Florida House Learning Center Journal 11

Today April 8th 2011, The ecology of Sarasota class went to the Florida House Learning Center. This house is one big enviromental greenhouse. On the outside there were big rain water containers, just like the ones at the Sarasota park, there were lots of plants and a garden in the back. The roof has a drain pipe that sends the run off rain water and into the rain water containers. The people that own the house told the class that they use anything that can be recycled and be used for their home. Like the floor was made from recyled wood. The two men that allowed our class to see the house were very informative of what they are doing now and what they would like to see happen in the future. They made it clear that we are the future and that we have the power to help the environment and to be leaders for the next generation, by giving them a vision of what their future will be like.

 Even though it was nice of them to share with us the information of this "Green House" it would have been nice to take a tour of the whole house from the outside and inside. I was more curious with the larger rain water containers outside and what plants and trees they have growing in their backyard. It was interesting to learn more of what goes into making these kinds of houses. What I notice happening in the house while the men were talking, was that when it got dark the lights on the deck and inside turned on. they were probably powered by the sunlight. Which I think is a great way to save energy. I noticed that some people will waste electric power by leaving lights on during the day, and then they complain about the electric bill. I hope that soon more people in Sarasota will have houses like this one, they will be doing the earth a big favor.

Journal 10 Saint Armond Beach

 After the amount of rain Sarasota had this week, and seeing that today Friday April 1, 2011 is a clear sky and sunny day, I wanted to see what the beach looks like. I'm curious to see if anything washed up on the shore and if the beach level is high or low tide.

 When I got to the beach, the first thing I noticed was that the grass that is next to the road and the beach is completely gone. All that is left is the roots from underground. There was a long road of dirt and no grass. Maybe this is a good thing, learning in class that the grass in Sarasota and any part of Florida is not real grass. Too much water will send the chemical run off that is in the grass into the sewage drain and get into our water. Especially after all the rain we got this week, maybe the grass was looking really bad and they needed to take it out, before it got worst. Or maybe the area of Sarasota is planing to put a concrete sidewalk path instead of having grass that brings red ants and weeds.

When I went toward the beach I could see the waves were far out, not close to the shore as I predicted. But the waves were intense. The water was cold, and the only thing that washed up on the shore was lots of shells. I went to the beach around 4:00pm and I saw that there were some families with their children at the one part of the beach. One side of the beach wasn't as popular as the other side of the beach with all the hotels and condos. It was no surprise that everyone was outside today, after being stuck indoors with all the rain and thunder this week, four to six inches of rain. Everyone was happy to out in the warm sun.

Avant Garde Journal 9

 At 6:00 pm at Ringling College of Art and Design, a special event was took place and I was part of it. Every year around the middle of March, the school has a different theme for the Avant Garde. The Avant Garde is a private event that people who give money and donate to school for scholarships, come to celebrate, place a bid in the silent auctions, dance and give the Avant Garde Scholarship to a lucky Ringling Student. Every year is a big turn out and everyone that comes to it, always has a great time. What also is a thrill for the guests is to see what the president of the school does for his opening entrance. It's always a surprise to everyone. This year's theme is "Once Upon A Time" and everyone from the Ambassadors to the guests came in costumes of different fairy tale characters and characters from movies like Shrek.  The party planners used the outside environment for decorating the party. They brought a live white horse with Disney's Rapunzel riding him. In the trees, they hung up fairy tale characters like the Cheshire Cat, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan. The guest got to enjoy the fresh air outside under the tent. The volunteer students of Ringling were outside sketching the models and guests in their fairy tale costumes. Everything but the auction items were outside under the tent.

 Where I come in this is that I'm a student Ambassador for the school, for the second time. Ambassadors are the only Ringling Students that are allowed to this very private event. The school makes sure that no other ringling students sneak their way into the party to get to the bar. The school will plan trips to Disney or something like that, as a way to keep most of the students busy for the day. My Ambassador job for the night was three tasks. From 6:00 pm to 8:15 pm, I was a seater. A seater stays up front of the tent or near the entrance, and show people to their table. From 9:00 pm to 10:30 pm, me and most of the Ambassadors were needed for the Auction Item Closers/ Runner. During this time all the Ambassadors went around to the auction tables and drew the final line on the sheet to make sure that everything is final. Then we collect the items and bring them to another table where the guests come and collect what they won. The final thing was cleaning up everything. Six busy hours!!!

