That ALOTTTT of People...

Who is Jude Simon

Waiting on my conversation partner, I was definitely more than nervous. I dislike any conversations that do not easily flow and had a feeling I would be having one soon. The next few minutes would be unraveling some information that I had been thinking about since I received the email about the process. Was this "Jude Simon" male or female? About how old was he? So he came from Haiti- why?? What language do the Haitians speak; will he be able to communicate at all? What if I accidentally offend his county? Is he a Christian? So many questions were rapidly running through my mind, as is the usual case as I step closer to any forms of unknown. When the time read 2:04, I wondered if he was even coming at all. To my surprise, a familiar face appeared right in front of me. Our FCA advisor was introducing me to a young man- Jude Simon. With his smile beaming at me, I had no choice but to smile back. Hearing the words "I cannot wait for you to hear his story", I was instantly eager to learn about Jude Simon.

On that note, I tried to cut right to the chase. With his English being fairly clear with a strong accident, it was evident that he had been in America for a good amount of time. He began to tell me of the damage being done in Haiti and how a choir group gave him and his two sisters the opportunity to finish out high school in Maine. He explained to me that many Haitian students have a difficult time graduating high school because their standardized tests are so difficult. It is really common for a “senior” to be older than 22 or 23, and many eventually give up. Fortunately for Jude, he was given the privilege to graduate in America as a typical 18 year old. His sisters, came to America the same year he did, but being older than him, had to experience their high school year older than their peers. Jude made so many close friends in Maine and seemed to really enjoy his time there. I think being the only male caused Jude to be a leader to his sisters. Even through all of the havoc, it was obvious what a light this individual is! Naturally I began to question how he ended up at TCU, and he explained the international program to me. His uncle has been settled here for year and so he now lives here with his uncle, cousins, sisters and his mother.

With TCU being so important to me, I could not wait to hear how much he had already fallen in love with it. To my surprise, this was not the case. He missed his friends in Maine and has yet to make as many here. I learned that the international program keeps many of its first year classes to itself, so Jude and the others are not able to have tons of interaction with TCU students. I now understand why so many of the international students claim to be lonely; the international program should work with TCU to have a least one class overlap or maybe have special events provided where the international students can overlap with us a little more.

Jude also told me about his plans after school where I learned he wanted to be a pastor. This was the job of his father who was killed for his work back in Haiti. This absolutely touched my heart. No matter the struggles that Jude had faced, he still had the desire to spread the word of his creator. After he shared this information and added the words “I am a Christian and hope not to offend you in anything I say”, my eyes lit up; it was obvious that our meeting was God’s desire. The atmosphere lightened a little with our passions being in the same place.

Being partners with Jude has already taught me so much. I have been inspire to spread my faith as he does and am so eager to learn more about him. Although our conversation does seem onesided, I feel I still gave him so much insight on the way Texans live too. The language barrier did not seem to be a problem as I had predicted. I did try to slow down my talk, especially since it speeds up when I get excited, but never did he not completely understand me. His carefree mood also helped, as he was able to laugh about the mistakes he has made and his ever-so-often lack of comprehension. I absolutely cannot wait to meet with Jude again, and hopefully become great friends with this original character!

A Trinity River Experience: Paddle Board Yoga

             It had yet to dawn on me until I was paddling down the river away from civilization, that I have never paddleboarded in my life, nor had I ever participated in yoga… Why would I sign up for a paddleboard yoga class? Beats me…

Paddleboard yoga is a unique class provided by the Yoga Project in Fort Worth. We met out on the Trinity River near the courthouse, and rushed to take off our shoes and begin paddle boarding. This part started out to be rather relaxing. We paddled away from the noise pollution to our final location of being underneath the N Main St. bridge. Although we were still in the midst of the city, it did not feel this way. Looking around, there were no buildings or people in sight. Here we began to start downward dog, eagle and the many warrior poses. As our instructor calls these out to us, I was forced to look around. My only experience with yoga was Bikram Yoga, which I quickly found out is a very different form with different poses! Stressing to figure out how to hold my weight steady and copy my peers, I start laughing to myself. This was not the relaxing experience I had in mind.

