Picnics and Mysterious Floating Objects

{River Reflection 2}

I’ve known my best friend since I was five-years-old.  She’s in most of my pictures and memories.  As are our two other friends that we met at 9-years of age.  Please excuse my cheesiness when I say that these three girls mean more to me than anything and have contributed to making me who I am today. (cheesiness over)  On September 21, we all decided to venture to the Trinity River with a picnic in celebration Katelyn’s 20^th birthday. 

There’s something peaceful about being near the water catching up on life with close friends.  It was our first time all together since April and we had a lot to update each other on.  We sat under a bridge atop our blankets with our picnic foods and a decent view of the downtown skyline at sunset. 

What I noticed most about our spot on the Trinity was how many other people had found themselves in the same place on the same day.  There were multiple birthday parties and bike riders and small family gatherings and people strolling down by the riverside.  All were from different walks of life, different ages and experiences, yet we all found ourselves by the Trinity River at sunset with a clear view of Fort Worth.

Even though we often complain and joke about how dirty and contaminated the Trinity River is, it amazes me how it is still brings people together.  It’s as if the calm, but somewhat green, waters of the Trinity has a power over us that draws us near to it.  Everyone near the Trinity River seemed to be in a good mood.

We ate our sandwiches under the bridge and talked about what had changed in our lives since starting our sophomore year of college.  I’ve often recognized that when I’m with them, three of the most important people in my life, everything just feels right and it was no different that day on the river watching the sunset and listening to the laughter of children in a nearby bounce house.  It felt like one of those exaggerated scenes in a movie, where everyone is happy and there’s an eerie calm because things seem too good to be true and you know at any moment things are going to start going downhill.

But sometimes reality is better than the movies.  And I almost wish I could say that that was when a giant alligator came out of the water and stole the rest of our picnic or that the birthday girl suddenly fell into the water (probably catching some water borne disease) to make this a more exciting story.  But while there were mysterious floating objects that we think were a couple of turtles, it was one of those blissful moments.

I’m thankful for the Trinity and for the sense of community it brings to the place I call home.  And I’m thankful for the friends who make home a group of people rather than a place.  Like with friendships that we must intentionally take care of and develop, we must take care of our river.  Because honestly, I don’t know what those mysterious floating objects were, but there’s a good chance they weren’t turtles.

Three Worlds Collide

{Conversation Partner Reflection 2}

Spain, China, and America are very different countries.  Yet, these three cultures came together last year in Colby Hall.

My conversation partner, Aitana, came from Spain and met her roommate for the first time in Colby Hall, who had just arrived from China.  The two of them come from different backgrounds in different parts of the world and found themselves in somewhere new altogether.  What’s more is that both spoke very little English.

I can only imagine how hard it must be to travel to a new country and know that that new place was home for at least the next few years.  Let alone how hard it must have been to live with someone in such a small space and not be able to properly communicate.

The closest I have gotten to her experience is from this summer when I traveled to Malaysia for the first time.  It was my first time in a country that was not considered “first-world” or “developed”, and I was very much out of my element.  I was confronted with a significantly different culture than what I am used to with different people and a different language.  Even the buildings and streets were nowhere near the kind that I know, making me feel even more like a stranger. 

In my travels this summer, I learned that your definition of home is never definite and, in fact, changes quite often.  I typically consider home the place where I grew up and where my family currently resides in our red-bricked house on Ember Glen.  But I also consider TCU a home away from home because I feel a sense of familiarity here.  On vacation, I often referred to our hotel room as “home” because that was where we could go to relax from a day of sightseeing and socializing.

But I was only in Malaysia for three days.  Aitana was away from home for ten months before she was able to return.  I barely made it those three days and Aitana made it over 100 times that.

To find yourself in a foreign place where you are a stranger is what can make the transition into college life simultaneously difficult and exciting.  However, the transition into college is all the more challenging when you also have to adjust to a new culture and lifestyle.

Culture is another one of those elusive terms.  It can be defined as a collective system of experiences or beliefs or values that are the basis for how certain people interact.  It can also be the accumulation of arts and other human intellectual achievements or the characteristics that a particular group identifies with. 

