Austin - Capitol Exteriors, Dome with Flag Behind Trees / Journey into Another Language, Back to College and Beyond

As stated in an earlier post, on our morning walks to Chenjean's meetings we cut through the capitol grounds approaching the back of the building.  Being shortly after sunrise the light was favorable.

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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
So I was off...I could now speak Spanish and hold my own in talking about almost anything.  I was fluent.  Many of my fellow students notice the difference upon my return from living in Mexico, and I took on a new role as tutor of my classmates.  This is when I discovered that I enjoy teaching.  I would reserve a classroom in the education building on certain evenings there at SFA.  Before my regular Spanish classes began during the day I would write the room number and time for the tutoring sessions on the chalkboard, then my classmates that needed it would show up to get a boost before a test, or just to brush up.  I would be there, chalk in hand, ready with examples and a teaching style that resembled entertainment more than instruction.  It worked; the evening night sessions became popular, and I made a firm decision that teaching Spanish was what I wanted to do.  It was a good time, and a heady experience, but most of all I was proud that I'd accomplished something that no one else in my family had, which made it all my own:  I'd mastered a foreign language.

Life went on.  After the summer of 1980 I made regular trips back to Mexico where I'd lived near Allende, Coahuila.  My abilities grew and I ended up becoming a high school Spanish teacher...had some good years, others not so good, but stuck with it for fifteen years.  At times in church I preached and taught in Spanish, and at the Jersey Village Church of Christ was a deacon in charge of Mexico missions, making one or two trips into the interior of the country per year to check up on our missionaries.  I had done it, and was making use of my abilities to be a blessing to others.

So it was with surprise that I ran head-on into the fates that interrupted that flow, and took me on a journey into yet ANOTHER language...

Austin - Capitol Exterior, Dome with Statue Behind Wall / Journey into Another Language, Mexico

Not too many shots of the capitol building's exterior, but hopefully some from perspectives not often seen.  Certainly this is one of the most photographed buildings in the country, with millions upon millions of images captured.
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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
At SFA I enjoyed the Spanish, and the general experience of hanging out at the Modern Languages Department, so much that I dropped forestry and changed my focus altogether.  In order to keep my hand in science I double-majored in Spanish and biology, with a biological emphasis in herpetology.

Thus, by my junior year in college I'd whizzed off on a trajectory that was totally unforeseen, yet I knew it was the right thing to do.  Though difficult at times, I was learning a lot of Spanish, earning my way up to the sophomore level in both conversation (course 209) and grammar (232 and beyond).  This plus another summer in Amarillo with Ramón and his bunch gave me confidence in my progress at becoming fluent.

Yet I wasn't really fluent, and grew frustrated because I'd plateaued in my development.  So what to do?  Answer: MOVE TO MEXICO!  Must become immersed.

This strategy worked well.  The summer of 1980 was the summer after my junior year, and I'd heard about a good program out of California State University at Sacramento.  To greatly simplify probably one of the happiest and most formative times of my adult life, I enrolled, moved down to Mexico to live and spend time with Ramón's family, went down further to attend classes with the program in Guanajuato, then emerged truly fluent in the language.  In fact by the fall of 1980 I was dreaming in Spanish, and at times had to reverse-translate back into English upon my return.  The angels were with me that summer in many ways...

Austin - Capitol Grounds, Supplicant / Journey into Another Language, College

This ranks as one of my favorites of the entire Austin shoot.  Interesting how a concept is born in the field, then can develop further during post-capture.

Wider view of same below:

Next, pictures of the capitol building itself, then going inside...
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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
I started out at SFA as a forestry major.  In those days the forestry program at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches was the number one school in the nation for those interested in such things.  I was operating on the assumption that once a person has a degree in forestry a lot of time is spent frolicking outdoors and communing with nature.  Soon it became evident, however, that this is not the case - having a degree in forestry means a lot of time in the office and, worse, having to use a lot of math!  Though we did spend some time outdoors, my interest waned with each passing semester.  Thus, my grades waned also, and that put me in trouble.

Trouble because my father would only foot his portion of the college funds so long as I maintained a 3.0 average.  I could see the clouds of poverty looming on the horizon.  So what to do?

Well, by my fourth semester at college something had to be done, and the solution hit me in a flash - I'll take Spanish to bring my average up!  And so it was that I chose to dive back into the language as an easy way to maintain a grade point average that would keep the money flowing into my coffers.  This strategy worked like a charm.