Water experiences can vary much more than I had previously imagined. Before yesterday, when I thought about a water experience, I imagined casually cooling off in the ocean, or floating on a raft in a lake, or maybe even spinning round and round a lazy river in a water park. Water experiences in my mind, were full of pure enjoyment, no stress and lots of leisure. Yesterday’s paddleboard yoga class really caused me to think. To think about all of the other experiences involving water that are stressful and even scary. With every pose I had to plant my feet in the perfect way, and focus on my body weight. I feared falling over and humiliating myself in front of the class of people who definitely knew what they were doing. This was when the thought occurred to me that stressful water experiences are always occurring.  Natural disasters such as flash floods or hurricanes have devastating results. Water, stress, sadness and worry rush onto the people living in those areas. A white water rafting trip also brings tension, as there is always the small chance of falling into freezing cold water, flipping over the raft or being carried by the undertow created by the rocks. Water was also the biggest enemy of those aboard the Titanic in 1912. In these cases, water is no longer a constant wave of relaxation. Water has the capability to bring about many emotions, and is constantly be a means of transportation for a new experience.

It is not only Huckleberry Finn who has the capability to acquire a new life through the use of water. The activities that water provides allow this to be the case for so many. Paddleboard yoga was a new experience to me; one where I had to learn the names and body figures of yoga poses, how to maneuver a paddle board, how to relax and not care what others are thinking of my inability to keep balance and so much more. For many years, boat travel across a huge body of water, the ocean, was how people were carried to another country where a completely different lifestyle would begin. The theme of adapting to a new life style persists when water brings about natural disasters as well; citizens affected must quickly learn to change their current lifestyles for survival. As water travels all over the world, it generates a multitude of learning opportunities. Huge bodies of water allow for the mastering of countless recreational activities, such as scuba diving, fishing, wake boarding, surfing, etc. An experience with water is more than what meets the eye. The flow of water has the capability to bring about a since of calm, but this is not always the only emotion that remains.

As the River Flows...

As our class will soon be exploring the Trinity River, I feel it is important for the class to be aware of the Fort Worth Water System and where some of the water comes from. Luckily, my ecology class has just discussed this topic, so I have the credibility to explain it!

It is first very important to know that a lot of the water for the people of Fort Worth originates in the Trinity River. After the Trinity River is filled by rain, it flows into reservoirs. Dams are built throughout rivers to create the reservoirs for consistent supply for the city; an example of this is Eagle Mountain Lake, which was formed by damming the Trinity River. The water supply for Fort Worth is supplied by six different reservoirs about Texas. From the reservoir, the water is then pumped into a water treatment plant to be cleaned for the city. Next, homes and businesses all around the city receive this clean, but recycled, water. After use, the water is treated in a sewage treatment plant and then discharged back into the river. Though this process seems simple, there are many steps also included to efficiently recycle the water using the least amount of energy and being the least harmful to the environment!

The water treatment plant, the first location of the water out of the reservoir, is utilized to remove phytoplankton, clay and bacteria. This process begins with primary disinfection, which uses ozone or monochloramine to kill viruses and bacteria. Next coagulants are added to the water allowing small particles to clump together and eventually be settled out in the coagulation basin and sedimentation basin. The water is now filtered through sand and gravel so that most fine particles are removed. With the water only containing little molecules, it is disinfected again to be rid of any bacteria. This process is repeated until reaching the faucet because of the great amounts of illnesses dirty water can provide. Fluoride is also added at this step to prevent the disinfectant chemicals from causing tooth decay.

When leaving homes and businesses, the water must inter a wastewater treatment plant. The water travels the Trinity River down past Dallas and travels via pipes back up to the area as clean water. The water enters this processes as raw sewage, and quickly large pieces are filtered out by the bar screen and grit removal. The primary clarifier produces primary sludge as large basins slowly allow muck to settle out at the bottom. Air is pumped into the next phase, the aeration basin, so that bacteria can thrive and eat away at the organic matter still existing. Another round of clarifiers now are used to settle out the bacteria and left over matter. Gravel, clay and sand filtration again filters the water, and is followed by a final disinfection phase. During this disinfection phase, sulfur dioxide is added to prevent the toxicity of the chlorination from harming the wildlife in the Trinity River. The effluent will now travel the Trinity River and piping to reach travel back North.

                       The Trinity River is the start and the finish of the path of Fort Worth receiving its water. Although not the most appealing process, it is fascinating to know how important the little stream that flows by our campus truly is. Not only providing a place for recreation and natural wildlife, it also provides us with one of our most essential necessities of life, making me much more grateful for the flow of the Trinity River.