 Another thing that was nice about this event, is that you get people who want to know more about you, as a Ringling student. They always seem so interested in hearing how you found the school, how you like it and more questions like that. Our Ambassador leader Rachel, tells us that it's good to talk to the guests at the party, because maybe they will give a scholarship for us.

 This was a fun night and I'm glad that I'm an Ambassador this year and was able to attend this event. This year's themes is better than last years, which was Pajama Night. The reason why I see more of the guest having a fun time with this theme is because you can choose from a large range of fairy tales to dress up as.

Walk to Indian Beach and old houses Journal 8

 On March 16, 2011, the weather was so nice and sunny that I took the opportunity to take a walk and see the old houses and old mansions near Indian Beach. From walking across the school and down the street towards the beach, it was interesting noticing the changes in how each house is designed and painted. Some looked like they were newly built, and others you can see the paint color of the house starting to fade. Most of the houses I passed had a "Beware of dog" sign, and as soon as you walk pass the house, you can hear the dogs barking. It doesn't surprise me that there was so many dogs signs on the houses and on their fences, because of two reasons. The first one being that mostly everyone in Sarasota has a dog, and the second reason is to scare off people that might try to rob their house, and hearing the loud parking noise with scare them and make their owner aware of the intruder.

 At Indian beach, the water was close to the shore and the steps. Sometimes when it is low tide, you can walk far out in the water, and find some interesting stuff like shells, sea sponges and if your luck you can find some fish teeth (just be careful where you walk). On the sand my friend Jenny and I were walking around and we found some interesting things washed up. Besides finding the usually full or half broken shells, we found some sea sponges that were still wet and soft. We found this interesting looking sea plants that we couldn't figure out if it was sea weed or something else. But the real discovery that we found was this skeliton of a fish. My guess as to how it died is that it was washed up on shore and the sun exsposure killed it and then the birds came and had their meal and left the bone hind.

 After spending some time on the beach, I noticed that around the area, mostly close to the beach (open ocean/water view) that there are some new mansions and some historic mansions. It was easy to tell from the old and new mansions, by not just by reading the sign on the stone wall with a iron bar gate door. But looking at the architecture and paint, some of the paint has faded over time and it gives it that rich, ancient and historic look to it. What I can see that most of the mansions have in common is that they have collums, large arched windows and they surround their front and back yard with plants and tall trees. Also the style of the mansion has a Spanish theme in the architecture design. One mansion was painted white and around the windows was light red/ orange outline and on top of that was a light blue/green outline, when I first saw that, the first thing that came to my mind was that someone Spanish lives in that house or has lived in it in the past. I think it would be nice if one day I could take a tour of the inside of the old mansion's and see how different they look on the inside and compare to how we have changed in the way and style of living.

Selby Gardens and Marina Jacks Park Journal 7 Feb 26, 2011

    Today was a perfect day to be outside, the sun was out and warm, it was like summer weather. This week I went to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. I've never been there before, but I have heard that everyone that goes there loves to walk around and see and smell the flowers and the other plants.  This week was a special event that was taking place, today they were presenting the 6th Annual Asian Cultural Festival. In their mansion they had more Asian plants and a kimono showcase that belongs to...... The Selby Garden also was having stands and selling plants, and other things meant for gardening. My friend Jenny and I were the only college age people. The most of the people that were there were older people and only a few younger kids from preschool age to middle school girls (and they were selling Girl Scout Cookies). What's great about this place is that they show all the different kinds of flowers and trees and a sign with some information.  How they presented everything was that you followed a trail and you are surrounded by the trees and flowers. Lots of people were entering the garden and leaving with flowers to put in their homes. The flowers that people bought were from small plant pot size to larger tree size.

