Howdy! Un viaje de nueve meses

The State Capital of Texas, in Austin, is beautiful. It’s filled with lots of history and a rich sense of… redecorating. Although it’s been redone several times, monuments moved, disappeared, and changed, the history remains solid. The grounds are surrounded by an iron picket fence, each topped with a gold star. It is a replica of the original fence that originally surrounded the capital building since 1853. In the beginning, the officials of the soon-to-be-independent state held a nationwide competition for the design of the new capital. The winners would be paid with 3 million acres of land in west Texas. They declared a Detroit architect the winner, and laid the 12,000 pound cornerstone on March 2, 1885, the Independence Day for Texas.

It was a beautiful day in Austin, the day we went to visit. The grounds were sparkling, people were relaxing on the many lawns, listening to the outdoor concert a few blocks down. We appreciated the many statues, like the gazebo commemorating those Heroes Who Fought at the Alamo, The soldier of the Spanish-American War, and Terry’s Texas Rangers; some of the oldest monuments on the grounds. Russel’s favorite part of the scenery were, of course, the cannons which date all the way back from 1865.

Inside though, was calm and cool. The Rotunda and Dome, like many state capitals, is the highlight of the tour. It is an open rotunda, meaning that on all of the four levels, it’s possible to see all the way to the bottom and all the way to the top. What was the most interesting, is that there is a portrait of every governor/president that the Republic of Texas has ever had. And each new term when a new governor is elected, each portrait, as you can see lining the walls, is shifted a section to the left, to make room for the new governor after their term is finished. All of the leaders in the state government of Texas spiral up the rotunda, making their way to the Goddes of Liberty, who is stationed at the top of the dome with a star of Texas in her hand.

I have to admit, although I’m not a huge history buff, I can definitely appreciate the time, effort and sacrifice that went into making the society that we have today. It’s amazing to me to walk in the same steps that men and women, for hundreds of years, have walked. I mean think about it; what would it have been like to be trying to establish your independence as a state and a territory over 100 years ago? To have been a philosopher at the Acropolis, and actually spent time pondering the meaning of the world with the buildings in their full capacity and beauty. It’s amazing to me that we as a society have come so far, and continued on so easily. Times have changed drastically, even over the last 50 years. To have truly lived during a time when the meaning of freedom was the meaning of living; and it’s something that we take so for granted now. It makes you appreciate, just how lucky we have it.

#1:  In Texas, even on November 10th, I am still wearing shorts and my shades to class.

#2:  We have a Quidditch Team. Yes, a real Quidditch team. They play Muggle Quidditch. Check this out. It makes me happy. More to come after I go to the practice on Sunday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr_h5-I_yks

The Vampire and his Victim

In Aggieland, if things are done, they are done big. I mean, we all know how Texans feel; but now with Aggies take it to the next level. The night of October 31st then, for example, is outrageous. Now pair that with Daylight Savings, and you have a 25 hour celebration! Russel and I were invited to a Halloween party, and gladly complied. Of course, we waited till the eleventh hour, when the Halloween Supply Store (Aggie Owned and Operated, of course) had been pillaged by other ghouls and goblins (and the run of the mill nurses, fairies and greek goddesses). What was left was wigs, fake blood, and mustaches… and this is what we came up with.

After dancing our shoes off with the rest of the crowd, we headed out of Daisy Dukes. That’s when it struck us that Daylight Savings was in effect. Northgate, which 2 hours previous had barely held fifty people now was PACKED. It was fun to be able to go out and see what everyone’s levels of creativity were. I will say though, the best costume that I think I have ever seen was worn last year by an OSU student who was dressed as a jellyfish (that’s Scyphozoa in the Phylum Cnidaria, for us biology fiends). And as this jellyfish floated by me, surrounded by layers of sparkly tulle and ribbons, I was completely impressed. But the Aggies definitely put that costume, and my creative skills to the test.

