into a small pool. We were able to walk down into the middle of the pool and take in the rushing water. It was a complete visual and auditory experience, taking in the entire water feature from the center of it. The active pool used water's power and sensory beauty to create a breathtaking show.

Some chose to sit and observe the active pool for most of the time, but we chose to explore what the gardens had to offer. Just past the active pool was the aerating pool, a  large pool indented into the ground with water spraying up creating an illuminating and refreshing experience. If you caught the right light, all of the different water sprays created a beautiful rainbow. The aerating pool was incredibly serene and peaceful, portraying the beauty of water in a different way than the active pool did. Some of the pictures we took of the aerating pool turned out simply breathtaking because of the way the water caught the late afternoon sunshine.

Our final stop on our exploration was climbing up the "mountain" to look over all the water gardens and even see outside to parts of the city. The mountain was obviously not a water feature, but climbing to the top did give us a birds eye view of some of the other features, once again offering just another perspective to looking at water.

The water gardens serve as an oasis in the middle of bustling city. Tall buildings loom over the gardens, yet the large oak trees provide enough cover to make you really feel transported somewhere else. The gardens are an extremely peaceful place to visit and make you stop and take in the beauty of water. These field trips are a great addition to this class, even if sometimes because they're just a great excuse to explore our city. You can read about something as much as you want in class, but actually canoeing on, walking around, or observing water will always be the more rewarding activity.

Fall break adventures

For fall break I had the opportunity to travel to the Woodlands, Texas with my best friend. I had never been to this area of Texas and was excited to see what adventures this road trip would bring. The Woodlands are true to their name, the city is filled with trees everywhere! On the Saturday of our mini-vacation we actually got some rain, making the abundant nature look even more lush and beautiful.

One of the best part of the Woodlands is that all over the city are little pockets of serene nature that can make you feel completely secluded from the rest of the world. On that particular rainy day we decided to find one of those perfect little spots and take pictures of all its beauty. After exploring around a bit we stumbled onto a tiny creek completely surrounded by massive trees. We ended up spending over an hour exploring along this little creek that was in the middle of no where yet in the middle of a highly populated town. The water was calm and serene, just waiting for someone to stumble upon its beauty. The small, still water was nothing special, barely even big enough to be significant to anything. But it was its plainness that made it so beautiful to us. Something that ordinary becomes so much more meaningful when so much else is going on in your life. Spending some peace and quiet time by the water relaxing on the glass made our fall break that much more detoxifying for our minds.

This little adventure was a wonderful reminder of the quiet beauty of water. It was like a mini version of the Trinity River, but instead surrounded on all sides with breathtaking nature. There was no civilization in sight, but actually just behind those trees were major roads and large neighborhoods. Exploring along the sides of the creek was so much more fun than I ever thought it would be. Our mini adventure turned into a surprisingly relaxing experience that gave us yet another picturesque view of water.

And yes, when we first stumbled across this creek on our adventure one of our first reactions was, "Oh my gosh water! We can blog about this!". So blessed.

 

Pizza Snob and the Women's Club

After many busy weeks for both of us, Janaina and I were finally able to meet up again for lunch. We were originally planned to meet at Potbelly but switched at the last minute when Janaina invited me to join her and some of the other girls from the program at Pizza Snob. In turns out that all of the girls in the English program have formed a women's club together. They've done yoga together, volunteered at a local church, and had a dinner party at Janaina's house. At lunch Janaina came up with idea to have a cooking party soon, while another girl was talking about leading a zumba class in the near future. All the girls were so candid and fun with each other, and they brought out a side of Janaina that I hadn't experienced yet. According to Janaina, the girls all feel that they can be their selves together because its just them girls. At Janaina's house the girls from Saudi Arabia were able to remove their head scarves and show off their beautiful, long hair. It made her so happy that the girls all had each other to do things together. I recognized a few girls from the IEP social last week, and one of the girls actually remembered my name and talking to me, which made me actually feel really special.

Janaina introduced me to one of her good friends Hannah, who is from Saudi Arabia. Hannah has just graduated from the language program and was waiting for her test results before applying for petroleum engineering programs. We joked about how students in the medical field are intimidated by engineering (like I am), and she told me that she feels the same way about medicine. Hannah and Janaina talked with me about everything from family (Hannah will be seeing hers for the first time in over a year this December), to boys (Janaina told both Hannah and I that we should wait until after college to worry about them), to shopping in Fort Worth.