    After the Garden, Jenny and I went to see what is left of Borders Book store. because of the economy, lots of Borders are closing and only a certain number of them are staying open. Only one Borders in each state. The Borders in Sarasota is closing and everything must go, and they mean it! Inside, the store was busier than I ever imagined. Everything was from 20%, 30% to 40% off, and after a week of the news of the store closing, most of the shelves were empty. People were excited but sad inside about seeing every book on sale. More and more people were holding bundles of books. People can't resist a good deal, and don't want to waste it before it is too late. What Borders is trying to do to bring themsleves back on the shopping market is if they make enough money selling the books in store it may  save them from going out of business. They were even selling the coffee syrups and the cafe part of the spot was blocked off and closed.

    After that, I went back to the Marina Jacks Sarasota Park. Just like the Selby Garden, everyone was out and enjoying the sunny day, and what better way to spend it is going to the park. Lots of families were with their kids and dogs. At the children's playground, they had the water fountain part open for the kids to play. From my field trip to the park on Thursday night  with my Ecology Class, I learned that that water of the children's park is only used on rare occasions, because the park needs to use water that is safe for the kids incase they drink the water, they only use it when it is hot enough (summer weather). Everyone at the park looked like they were having a relaxing time. It was busy around 3:30 with people coming to the restaurant for late lunch. But also because a wedding was taking place. That is something that I never thought I would see in the park. Most people banyon that like to do outdoor weddings is on the beach. But having the wedding in the park underneath the tree and having the ocean in the background makes a nice setting for a wedding. Just watch your step on the grass.













   

Back to the Mote Marine Journal 6 Feb 17, 2011

Back to the Mote Marine

Wednesday Feb 16. 2011, my journal entry brought me back to the Mote Marine Aquarium. But this time I wasn’t there to look at fish (at least not in the beginning of my trip); I went inside their laboratory building. This was a building I never noticed nor went into before, mostly because I knew that the building was probably off limits. Seeing that it says it’s a laboratory building, my guess is that is where they care for some of the fish that they have rescued from the ocean, and maybe some other projects to help the Mote Marine. It was fun going inside the laboratory building. It felt like I was getting the backstage pass to see how things work and what goes on behind the building showing off the fish (that would be the main stage.)

What brought me to the laboratory building was for another assignment, my Ecology of Sarasota class, and my teacher that works there told me to come by and she showed my their library of books, magazines and lots of other resources on fish and the area. It was their own library of scientific information. That was something I would never guess would be at the Mote Marine. But I was glad to see that I could get scientific research for my lionfish. I thought that the place that the marine workers did their lab work and research was in another building not so close to where families are coming to see the main building with the fish. But I see why they would have to have their labs and their resources close by. If an animal needs help (some kind of emergency) or if a fish, then the labs and their library might have stung one have the workers would be very useful. What I also found in their library that caught my attention was a table filled with old papers and documents, they were yellow/cream color paper and some of the print was small. They were re-prints of articles and documents. I thought it was cool that they are finding old papers and re-printing them. Their library was well organized with everything from fish, location and anything marine life and ocean related. I knew that for my final project on the Lionfish, I need to go to a place that had lots of books on fish, and the Mote library was the perfect spot to go.

After rooming around in the library, looking at all their books and magazines. I almost got the chance to see where they kept the baby seahorses. They breed the seahorses there. But unfortunately, the guy that works in that part of the lab wasn’t there, so I couldn’t go in. But I did see through the door a tank with what looked like baby seahorses or some other baby fish.  It was fun going behind the scenes seeing what the people do at the Mote when they are not giving a tour or talking to some families about a certain fish. Also that because my teacher works at the Mote, she let me in to see the fish in the aquarium for free (I was wearing the visitor sticker, that I got at the front desk of the Laboratory entrance), and it was a perfect sunny day to be outside and see the fish again. 

Beauty and the Beast at Van Wezel Journal5 Feb 9, 2011

Beauty and the Beast at the Van Wezel

At 7:00 p.m., Tuesday Feb 8, 2011, I took my two roommates to see Beauty and the Beast the Broadway traveling show at the Van Wezel. The Van Wezel is a building that you can’t miss for two reasons. One is because it’s a big purple building (and how many purple buildings do you come across) and that it’s the home of most Broadway shows, music performances and a location where people can make speeches. It is a big performance building that is open to all kinds of theater arts, performances, musical or not. Many people love coming to the theater, and everyone gets all dressed up in either fancy or fancy casual clothes. Depending on the show, the Van Wezel see’s more adults and seniors going to the theater. But this night was a night that was filled with adults, seniors and children. The little children that were at the theater were ages from 5- 13 or 14 years old, as well as some college students. The little children got all dressed up in dresses and little suits (for the little boys). Some of the little girls were wearing the Belle Princess dress (the big yellow dress) and one little girl that wore Snow White (her dress is yellow on the bottom).

