Adapting To Change

4273 Meta Carstarphen
Ft. Worth Tourism; Puerto Rico

12/1/15

By: Regennia D. Johnson

I believe that just as I had a great deal of surprise with the traveling experience to Ft. Worth, Texas, Puerto Rico will also surprise me in a number of ways. The day we traveled to Ft. Worth was the first time I had ever rode the train, so that was a great experience. I also had a preconceived notion of the stockyard and it turned out that I was completely off target and wrong. The stockyard wasn’t anything like it to be, but still great nonetheless and a very pleasant surprise. I think that Puerto Rico will of course be beautiful… filled with many beautiful people and places. Beyond that I believe that it will offer me knowledge on a culture that I really have never gotten the opportunity to learn about. Upon enrolling in this course and watching the film “Yo Soy Boricua” (http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/9088/) I have definitely gained even more interest in diving into this Puerto Rican culture that seems to be very vibrant and rich. Charles Darwin once said that it is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, it is the one that is most adaptable to change. I think this quote can be very useful in everyone’s traveling experience. We all hold thoughts to what we expect tings to be like and how we want and expect our trips to go, but in reality things don’t go always go as planned and our expectations and assumptions don’t always hit the mark. I think the best action we can take as travelers and every growing students who seek to gain knowledge is to simply let go of these ideals and adapt to what is presented to us. (http://www.connerpartners.com/frameworks-and-processes/how-do-people-learn-to-adapt-to-change) If all we do is focus on what we expected or what we wanted to experience then we lose site of the moments that are right in front of us and the amazing experience that God allowed us to participate in. I must admit that because I am moving to a different state immediately following our trip to Puerto Rico that my mind has not truly been focused on this amazing experience, instead it has been set on this equally amazing opportunity that I will enter in upon my return. That though has not left me any less excited or less ready to practice what Darwin spoke on year’s age. I am ready to arrive and adapt accordingly to what lies ahead on the rich port.

Why I want to study in Puerto Rico...

4273 Meta Carstarphen

Why I want to study in Puerto Rico

12/1/15

By: Regennia D. Johnson

I believe that we as students should take advantage of all the opportunities and resources that are offered to us, and studying abroad is definitely an opportunity that I cannot let pass me by during my time here at the University of Oklahoma. It has always been very important to me that I study abroad as an undergraduate student, because I have seen and heard from past participants the great enrichment it provides to students lives personally and educationally.  I have always had an interest in tourism. I love to travel and I enjoy learning about different cultures. With my major being broadcast journalism and my minor in Spanish and African American Studies it is clear that I enjoy both media and culture. This program specifically peaked my interest, because Puerto Rico is a Spanish speaking country and I would like to immerse myself in Spanish speaking country, if only for a week.  I think this program will help me with my writing skills, and allow me to engage in social media from a journalistic perspective. Beyond my personal fascination with studying abroad and Puerto Rico, this program actually falls into my schedule quite nicely. I am a student in Gaylord and this program will cover my two upper-division electives, which I need in order to graduate.  Upon graduating I have considered conducting research or teaching in a foreign country, so I would like to have an experience out of the country prior to that. I think my time in Puerto Rico will help with my future plans and allow me to gain valuable knowledge on the basics of tourism, media, and travel writing and how they all essentially flow together. (http://www.gstcouncil.org/blog/537/tourism-and-the-media-practical-takeaways-from-the-unwto-conference-in-egypt/)

Flexible

Flexible

By Taylor Porchey 

The train trip from Norman to the Fort Worth was interesting because of the nature of the class dynamic and the ways in which we navigated Fort Worth together. Normally, I tour Fort Worth with my family or simply drive through to get to either Norman or Houston, but this experience was unique.  Looking at Fort Worth through eyes of a tourist while trying to experience the trip as a tourist and an objective student was new, exciting and did not come without challenges. I enjoyed not having an agenda, but rather having tasks that needed to be completed – it allowed for a little more flexibility than I am used to and gave me a taste of how I imagine Puerto Rico will be like, not having a set agenda and just rolling with the assignments. With the various media available on the go, I was able to look up bus routes, the famous Molly Trolley’s routes, as well as pick up a hard copy of a walking map of downtown Fort Worth and the Stock Yards. Navigating Fort Worth was easy with the right tools and the right people right in front of us, got us to our destination. It was great to see that many restaurants and shops we passed by had ways to connect with them either online or through social media – one of the main things we are studying. The appeal of the old cow town experience made me believe that people come for the simplicity and stay for the lively, historic ambiance – I know I did.

Check Out:

http://www.fortworth.com/things-to-do/tours/

http://www.fortworthstockyards.org

Opportunity

Opportunity

By Taylor Porchey 

I have been intrigued by travel my whole life and have been blessed with a few opportunities to travel overseas to wet my whistle, if you will. After those trips, traveling, touring and experiencing life in other places is something I never want to stop doing. As the world becomes more globally minded socially, economically and politically, it seems to me that it is important to bridge the gap between cultures and people groups - I hope to be a small part of that either through a travel blog or through writing travel books or simply Buzzfeed articles on where you should travel in your 20s! After hearing about this class, I knew that this was the program for me. I want to study abroad in college, but I don’t want to just take a normal course somewhere amazing that I could take in Norman. With these two courses, you simply have to travel abroad to get the full experience of the class and get credit – and I love that! In addition, I miss writing. I don’t get to write fun, creative, adventurous pieces as much as I’d like to. Also, I would say I understand Facebook and blogging fairly well, however I still have a lot to learn in terms of ways to best utilize social media for the great value it has in this area. I am hoping these courses will offer me insights and opportunities to practice and improve my skills. I simply can’t wait to explore Puerto Rico again in a new light and see what I can glean from these specific, much anticipated, experiences.  

I adored playing with children at their recess at a school in a suburb of Accra, Ghana.

Loved visiting the Ring of Kerry in Ireland! The winds were fantastic and the rocks ancient. 

Check Out:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/travel

http://www.seepuertorico.com
http://goafrica.about.com/od/africatraveltips/ig/Africa-s-Capital-Cities/Accra--Ghana-s-Capital-City.htm
http://www.ringofkerrytourism.com
http://www.ou.edu/go2/campuslife/study_abroad.html