More importantly, it got me back into a flow that I very much enjoyed.  I got along well with most of my professors, and seemed to fit with the kind of crowd that gravitates to such a course of study.  Besides - per the plan - it was easy to maintain a very good average and be recognized as one of the top students in the field.  I was on my way.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, African-American Statue (the Masses) / Journey into Another Language, The Slaughter House

The incredible detail here - to think of the precision and technology needed to cast this in bronze!  The message is also clear, of a downcast people looking to the right source for supplication.  I once told a friend that I envied the slaves of the American south for the purity of their faith.

Closer shot below of the central figure:

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[continued from yesterday's post; series started 07/05]
Because of Mrs. Herrera's compassion I was able to continue with Spanish, and signed up for Spanish II in the tenth grade.  We had a different teacher and it was a forgettable experience, but I sailed through with a B for the year, I think.  I moved to Beaumont for my last two years of high school and chose not to take Spanish while there.

And that would have been the end of it were it not for an encounter in the locker room after my first day of work at Iowa Beef Processors (IBP) in Amarillo the summer of 1978.  The encounter was related in this post from a few years ago.  I asked a guy a few lockers down from mine, whose name was Ramón García, where to take my clothes to be washed.  When it became obvious that he didn't know a word of English (in fact he was an illegal immigrant fresh from Mexico at the time) I saw an opportunity to practice my skills after a three-year hiatus of not using the language.  He patiently listened to my very broken Spanish, and was delighted to help me out once he understood what was needed.

Encouraged that this guy was so friendly and patient with my Spanish, I tried talking to him every day, and soon it became easier.  Within a week or so we got to talking about the Bible; I had been elected president of the Lutheran Student Movement on campus at SFA, and told him it was my goal to learn something about it that summer.  This led to an invitation to his church, which I eagerly accepted since the service would be conducted entirely in Spanish.  It was an enriching experience spiritually and gave me plenty of practice, as I attended every Sunday for the duration of the summer.  By the time I headed back to college for my sophomore year it could be said that I was somewhat fluent.

So I was back in the running with another language.  Little did I know that Mrs. Hererra's consideration, and my contact with Ramón later on, was steering my life onto a trajectory that would deliver me much deeper into the language and culture of Mexico than I could have ever guessed at the time.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, African-American Memorial (Top in Sunlight) / Journey into Another Language, High School

The only decent pics taken in the full sun were these.  The dove, alight on top of Lincoln's Proclamation, is a fitting emblem of peace in the midst of one of the great struggles of mankind.

Same against a blue sky below...

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[continued from yesterday's post]

So it was that during my freshman year at Orange Stark High School I elected to take Spanish I.  Our teacher was named Mrs. Herrera, a 400-lb Cuban lady, and I'm not exaggerating about her weight.  But she was a nice lady who did what she could to survive day by day, as her mind wasn't exactly on school but rather on her tumultuous home life, which she freely shared with the class at times.  Nevertheless, there was a good-faith effort to reign us in and put some Spanish into our heads.

But I didn't cooperate very well.  My own home life was not at all in order, and that plus the fact that I had friends in there equaled delinquent shenanigans and lack of effort.  I was able to eek by until the third six weeks, when I ended up with a 37 average.  I was on my way out, but can't say I thought about it too much.

Mrs. Herrera did, though.  She recognized my facility in the language and didn't want to give up on me or see me leave the class.  At the end of the semester she called me out into the hall, and showed me that big fat F on her grade sheet.  She explained that I had potential, and that if I could show real effort and apply myself she would change the grade to a 66, which would pass me for the six weeks (in those days a 66 was a D and considered passing) and bring my semester grade to something in the acceptable range.  Sure, why not.  I can do it.

And I was good for my promise.  Recognizing that she was doing me a favor, starting in January I listened better and actually did homework once in a while.  Speaking the language came naturally to me, so I excelled in the conversation part of the class, though I didn't recognize it until one day Mrs. Herrera call me out of class again, this time to ask me for a favor.  Her son Jay - who was a friend of mine - was not being very cooperative at home.  From the time he was little he refused to speak Spanish, though he heard it all the time growing up.  Now her mother-in-law was staying with them for a while and an impasse developed which caused Jay to shut down and not want to communicate with her at all.  He wouldn't listen to Mom or let her help, so could I please shadow Jay at home one day to translate (both ways) and help break the ice?  Sure, why not.  I went over to her house on the designated day, and was encouraged that I could actually help fill the gap and make their home life a little easier.

