Semester Wrap Up!

Well the semester is coming to a close and graduation is just weeks away! I must say this semester has been quite the whirlwind, but Border Beat has been a pretty amazing experience!

In the last 16 weeks I have explored Barrio Veijo and Barrio Anita. I have found some of Tucson's oldest landmarks, and most interesting activities, as well as met some awesome people.

If had to chose my favorite part, I would say it was definitely the special projects. The first one I did on Barrio Viejo and it helped me take a much deeper look into the Barrio then I could have done for a story. The second one, on the St. Andrew's Clinic, was truly an experience unlike any other.

I have also really enjoyed writing this blog. Now, don't get me wrong, I have blogged before, but this one was different. Covering the barrios was really unique because they are such visual parts of Tucson. I really enjoyed being able to take photos and create videos so that you could see some of the amazing places I have gone. Other blogs I have done are not quite so visual, and the visual element is what makes it fun.

I feel that participating in the Border Beat capstone has definitely improved my writing skills. It also taught me to think outside the box for story ideas. During this semester alone, I have written about the experience of crossing the Iraq border, a Mexican documentary that was pulled from theaters, a school event at the Presidio San Agustin Del Tucson, teleconferencing across the border, homemade tortillas and more.

Being a part of this class has been a great opportunity, and as I head off into the "real world," I am excited to use what I've learned!

Update on St. Andrew's Children's Clinic

It's official, the St. Andrew's coverage by the Border Beat class is going to be amazing! Today we started submitting pieces and I must say it is coming together better than I expected. I am so anxious to see how it all turns out!

I completed my three elements yesterday and they are waiting to be merged with all the other stories and then should be released later this week.

I did one large story sort of discussing in detail a little more about what the St. Andrew's clinic is. I called it, The past, present and future of St. Andrew's. It gives a history of the clinic as well as their plans for the future.

I also did a video about the different volunteers who help out at St. Andrews. In the piece, which features photos by fellow border beater, Samantha Sais, I talk to a medical student, tour guide, public relations representative and newsletter editor from St. Andrews. Each volunteer gave me a different perspective on the importance of the clinic and why they help out here. It was awesome to see and I hope their passion is apparent in this video.

Lastly, I did a video profile, with pictures by Kayla Lema, of St. Andrew's Executive Director, Laura Romero. In the 30 minutes I spent interviewing Laura, I can tell you I have never seen someone with so much passion for what they do. Her face literally lit up when she talked about the clinic. It was such a rewarding experience to interview her and see her dedication to these children.

Check out Laura's video below and watch Border Beat later this week to see the rest of the St. Andrew's coverage!

St. Andrews Clinic

This week about 10 students from our Border Beat class traveled down to Nogales, Arizona to cover the St. Andrews Clinic. Held in a local church, this amazing clinic is put on the first Thursday of every month. Families come up from Mexico to get medical attention and some of them have traveled very far to get here. One girl talked about taking a 12 hour bus ride just so she could come to the clinic.

I think the most amazing part of this clinic is that the entire thing is completely run by volunteers. The physicians are doctors and med students who have given up their time to come down here and help others. Then there is another group of volunteers who are responsible for making sure the whole clinic runs smoothly. They check people in, weigh patients, take them around to the correct areas and more. Seeing this team of people work together was an amazing experience.

Another group of volunteers spends all morning making a delicious lunch for the volunteers. They make fresh carne asada as well as a whole bunch of side dishes. The food was absolutely awesome!

This clinic sees more than 200 patients every time it runs. Walking around and seeing all of the different things these doctors were able to do for these kids was fascinating. There is an area for hearing, vision, physical therapy, orthopedics, pediatrics, and more. I think one of my favorite areas to watch was the vision. It was so neat to see these kids look through a lens and see things for the first time. I definitely found this to be one of the most inspiring areas.

Border Beat will be putting together a large special project on our St. Andrews coverage, so make sure to watch for it. I will be working on the overall history and a video piece about the volunteers and the current executive director, Laura Romero.

Barrio Anita

This week I took a little adventure down to Barrio Anita, located between Stone and I-10 and between Drachman St. and St. Mary's Road.

The first thing I noticed upon entering Barrio Anita is that it has a very different look from some of the other Barrio's I visited, such as Barrio Viejo. The design and style is not as distinctive. For example I didn't see the bright colors that surround Barrio Viejo.

One thing that Barrio Anita is famous for is the Anita Street Market. Located at 849 Anita Ave. this market makes amazing homemade tortillas and is open six days a week. According to one customer they are fresh, warm, and mouth watering.

