Water vs Oil....They might not be so different

With the world continuing to grow resources are becoming harder and harder to acquire.  More and more people are going without the essentials in life: food, clean water, etc.  This problem does not seem to be slowing and needs to be acknowledged and dealt with.  Multiple influential people are beginning to recognize the issues and take a stand.  Multiple speeches about global warming, lack of clean water, and population growth have been given in the last couple years.  Leonardo DiCaprio recently gave a speech to the UN addressing the issues of climate change.  In his speech he explains how big of a problem it is now and how we can “make history…or be vilified by it.”  DiCaprio and people like him are trying to use there influence to alter the way people think.  

I recently read an article about clean water that put the discussion in a new light for me.  The article compared water to natural gas.  When I first read the title I thought it sounded ridiculous to compare water to oil.  The two seem very different in my eyes.  When I first read this article I was not aware of the huge water issues happening world wide and viewed water as something that most people had access to.  Oil on the other hand is a natural resource that countries have started wars over.  The biggest different between the two for me, at the time, was that water does not disappear while oil is used up.  This was the biggest flaw in the authors article in my eyes (at first glance). 

Once I started reading the article, however, my opinion quickly changed. The author stated that as clean drinking water became harder to find for certain countries and the populations continued to rise water would become one of the worlds most prized natural resources.  I was unaware of the struggle, even within the US today, to find clean drinking water.  I am from Massachusetts and we rarely have water issues so when I heard that states like California and Texas were having extreme water issues I almost didn't believe it.  

As I continued reading the article the authors argument began to make more sense.   He argued that in the future water would, just like oil, be the cause of wars against certain countries.  Water would soon become a valuable resource and countries that have an abundance of natural clean drinking water would become more powerful.  This was such a strange idea for me to wrap my head around.  All my life I have went to the faucet in the kitchen and water has come out.  To think that one day, within my lifetime, there could be wars to keep this water running is a very strange concept.  

Overall the article was very persuasive and interesting.  I had never thought about water in this point of view.  To compare water and oil seemed like such a strange pairing at first, however, after reading the article the two fit perfectly together.  I am interested to see how countries handle the water shortages to come in the future and what will be done to cut water waste.  I know in the US there are several things that people waste unreal amounts of water on.  I believe the statistic was something around 50% of the water people use outdoors is wasted.  This is an obvious problem and could be cut down so easily.  A lot of towns and counties have created fines and laws that cut down the days that people can water their lawns.  As time goes on I think it will be very interesting to see how the US and the world deals with the water crisis and if the problem can be resolved.  

Speaking Partner

When I first heard that my Speaking partner was from Hong Kong I was excited.  I have studied Chinese for roughly 6 years starting freshman year of high school so I was excited to try my language skills again.  The first contact I had with Ricky was an email exchange trying to set up a time to meet.  We both had relatively busy weeks and could only meet on thursday at 6.  We agreed for me to pick him up on stadium by the BLUU.  As I pulled up I saw Ricky standing on the side of the road and I pulled in to pick him up.  When he first spoke I was surprised at how well his english was.  He had a few accent errors but that is to be expected.  Overall he spoke english was very well and was easy to communicate with.  

After I picked him up we went back to my house and began talking.  We discussed our future plans, how he came to America, and why he chose TCU.  Ricky had a very impressive plan for the future.  He plans to become a practicing minister.  His god father was a minister in Malaysia and he wanted to follow in his foot steps.  Ricky was also very passionate about music.  He talked about his aspirations to be able to be a minister and teach the choir at a church.  After his time at TCU he plans to go to southwestern, a school that specializes in ministry degrees, to study both religion and music.  He said that southwestern was the Juilliard of religion schools which was very impressive.  

TCU he said was a great school but was just a small part in his future plans.  Apparently when he originally applied to southwestern he did not pass the english part of the entrance exam and needed to get certification from a school like TCU.  He says once he is done with this semester at TCU he will apply again and hopefully get in and be able to pursue his dream.  

Ricky also talked about some of the struggles of being an international student in the US.  He said that the culture is very different and that he doesn't understand some jokes.  My friend, who was also sitting in on the discussion, happened to be wearing pajamas for a sorority event and Ricky did not understand the concept of pajamas.  He said that with a lot of cultural references he just smiles and laughs when other people do because he does not understand.  This reminded me of when I was in China and would try and interact with the Chinese students and wouldn't understand certain jokes.  Ricky also said that he thought that all Americans look the same and that he couldn't remember anyones name which I thought was funny.  

Overall the discussion went well.  I learned about Ricky’s future plans and what he hopes to get from TCU.  I think that it was a successful first meeting and I look forward to talking to him more.  We plan to contact each other next week to plan another meeting. 

Rowing the Trinity

It has been almost 3 years since the last time I stepped into a boat and rowed.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  It was my senior year of high school and I was on the rowing team.  There are very few feelings that can equate to rowing.  When you fully understand how to set the boat and get the most out of a stroke the feeling can not be described.  When I learned that we would be participating in a trinity river trip I was very excited.  I missed the feeling of complete freedom and control in what happens to the boat.  

Once the day had arrived I went to the rec filled with anticipation.  I had hoped that I could use my own boat prior to getting to the rec and within minuets we were informed that some of us would be allowed to use individual canoes.  I knew this is what I wanted to do and immediately volunteered for the canoe.  Although I had never used a canoe before I figured it couldn't be that much different from the boats I rowed in for crew.  

At the lake we each separated to our individual boats and brought them down to the water.  I was a little nervous at first and worried that the boat would behave differently than a crew boat, however, the second I got into the water that worry vanished.  I felt at ease in the water, as if I had never stopped rowing.  Once the trip started all my memories of my high school rowing started to come back and I felt at home.  

As we rowed down the river I began to notice all the trash and pollution lining the water.  I was unaware of how poorly the trinity was kept and it was pretty upsetting to be honest.  The river I used to row on back home was also pretty dirty but no where near as bad as the trinity was.  As we progressed through the river the pollution began to die down until it was not noticeable anymore.  

The final part of the trip was by far the best.  Dr Williams had spoken about a view of the city but I had not thought it would be as amazing as it was.  For the entire trip there are very few things to look at…trash and dirt essentially.  It is not until you enter the final 30 minuets of the trip that you really experience Fort Worth and understand the reason why this canoe trip is popular.  As you turn around the river bend and under the bridge you see the back drop of downtown Fort Worth.  I don't know if it is because I am from a small town or what but for some reason I find city lights to be one of the most mesmerizing things to look at….So as I went around the corner I was awestruck by the Fort Worth skyline, which is a much more interesting skyline than I would have ever thought.  

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.  It brought back memories from my high school and allowed me to experience Fort Worth form a new point of view.  The freedom that one can experience on the water is different than anything else in the world.  I am glad I was reminded about what this feeling is like.