Janaina and I also talked about her teenage kids who still do not know they aren't going back to Brazil for the holidays. Janaina has decided that they should stay in the US and experience the holidays here, but has been worried about telling them this. They will however all be going back for the summer, where her daughter will be turning 15, a big holiday in their culture. According to Janaina, this means a big party and a lot of craziness. I got the feeling that maybe Janaina was not too excited to plan this huge party, and I can't really blame her!

Janaina is constantly entertaining visiting friends from Brazil, and apparently all they ever want to do when they come here is shop! Things are cheaper here than in Brazil, something that I did not expect. The constant stream of guests coming and going means going shopping all the time, something that Janaina doesn't necessarily mind, but apparently is taking up a little bit too much of her time.

Overall the lunch was a success, and I am so happy that I was able to join in on their women's club for the afternoon. What better way to get to know some amazing international girls than over delicious pizza on a rainy day?

Beautiful Disaster

Oh the irony that just as we are learning about the droughts and water struggles around the world, North Texas is hit with a freak storm almost flooding campus.

Many parts of the Big Thirst talked about the magical qualities of water, all the ways in which we rely on water, and just how beautiful as a substance it is. Last week though another side to water was revealed. The brief yet intense rain and hail storm showed just how destructive water can be. Like so many other things in life, water has both good and bad qualities.

The aftermath of the storm could be seen everywhere. I had to drive somewhere a few hours after the storm hit, and I was amazed to find multiple major stop lights broken and roads shut down. Crazy traffic problems and auto accidents were caused just by a short but strong release of water from the sky. Driving down University even a few days later one can still see the destruction from the storm. Massive trees that were torn up lay down on the grass by the road along with dozens of large branches.

TCU campus comparatively wasn't even hit that hard. Across North Texas over 300,000 homes lost electricity, some for over a day. Trees crushed homes and roofs were ripped from buildings. Wherever you were when the storm hit, you were essentially trapped there until it was over. You don't really think of water as something that can trap you, until it does. We need water for so many things that we often forget that water isn't just here to serve us, it almost has a mind of its own, causing everything from small storms to large-scale tsunamis.

Blessed as we are to get rain when Texas is experiencing such a drought, the rain came so fast and hard that it actually didn't help the drought situation very much. As I have begun to learn about Texas weather (I'm a transplant from the west coast), water likes to come in freak, short storms here, but its going to take more than one storm to make a real difference. Much of Texas still is on a drought warning, and DFW is currently experiencing its driest September on record.

Yes, water is a beautiful and essential resource that we should value and can no longer afford to take for granted, but we also cannot forget the dangers that water can bring. Water is not a stagnant resource. It is a force of nature that is out of our control and should be feared as much as loved in times like these. After last week's storm I can't think of a better way to describe water than as a beautiful disaster.

Collapsed back wall of a building in the Stockyards.

Creative TCU students run for cover to escape the freak storm.

Learning to teach

We've been learning our whole lives. We know how best we individually learn and how to be a successful student. But what about teaching? Is that something that we all do also? As a nursing student I am required to take a course called "Teaching Strategies for Professionals", and if that class name is a little vague to you, trust me you are not alone. On the first day of class my friend and I showed up and both admitted that we had no idea why we were here or why this class was a nursing requirement. We aren't studying to be teachers, why are we enrolled in this vague teaching class taught by the nursing school?

We are now multiple weeks into the semester and the class still sometimes seems like an odd requirement for nursing students, but we have finally figured out (kinda) what we are supposed to be learning through the course. If you think about it, as much as we always have been and always will be learners, we are also all teachers, even if you don't teach in a classroom.

For us as nursing students, we have to learn how to effectively teach a patient how to manage their chronic diseases such as diabetes, explain to them why they are sick, and simply show them what medications to take. This idea applies to most majors, no matter if you are going into the business, health, or education field.

We've learned different learning and teaching styles and strategies and how to implement them into a lesson plan or presentation. Learning to be a nurse is not just learning the medical science behind it all. We must also learn how to teach and educate patients, families, and other medical professionals.

So what have I learned this semester? I've learned that learning to teach is something that is actually a valuable skill for all students to have. I've learned that being able to teach effectively is actually just as important as knowing how to learn effectively.

P.S. Come by the flu clinic on Wednesday, October 8th and check out our different health-related presentations we've put together through this vague and yet unique class!