I will forever be indebted to Mrs. Herrera for that opportunity, but especially for the fact that she went out of her way for me in changing my grade so that I could stick with the class.  Countless times I've walked into a Spanish class of my own with the thought that she would turn over in her grave had she known that I was destined to become a Spanish teacher myself, and stick with it for 15 years in public schools.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, African-American Memorial (Base Portion) / Journey into Another Language, The Beginning

And speaking of memorials, we now come to probably the best statue I've ever seen in terms of quality, variation, and message - the African American History Memorial.

And what a message it is.  Imagine a people plucked from their home countries to be brought here under the shackles of labor and persecution for generations to come.  Very sobering.  I've read probably 20 books on the subject, and the state-sponsored crimes against an entire population can only be compared with the state policy of murder under the Nazis.  And to think that my African-American friends, if born 150 years ago, would have been treated thus breaks the heart.

So it's fitting, in my opinion, to erect one of the great statues of the world in commemoration of Emancipation.  I was amazed when I first saw it and knew that its beauty and message must be captured.  Unfortunately, for the next two days the sun was out strong so didn't get the pictures I wanted, and got worried that it may not happen.  However on our third day there the clouds stuck around long enough to even the light, enabling a few blogworthy pics such as the one above and in the next few posts.
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I have always been fascinated by languages.  This has set me apart from my siblings - and from all of my nuclear and extended families for that matter - for as far as I know I'm the only one that has ever expressed a serious interest and actually learned one fluently (other than English).

Not sure where it came from, but two happenings come to mind that sparked this passion.  When I was very young, probably nine or ten, I discovered an interesting book while rummaging around in my brother's bookshelf.  Don't remember the title or what it was even about, but I would spend hours poring over the foreword because the entire section was printed in 41 languages, each on a separate page.  I thought the characters used in so many different parts of the world to be beautiful, with all of their squiggles, slashes, curls, diacritics and letters.  And the fact that it was the same thing in all of these languages provided the awesome opportunity to compare word-for-word...or at least guess at such an endeavor.

The other happening involved our doctor.  My mother's best friend where we grew up in Orange, Texas, was the family pediatrician, Dr. Jeannine Stewart.  When I was eleven or twelve Dr. Stewart moved to a town called Alamo, in the Texas valley across the border from Mexico.  Once in a while we would all pile into our station wagon and drive down from Orange to spend a few days.  Of course we took the opportunity to cross into Mexico, at what must have been Reynosa.

Hearing all of that Spanish in Reynosa was music to my ears, and I couldn't get enough of it.  That Christmas, Dr. Stewart, remembering my enthusiasm, bought me a little paperback dictionary titled "See it and Say it in Spanish", a book that I have to this day.  She wrote a note inside, but unfortunately the corner of the page is torn off and the date is missing.

So those two things contributed to my interest in other languages, and now I had a resource to get started in Spanish!  To be honest I didn't use the book at the time because it moved a little fast for my understanding.  But I did take the opportunity later on, when Spanish was offered during my ninth-grade year at Stark High School in Orange.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, War Memorial

Now this is taking care of a busy background.  Took a long time to accomplish but think it was worth it.  On the way discovered a blur effect called average and used that to replace the background - after I'd made a layer of just the statue and its base.

And I suppose that this is a fitting post for the Fourth of July.  So many citizens (and non-citizens) of the U.S. forget that our freedoms were hard fought through times that were far tougher than anything we've experienced in our lifetimes.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, Mounted Soldier

Busy backgrounds were mentioned a few posts ago.  This shot definitely has that, but couldn't resist the opportunity for a teeny bit of humor as I happened by.

We'll see how this busy background was taken care of in tomorrow's post...

Austin - Capitol Grounds, Horseman Statue

A little bit postcard-ish, but decided it was good enough to post anyway.  Actually this is a portion of a 5-shot panorama.  I was surprised at how few people roam these grounds, but wasn't complaining because it allowed for more people-less shots like this, which I prefer.

Austin - Capitol Grounds, Bird in a Bush

I've been told that the backgrounds of my photos are generally too busy...true enough I suppose, since in reality my favorites tend to be those with either an abundance of bokeh or manipulated in Photoshop to blur or simplify the background in some way.

But in some this busyness is an enhancement, such as in the pic above, a favorite among everything captured on our trip to Austin.