The prices of the tickets can be a bit much (from $55.00, $75.00 or more), but sometimes the theater will do “student rush tickets” and a student would only have to pay $15.00. That was not the case for me. Last week before the play came to the Van Wezel, I spoke to a woman in the ticket booth and she told me that I could get my ticket for Beauty and the Beast for $15.00. But when I came to the theater last night, a different woman was at the ticket booth and she told me that there were no “student rush tickets” for Beauty and the Beast. I had to pay $55.00!!! Luckily I had money to spend (even though I was looking forward to paying $15.00 like the other woman told me), but I didn’t like that I was mislead to think that I was able to get the lower price ticket. But even with spending extra money for my ticket, it was worth it. I knew that I had to see this play. Maybe that’s the case with why some people would spend more money to see a play. Everyone loves to be entertained and see a Broadway show (that came from New York City) is something that is worth spending money on (even if the economy might be bad or if you have to decide what you should spend your money on).

This was a special night for not only me, but for my roommates and for other people that have never seen the play version of the Disney animated movie. The Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast was my first Broadway play that I saw when I was about nine years old (I even saw it twice when I was little), and I was heart broken on hearing about that last year was going to be its last year on Broadway in New York City. Years later, when looking on the Van Wezel website last semester. I was thrilled and excited to see this play that has touched my childhood and what started my passion for going to the theater and seeing many other Broadway shows.  My two roommates haven’t seen the play before and haven’t been back to the Van Wezel since freshman year at Ringling College of Art & Design. That was when the school required us to go to two shows and do an illustration of the performance we saw. So they were excited for coming back to the theater and seeing a real show, without the need to do work for it. Lots of the children that were there never knew that this was a show on Broadway in New York City (from 1994 to 2007).  I think most of the adults might have known of the history of this play, although others maybe just seeing this play for the first time. Nonetheless, everyone had a great time.

The performers did an excellent job. The sets were beautiful and the music was outstanding just like the movie. This play is only staying at the Van Wezel for three evening performances, starting at 7:00 pm, from Feb 7th to the 9th.  Every seat in the theater was filled and at the end of the performance, everyone was clapping their hands and giving the performers a standing ovation. I know that the opening night probably got the same appreciation by the audience and my guess is that tonight (Feb 9^th, 2011) will be a full house and just like last night, everyone will give a standing ovation.

Mote Marine Aquarium Journal 4 Feb 5, 2011

Mote Marine Aquarium

On this Saturday, the morning was covered with fog and mist from 7:00 am and for the rest of the day, and today I ventured to the Mote Marine Aquarium. I have been looking forward to returning to the aquarium. The last time I was there was when I was a freshman at Ringling College of Art & Design. Before classes start, the school planned a dance at the aquarium. So it was nice to come back and see the new changes/additions to the building.

            Even on a light rainy day, people young and old filled the building. Most of them were children on a field trip. Lots of the children look like they were in middle school and they had a sheet of questions to be answered. Going to this aquarium was a lot of fun and very informative. I learned that some of the animals like dolphins and manatees can’t be released to the open salt waters of Florida. The reason is because they lived in aquariums for so long, that they wouldn’t know what to do in the wild. Another thing that I learned is that they breed the seahorses. But the best discovery I found out is what they are doing about the Lionfish crisis. It was one of the newest things I saw to be part of the aquarium. In the tank there were about five or six Lionfish and some looked larger than most. From this observation, it tells me that there are trained people (either from the aquarium or hired scuba divers) that go into the ocean and catch as many Lionfish as they can and instead of killing them (like some people do). They return them to their tanks.

            The reason why it’s important to come to the aquarium is to discoverer new facts about the fish in Florida and learns how important our waters are, and ways of taking care of it. This is why I saw not only kids on a class trip at the aquarium. But also families with their children and even some grandparents. It’s nice to see a mother and father show their children the fish and see their faces light up with joy and excitement.