Janaina

I first met with Janaina at Union Grounds this week, and I was completely unsure of what to expect. I had no idea how old she was or what she looked like and I was worried I wouldn't be able to find her. Luckily she found me and we enjoyed a nice conversation about everything from her family to her english studies here at TCU.

Janaina is 40 years old and lives in Wetherford, Texas with her two teenage children and her husband (who participates in horse competitions!). She has only been living in the U.S. for less than a year and came here knowing next to no English. This amazed me because although she clearly was still learning English, her speaking was surprisingly good.

She is from the north of Brazil, the "amazon" as she called it, where she lived with her family on a ranch. Janaina said that she and her husband moved to the U.S. so that her kids could learn English while they were still young. Her kids go to private school in Wetherford where they sometimes don't like all of the religious teachings in class but nonetheless still enjoy it all. According to Janaina, her kids have picked up English much faster and easier than she has. They are also much better at multitasking as she pointed out multiple times, something she says is a generation thing.

Janaina has struggled with learning all of the different English pronunciations and writing, but she exclaims just how far she has come since she started at TCU. She loves her professors, remarking that they are so helpful with everything. In her free time she loves to ride horses, read (although now she tries to only read in English, which is still difficult for her), shop, and go to the movies.

One of the things she said multiple times about Texas is that everyone must follow all of the rules, and she feels much safer here than in Brazil. Her example was that in Brazil if there was a sign saying to not park somewhere, everyone would still park there. Here, she didn't realize this and got a ticket. Good ol' TCU campus police and their love of parking tickets. Also, in Brazil her teenage son could walk into a bar and be served alcohol, whereas here he cannot, something that she really likes. She thinks that all the rules are good for her kids growing up.

Overall the whole conversation was very fun and unique. I love that we are getting this opportunity to meet people from other cultures and learn about their new experiences here in Texas.

When microbiology hits too close to home

Every headline today has read the same thing: "First diagnosed case of Ebola in the U.S." Yes, you read that right, that African disease that people have been talking about for a while has now jumped the Atlantic and landed in good ol' Dallas, Texas. 

Of course the whole school started freaking out when the news broke, but no one freaked out quite as much as all the students who have taken or are currently taking microbiology here at TCU. Right now we are reading the Hot Zone, a book all about the original outbreaks of Ebola in Africa and the severity of the virus strand. We are just halfway through the book now and what we have learned about the disease scares us all to death. One day we're learning about a horribly deadly disease that is NOT in the U.S., and then the next day the Center for Disease Control is reporting that this disease is not only in the U.S., but its in the city just 45 minutes away from campus. A direct quote from one of my friends in my micro class: "That makes me want to cry". We have read hundreds of pages about what the virus can do, and how there is no foolproof cure or vaccine for it either. And now its here.

Ebola has been all over the news for a while now, but it wasn't until microbiology that I actually learned about what the disease does to the body and the long history of it. And now, everyone else wants to know what we have learned. At dinner I was answering questions about how Ebola is spread (fluid transmission), where the virus came from (Ebola river in Africa), and how it most likely first got to humans (through monkeys). I also had to explain that a person is only infectious once they have started exhibiting the symptoms (which the Dallas man was not while on his flight home, meaning it won't spread through the airplane).

I love when what you learn in class can be directly related to something going on around the world right now. The learning connection makes it all seem so much more real and allows you to see a purpose to what you are learning. In this case, Ebola is not a disease that has come and gone, it is still clearly a problem, and as a future healthcare professional, I am going to need to understand what the virus can do.  

We've been asked to blog about our other learning experiences outside of Literature & Civilizations II, and the whole story of Ebola has definitely been a learning experience, from helping me with my studies in microbiology to simply educating me on what is happening in the global healthcare community. I've learned what the Center for Disease Control does to combat these viruses so they don't become and epidemic in the U.S. and how easily some diseases can be spread if not diagnosed and quarantined.

If you are at all interested in Ebola and curious what its history is, I highly recommend you pick up the Hot Zone by Richard Preston. It is a very interesting read that really helped me to understand what is happening in Africa and now the U.S. regarding disease outbreaks. Now don't worry y'all, yes Ebola is in Dallas, but the likelihood of it being spread is actually very low because the patient was quarantined very soon after exhibiting symptoms. That may or may not give you peace of mind, but hey at least we don't go to SMU.