Even if there isn’t a determined definition of culture, everyone has one.  And it is what your world revolves around – your sense of home and culture. 

Three such worlds collided in Aitana’s freshman dorm room: the world from which Aitana came from in Spain with her family in Málaga the world from which her roommate came from in China with her own family and language and beliefs; and the American world that met them at Texas Christian University in Colby Hall.   

In our conversation last week, she told me the story of how one day she walked into her dorm room to find her roommate using her straightener because she had never used one before and wanted to try it out.  While Aitana was fine with her roommate borrowing her straightener as long as it was with permission, her roommate profusely apologized and even shed tears because of how sorry she was for using the straightener without asking.  This was just a small example of their daily interactions (or lack thereof since she tells me her roommate was pretty quiet).  Through the challenges of figuring out how to communicate, Aitana was able to build a friendship with her freshman year roommate.

When worlds collide, we have the opportunity to learn and to grow from what we learn.  I hope to learn more by leaving my home and travelling to new countries and immersing myself in new cultures.

Thoughts on Twain and the Trinity

{River Reflection 1}

Never would I ever sign up to canoe down the Trinity River for four miles. 

And yet, on September 18, I took up my paddle and did just that.

Our trek through the mysterious waters of the Trinity was by no means easy.  Rachel and I spent the entire time determined not to be last.  This mission was made more difficult by our attempts to photograph our journey through the Trinity while simultaneously trying to keep our canoe on a relatively straight course. 

‘Twas no easy feat. 

The worst part of the trek was definitely the sharp pain in my arms and shoulders the following night.  However, it’s hard to decide which part of our long journey down the river was my favorite.  I was able to experience a side of Fort Worth I had never seen before in my 16 years of living here.  It was new, and like most things that are new, it was coupled with an adventurous sort of excitement.  There was a spirit of perseverance and bonding.  It was a way of experiencing nature and a glimpse into what Huck and Jim might have felt upon the Mississippi.

I asked a couple of our guides from the Rec Center which previous expeditions of theirs were their most memorable.  One answered with a 32-mile canoe trip that she went on the previous year.  The other replied with a mountain climbing journey that required they sleep in wigwams. 

Their responses had two things in common.  First, they both admitted that these also happened to be some of the most difficult endeavors.  This made me realize that sometimes the most challenging journeys are the most memorable.  In other words, our toughest battles often lead to our biggest victories. 

Second, they both remember having great times bonding with the people they shared these adventures with, much like the companionship that began on the Mississippi River because of the trials that Huck and Jim encountered.  In Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, a theme of friendship is found upon the water.  Huck and Jim become friends and depend on each other while on the Mississippi.  Because of this, Huck begins to see Jim more as a person than as an escaped slave.  In fact, his respect for Jim grows and Huck finds himself willing to risk his eternal damnation by not exposing him as a runaway slave.  With nothing but a raft, the river and each other, Huck and Jim built a strong relationship where they constantly protected one another from harm

The more I think about it, the more I realize these two things are the same.  How could you not become closer friends with someone who you endured controversy or conflict with?  Such trials test the strength of friendships and good friends can withstand hardships.  Basically the whole “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” concept applies.

With Huck and Jim, what started as a convenient alliance of companions on the Mississippi River transformed into a deeper sense of loyalty for one another.  In chapter 16 of Huckleberry Finn, Huck has resolved to do the “right thing” and turn Jim in as a runaway slave.  His plan is thwarted when Jim calls out to Huck that he is his only friend and the only person to keep his promise.  Because of this simple show of friendship, Huck remains loyal to Jim and uses his impressive improvisation skills to turn those searching for escaped slaves away.  However, Huck continues to internally struggle with his conscience and what society has taught him is right.  His friendship with Jim is positioned in the center of this struggle in constant tug-of-war between these different perspectives of what is moral.

It is at this turning point when Jim confesses of friendship that Huck decides to let his conscience be his guide instead of conventional morality.  This is a huge stride forward in character development for Huck as he decides to act according to his conscience.

There is something that feels right and beautiful about being on the water and quieting the world so that you can see the trees and city skyline as you pass.  While canoeing, I was able to slow down what I before had merely driven pass in a blur.  This beauty is somewhat tainted by the litter and overall greenness of the Trinity River.  Regardless, I think it is important to slow down and be still on occasion and to take time to notice the beauty in nature. 