The one group that both Russel and I have gotten involved with is the TAMEmergency Care Team. Texas A&M is not fortunate enough to have the local fire department right across the street to answer to medical calls on campus within a short response time. So they responded with providing their own EMTs and first responders to support them. They also have their own ambulance, fondly dubbed ‘the Tambulance’. As a ‘medic’ in the club, we are responsible for assisting the EMTs (from Basics through Paramedics) at different campus events. We practice dealing with patients, taking vital signs, and dealing with injuries. It’s a great way to break yourself through into the medical world, and get to see (if you are lucky and the patient is unlucky) some pretty cool medical situations. Fortunately, nothing serious occurs frequently. Most of the time, it’s dealing with heatstroke at the football games, and twisted ankles from the bleachers. The best part about it, is that we get to see the events we work at for free! You see, here at A&M, our student tickets to events are not included in our tuition. We have to pay for tickets separately. We had the choice of buying football tickets, not football athletic tickets, or both together. Since we just bought football tickets, that means that we have to pay a few dollars everytime we want to go see a volleyball or basketball game. With TAMECT, it’s great! We’ve been able to watch soccer, volleyball and basketball. And fortunately, the fans are a little less rambunctious than at football, so we rarely have any serious medical conditions to deal with… so we have been able to watch the team ’saw varsity’s horns off’ more than once! The biggest thing though, especially for pre-med students who don’t do ANYTHING by the way of medical until they actually reach medical school, is that we are provided with some good first responder training, and if we choose, can work toward the EMT Basic qualifications.

After a HUGE victory against Texas Tech, the Aggies went on to beat Iowa State the day of Halloween. It was a great game to watch… I mean, of course I love my Beavers, but there’s nothing better than a crisp fall afternoon and GREAT football! More to come on these past few weeks… my life has revolved around midterms and hours upon hours in the library…

What a better way to experience the true lifestyle and heartbeat of a state, than to attend it’s state fair… I mean, how much more southern can you get than turkey legs and corn on a stick, fried peaches and cream, fried cheesecake, fried bread, fried butter… yes, fried butter… fried onions, fried jalapenos, fried pickles, fried bananas, and fried ice cream. The State Fair of Texas, held in the heart of Dallas and home to the Cotton Bowl Stadium is not for the weak of heart… nor those of high cholesterol!

The community that surrounds the state fair really reminds me of my trip to Spain, and even of other parts of our country. There are just ways that people have figured out how to do things. For instance, all the bus drivers in Spain respond to your body language, for whether or not to pick you up at a stop. If you are hanging back, and not looking at them, they will just fly right on by. In Athens, the street restaurant maitre d’ will say ‘Come sit down! Best food in all of Greece!’, and if you don’t continue to walk, you will find yourself bottle of wine in hand, a loaf of break, and lots of pictures of octopus and lamb on the menu. Every type of vendor has their special way of calling you in. At the State Fair of Texas, it starts with the parking. The self-designated attendants, who rent their grass lots surrounding the Fair Park for the 28 days of the state fair a year, all have orange flags. You know if they have parking in their lot by the way they snap their flags, and whistle at you, ‘Yeah! Here! Right here!’ and direct you into their lots. It’s a pretty good system, actually. For twenty dollars, you have someone watching your car ‘untih the las’ one isall’ outta he’ya!’

The state fair itself is ginormous. Then, add the 80,000 crazy Oklahoma Sooner and Texas Longhorn fans, and the place is packed with orange, red and the screams from the carnival. The Red River Rivalry (which I read off of the tshirts being sold at one of about 500 booths) isn’t something to be taken lightly. It’s in the livestock barns we really felt at home. The sweet straw, and the sounds of livestock reasons… for some reason, this huge 28 day extravaganza, which includes a permanent Ferris Wheel as well, is almost like being at county fair. It’s Texas, so people are still friendly, still say yessir and yes ma’am. The country music is fabulous, and even the small-time singers aren’t afraid to pick sides… or maybe they are. The livestock and agricultural section of the fair was amazing; they did an excellent job of showing and educating the public about the animals. Each breed of beef, sheep and swine was present, with a stall card briefly describing the history of the breed and it’s place in the tier of Texas agriculture. The Food and Fiber building had interactive booths, milk tasting, and a wine tasting area outside in the amazingly dry, pleasant and warm air. The ENTIRE fair is ran off of carnival tickets… 12 tickets for the deep fried cheesecake, 8 for a fresh squeezed lemonade.

Football is definitely a topic people reach with the delicacy of politics (although, generally good-naturedly); yet in Texas, most people aren’t afraid to talk about that either. President Obama made an appearance last Friday during a ceremony which commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Points of Light community service project started by Bush senior in the 1980s. He arrived amid the picketing and anti-health care rally, full of ‘Don’t tread on me’ signs and American flags. Every week, I find more and more that it’s not often that you find a Texan that doesn’t say what he means… and right or wrong, they have at least found something to dedicate themselves to, a cause for which they can stand up and fight-even if it’s in a way that us West-Coasters may find a little less kosher  or politically correct. There is something to be said for passion, pride and a deep love of country that is hard to find in such a large population as south-east Texas.