            Another thing that caught me by surprise was seeing a “Save Our Birds” (or Save Our Seabirds); this exhibit was outside and across the aquarium. This must be new addition because I don’t remember this from the last time I was at the aquarium. Also that while inside the bird exhibit, I saw that they were still working on building some new things.  Just like the fish inside the aquarium, the birds also had a sign with the name of the bird and the facts. I was surprised to find other birds that are part of Florida, besides seagulls, pelicans, and flamingos. The birds that I didn’t think would be around Florida are Barn Owls, Great Horned Owl, and swans. There were other birds in there and they all were amazing to look at. I think having this exhibit was a good idea because it showed people like myself the other brids that live in Florida.

 

Southeastern Guide Dogs Journal 3 Jan 29, 2011

Southeastern Guide Dogs

This week I returned to Main Street to explore this new store that helps the blind and elderly. It’s the Southeastern Guide Dogs store, it’s a new store added to Main Street and the knowledge I found that goes into the dogs and their purpose was more than I originally thought. The workers in the store were very friendly and were kind enough to answer my questions on how it all works. This building is a training school for newborn Labrador puppies to be trained to serve as guides. That is their purpose in going through the program.

The dogs that they train are mostly labs (golden, yellow, chocolate etc) because they’re smart and they are more family friendly dogs (than say training a pug or a pit-bull to guide the blind).  They breed the dogs and start their training when they are two weeks old. The training is a long process, but it is all worth it, because the workers of the Southeastern Guide Dogs, make sure that the dogs are ready to be out with a blind person. But also that it’s a perfect match for the new owner as well. You can get the dogs for free as longs as you show them that you are in need of a guide dog, these aren’t family pets to play with. These dogs purpose (what they have been trained for) is to guide.

I noticed that last week at the Farmer’s Marker, I saw some the dogs from the Guide Dog program, you could tell because the dogs were wearing a blue vest and it said the name of the store. When you a see a dog with that blue vest, it means that those puppies are still in training and that you have to asked the worker holding the dog if its ok to pet them.

After last week of going to the farmers marker and seeing so many of the residents of Sarasota have dogs with them, I want to know more about the dogs that help those in need. I have a dog back home in Connecticut and I miss being around my dog and the connection between owner and the dog. If you have had a dog from when they are puppies and take care of them for a long time. They become part of your family. I see that is the same in Sarasota with the people and their dogs. Almost everywhere I go I see someone walking their dog or (if they are small dogs) bring them into stores when shopping. I love how this program focuses on training the dogs to be able to be the eyes of their blind owner. The Guide Dogs make them feel not so helpless when they have a friend that they can trust to lead the way.

Dogs impact the environment because they can scare other people walking, and make them not walk down town anymore. Also the owners need to pick up after them. On the other hand more people would come down town because they can bring their dog with them and, if people don’t clean up after, then grass with grown from fertilizer. 

 

 

Farmers Marker Main Street Sarasota Journal 2 Jan 22, 2011

Farmers Market Main Street Sarasota

Early on a slightly windy morning in Sarasota, a Farmers Market was taken place on Main Street. While making my way to the market there was another event that most of the people of Sarasota were taking part in. It was a marathon of people running and walking over the bridge to Saint Armand circle and to the finish line by the Van Wazel.

There were many people, young and old, getting their morning exercise.  There were people by themselves, in groups (teams) and families with their kids. From my observations most of the kids didn’t like the idea of getting up early to walk in the wind. Everyone was dressed differently. The people that were together or in more of a bigger group, had matching shirts with a name or logo on the front, and the shirts were in bright colors. Then there were people that have done these races before and didn’t mind the cold wind. So they dressed with less layers and had on shorts and a workout shirt. Then there were the people that had sweatshirts and other thick layers to keep warm. Not too many layers to keep them from running, but enough to keep them warm. My guess is that the marathon began early this morning and by 10:00 am, the finish line and the crowds were gone.  Despite the wind chill, everyone seems to be having a great time, and it’s a good way to start the day. By having that feeling of accomplishing something.