Huck is referring to this idea of feeling right with the world in his quote in chapter 18, “Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.”  Whether it be the chaos of classes and meetings and extra curricular activities or the contradicting society of the South during the 19^th century, it’s important to remember what makes you feel “mighty free and easy” in life.

I also feel it appropriate to point out that in the same passage in chapter 18, Huck claimed that “there ain’t nothing in the world so good, when it’s cooked right” as the supper he had with Jim over their conversation on the raft.  Food also makes the world feel right.

I learned a lot from the trip down the Trinity River: to try things I would never think of trying by stepping out of my comfort zone and that sometimes the best adventures and best friends are made in the most challenging of times.

Something Magic in the Water

{Learning Reflection 2}

For those of you who didn’t know, Once Upon A Time premiered season four last weekend. 

Once Upon A Time is a television show by the creators of Lost that is the story of fairytale characters, such as Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, Ariel, and most recently Elsa from Frozen, who find themselves under a curse by the Evil Queen and exiled to a small town in Maine called Storybrooke.

That’s right.  Fairytales are real.  So is magic.  And it’s living in the United States of America.

I may not actually believe such things as mermaids or spinning straw into gold exist.  However, there is one quote from season one that relates to what we have been learning about water.  
Because now I can’t watch Netflix without noticing water everywhere.

In this scene, Emma (28-year-old daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming) agrees to go out for a drink with August W. Booth (whose identity had yet to be discovered) and instead finds herself by a well.  Confused and skeptical she asks August why he brought her to a supposed magical well.  In response, August says, “Water is a very powerful thing.  Cultures as old as time have worshipped it.  It flows throughout all lands connecting the entire world.  If anything had mystical properties, if anything had magic, well I’d say it would be water.”

Cultures as old as time have worshipped it.

In case you were wondering, Wikipedia boasts a list of 28 different water deities for cultures that span across the globe and time itself.  Most of these different mythologies had more than just one god or goddess representing various aspects of water.

Here are just a few cultures and deities that stood out to me in this extensive list:

The Aztecs worshipped Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of water, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, and baptism.  I suppose it’s only right that a deity with the name Chalchiuhtlicue has so much power over water.

Egyptian mythology had three different deities for the Nile River.  The Nile is the longest river in the world.  It connected the Egyptian civilization and supported their way of life.  (Huck would be proud to know that the Mississippi-Missouri River is fourth longest with about 265 miles less than the Nile River.)

In Greek mythology, the most familiar god is Poseidon, “king of the sea and lord of the sea gods; also god of rivers, storms, flood, and drought, earthquakes, and horses.”  I find it interesting that most of Poseidon’s “domain” consists of powerful disasters such as storms or droughts that would have influenced large populations.  His Roman equivalent was Neptune, king of the sea.

Among worshipping a god of the ocean and goddess of the sea, Hawaiians worshipped a shark god named Kamohoalii and Ukupanipo, a shark god who controlled the amount of fish close enough to fisherman to catch. (Please take the time to pause and imagine how menacing one shark god, let alone two, would appear.)

Water is the basis of life for all cultures in all of time supplying fish and nourishing crops for people to eat and live by.  Water can also bring death in floods or hurricanes.  Water was and still is a force to be reckoned with.

It flows throughout all lands connecting the entire world.

The best way to understand how connected we are by water is to see it.

The rivers in these maps remind me of veins, flowing through a body, keeping it alive.  Like veins transporting blood, rivers are a necessity of life.  For early civilizations, it was only natural for them to start establishing themselves along major rivers and bodies of water where they could sustain the lives of a growing population.

If anything had mystical properties, if anything had magic, well I’d say it would be water.

While water may not have the literal magic that this scene was referring to, the magic of fairytales, there is something mesmerizing about flowing water and fountains.  There is something peaceful about a quiet stream or a light rain falling on a window.  There is something beautiful about the way water carved the Grand Canyon.  There is something exciting about water slides or a water gun fight.  Maybe that something is a certain magic; maybe there is something spiritual about water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_water_deities#Incan_mythology