The beginning of monsoon season, which began Friday with a DOWNPOUR of rain, from 7 am until close to 5 pm. Really, the only difference between Corvallis and College Station is the fact that here, people wear shorts and rainboots, and the temperatures remain right around 80 degrees during all of that precipitation. I, the Northwesterner that I am, had to go buy an umbrella. But let me tell you, once those temperatures started dropping from 80 degrees to 60 in about an hour, the lack of rain falling on my already damp hair was a blessing.

All right, enough about the weather! Saturday’s football game, THE BIG ONE, the Big 12 Season Opener…against OSU– Oklahoma State University that is… color stealers, letter copiers and posers! (Sorry, I just had to get that out, not to mention bravely wearing my bright orange OSU sweatshirt and having to explain to every 5 out of 10 people that I’m from the REAL OSU, Oregon, not THAT place). We fought hard, we fought bravely. Earlier games in the season, when it was an easy game and win, it was hard to see what people were talking about when they said that ‘football was different in Texas’. But after today’s game, it was obvious. The stadium SHOOK with the screams, not yells, of the fans.

There just is something about the game of football though, you know. And it doesn’t matter what part of the country that you play in. After the game, during the press conference that the coach gave, he mentioned something that holds true for all of us, in games of football and in life. So many people were pointing fingers at the quarterback for the passes he threw away, or the defense for not holding the line and allowing OK State to get a 1st down. Others were pointing fingers at the coach’s call to have a regular kick off instead of an onside kick, with short time left on the clock and 5 points down. But Coach Sherman put it perfectly: ‘We didn’t do things right today, we made mistakes and shouldn’t have done those things. But the point is, they scored more points, made more 1st downs, and we did not. And that’s why we didn’t win the football game’. I’m beginning to realize that being a part of the 12th man… it’s more than just watching a football game…

I mean, isn’t this just life? We all try to say, in that Ochem or Biology class, ‘It’s the teacher and how he/she teaches! They ask so much harder questions than the lecture, or I’ve never seen that problem in my life!’ I know that one of the reasons that I’m here at Texas A&M is because I felt like there were just too many ‘other’ things pulling at me, away from my studies. The problem is, I just wasn’t doing things right. I wasn’t studying like I needed to, answering questions wrong, and I shouldn’t have done those things. But it just comes down to focus and our willingness to strive for that endzone. That was something else that Coach Sherman said in the press review. After the Arkansas game last week (a dismal 52-10 loss), the Aggies today came out with much better focus, and it was visible. They didn’t win the ball game, but they were in it. And they weren’t even supposed to be close. That’s what our lives are like, as well. If we focus on the things that are important, and stop pointing fingers at things that we can’t control and prepare OURSELVES, whether it’s by studying harder, doing more practice problems, or taking the time in the library to read more of the text book… It makes me think back to high school sports. I was an athlete, and I spent HOURS AND HOURS at the gym practicing, going over footwork, strenthening my hands and shoulders, making my serve more accurate or working on my jumpshot or defensive slide. That focus and determination, of not giving up was something that I never even considered not doing.

I’m beginning to realize that my education, that is now where that focus needs to be applied. I’m not going to go on to play college volleyball or basketball… but I am going to go on to a career, a career in medicine. But it takes focus, and strength. Regardless of the degree of difficulty of tests, there are answers. I just have to focus, and choose the right outlet. And here, in this arena of life, there are no teammates with which to rely on.

But we do have fans.

Well, the Aggies are currently at a precarious 3-0 for the football team, and this weekend is big. The sense of community here is amazing; there is an old tradition of taking off your hats during cheers, called ‘uncovering’. It’s a way of showing respect for the team, that the 12th man is ready to lay it all out there for good ‘ole A&M. Nearly every day in the school paper, the Battalion, there is a letter to the editor about people complaining that either people aren’t ‘uncovering’, or that they are being forced to ‘uncover’. This school exists, plainly and simply, with the traditions that have kept up through the years, due in part to the incre people showing up and the incredibly strong Corps of Cadets program and the general conservativeness of the home state of the Bush family. It’s nice actually; to see students make an effort to talk to strangers to keep up the feeling of cohesiveness across a 48,000 student campus, and to see other people arriving and staying at athletic events, just to show support to their fellow Aggies on the field. It’s refreshing, to think that many students hold themselves to an Honor Code, that ‘an Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do’. I mean really, typically I’m all about the evolving and changing to make the processes, procedures and environment right up to date with technology and what’s hot in society… but it’s incredibly restorative to be able to see that some things, deeply rooted in the core values and beliefs of students who are the future of our nation, will never change.

Texas A&M vs. UAB

What a great game this last weekend! No crickets, a 52 to 19 score, and a tan line I’m not sure that it gets better than that!