After that little side detour, I ventured to Main Street and found two roads blocked off and filled with many people. The farmer’s market is down past the Hollywood 20 Movie Theater, and meets where the Books, Books, and More Books store is. The two-blocked streets (that were across from one another) were filled with fruits and vegetables, people and dogs (lots and lots of dogs). Every Saturday rain or shine the people that grow and sell their food, put up their tents and begin the day with a smile, greet the costumers, and begin business. From one stand to the other, it was filled with different kinds of fresh fruit, vegetables, breads, flowers, and fish anything that can be sold in the market. There were also stands that had people selling some items from their store (representing the store).

Even at 8:00 am in the morning, people knew that the earlier they get to the market, the better chance they have at getting the fresh and best food of the day. With all the people walking around and the population of the event getting more popular and crowded, everyone was very friendly. Some one these people just came from the morning marathon and probably came to the market to get some fresh orange juice and sweet strawberries. The reason why the farmers market is so popular with the people is because that it brings people together and they share their fond of shopping. Plus everything is fresh and at a reasonable price. It makes shopping for groceries easier when you buy half of what you need at the farmers market and buy the rest at the grocery store.

Because the market is outside, it’s perfect for dog owners to bring their dogs to walk around. On the ground of most stands, there is a dog bowl filled with water for the dogs.  It’s a great way for the dog to make a new friend when seeing other dogs, and the owners to meet a dog lover. The little kids also have fun with their parents at the market. While their parents are buying food at one stand. There are stands that sells stuff that kids might enjoy like hand made toys and games. Plus the kids love eating the fresh food just as their parents do.

 

Barns and Noble Bookstore Journal 1 Jan 15, 2011

Barns and Noble Bookstore

On a sunny cloudless Saturday Jan 15, 2011, The Sarasota’s Barns and Noble was a popular place to be. I arrived there at 10:00 am, and around the store were a few older people walking around searching for books to read.  Bookstores are a great place to go and find information on a subject that is unfamiliar to you or you’re just interested in reading a good book. The store is very organized with all their books, movies and cds. Everything is spaced out so there won’t be any tight corners to squeeze through.  The store also has a spots were anyone can sit down and look through their collection of books before they go and pay. Those places are in some area in the store or in the café.

At one side of the store, I noticed 25 older (70 to 80 years old) people sitting next to each other and listening to one of the workers of the store. The reason why they are gathered is because they are learning how to use their new digital book called Nook (they just came out with Nook color). They were asking lots of questions to the workers of the store and the people next to them. Within the groups, there were groups of two. The groups of two were mostly husbands and wives. While walking around the store, you can hear the groups talking or the worker giving the instructions. There voices weren’t that loud that it would disturb the other people reading. But you can hear them discussing to one another in the confusion of this new digital device. It’s nice to see that the older generation of people of Sarasota is trying to learn more of the digital world that is happening right now.

That wasn’t the only spot with groups of people. In the children’s section of the store, there were little children with their parents (kindergarten and preschool) sitting on the floor circling another store worker reading storied aloud to them, started at 11:00 am. These groups had less number of people than the older people at the other end of the store. In the children’s section, there were about four girls and 3 boys. With the children, they were with their mom’s and one or two dads were there as well. The stories were educational and had nice illustrations for the children. There were books that introduce colors, numbers, and emotions (feelings). The reader would read a page of the story and then show the image inside the book to them. Also the reader will ask the children to join in on the story, such as asking them what is the character feeling, what color is this etc. The story that was read to them was Chrysanthemum. There was a pile of books (maybe 10 or more), and they were quick reads. Barns and Noble do these story times every weekend and maybe during the weekdays at the same time or earlier. If there isn’t a story time everyday, the parents will bring their kids will be the readers to them. They will sit on the floor and show them the words and pictures inside.

Like most places that has a café area, people will just come to sit and have a cup of coffee (or any kind of drink) and enjoy reading their book or going on the Internet. Sometimes people would end up spending most of their time in a place like Barns and Noble because it’s a great place to just relaxes and fined a new book to read. It is organized and quiet and the workers are very nice and will help you with a book that needs finding. No matter what the weather is outside, inside the building is never empty. A wide range of people enjoys going this bookstore. It’s a place to gather information and resource on any subject. It’s just a good escape.