I think part of what makes the Anita Street Market so unique is its quaint atmosphere. Nestled in the midst of a residential neighborhood, this small grocery store/restaurant has an outdoor patio to sit and enjoy the delicious food.

Another unique element of Barrio Anita is the "Bicycle Church" as it is called. This metal artwork display is made out of bike pieces and serves as a memorial to all those killed on the streets of Tucson while bike riding. However, the memorial can also be a place of celebration as they occasionally have weddings or star gazing at the sight.

The memorial itself is gorgeous with stained glass pieces and various items of religious symbolism. If you ever travel down to Barrio Anita, make sure you stop and take a glance, it stands alone on the side of the road and is easy to spot.

While Barrio Anita is different from Barrio Viejo in a number of ways, it has its own unique elements and is definitely worth a visit.

Click here to check out a YouTube video about the Barrio Anita Bicycle Church!

Follow up to Friday at the Fort

Friday at the Fort, the educational event at the Presidio San Agustin Del Tucson, was last Friday and let me tell you what an amazing experience it was.

Held for the fourth graders of Carrillo Elementary school, the event kicked off with all the students lining up according to color groups. All the students were then given red bandannas and taught basic soldier commands before being named 'recruits' for the Spanish Fort.

After a brief introduction the students spread out among the eight stations displaying activities of everyday life at the Presidio. The stations ranged from washing clothes, to blacksmithing, to making tortillas.

Each station lasted about 20 minutes and the time to switch stations was marked by a shot from the musket.

Watching the kids do these activities was so interesting. I actually heard one of them say while 'grinding corn for breakfast' in the metate, "Wow, they had to work really hard." Watching the kids observe how different life was was definitely the best part.

The eight booths were a perfect blend of hands on activities and the looks on their faces during these activities were priceless.

The teachers and parents who came along for the field trip also seemed to be having a very good time. I think they learned almost as much as the kids and I heard nothing but positive feedback.

At the end of the eighth station rotation, everyone met back in the middle and the Presidio soldiers fired the cannon. The cannon seemed to be the highlight of the event and the kids would not stop talking about how loud and awesome it was (They also got a kick out of how the loud noise set off nearby car alarms).

To see more photos of Friday at the Fort, check out the photo slideshow below:

Friday at the Fort

There are a lot of awesome landmarks in Downtown Tucson, but at the corner of Church Ave. and Washington St. is The Presidio San Agustin Del Tucson. This 1800’s style fort is built to replicate part of the original fort, which is where Tucson started.

This Friday, at the Presidio, they are hosting ‘Friday at the Fort,’ an experimental educational program. The program is being done for fourth graders as social studies state standards for the grade focus on Arizona history.

The day will consist of sending students through eight stations teaching: cow roping, butter churning, tortilla making, soldiering, and other daily living skills. The idea is to use on the hands-on exercise to give students an idea of what life was like in Spanish Colonial Tucson.

The President of the Tucson Presidio Trust told me, he hopes this goes well and they can start to do it four times a year. This first event will be for the fourth graders of Carrillo Elementary School.

The event is going to be run by Presidio volunteers and living history reenactors.

As a local Tucsonan, I remember we used to go on field trips to Tubac and Tumacacori to learn abut Arizona history, but the Presidio wasn’t opened yet. They had their grand opening in May 2007. I think it is pretty neat that kids will now get to go to where Tucson first started to learn about Arizona history. It puts more of a local angle on it.

Click here to watch Presidio Soldiers fire the cannon!

A Little off Track...

So this week I am going to go a little bit off track in my post, but since it is Spring Break, I figured it was okay.

My cousin, who is from Tucson but lives in Flagstaff, came home for the break and yesterday we were all hanging out. After a busy day of shopping, we were hungry. My cousin said she wanted some authentic Tucson Mexican food. Lucky for me, all my research about Tucson's Barrios came in handy. I immediately suggested we try out El Minuto Cafe on S. Main Ave in Barrio Viejo.

We arrived at the restaurant about 6 p.m and I had been raving about all the great things I had heard the whole way down there. When we got there they had a huge wait so unfortunately we couldn't stay, but we promised each other we would go back another time. I told her about how nice the owners are and how good the food looked when I was there and we decided we will definitely be going back soon.

We ended up going to La Parrilla Suiza instead and while the wait there was almost just as long, the food was delicious! So our lesson was learned, all restaurants have waits on a Saturday at 6 p.m. next time we will try the cafe in the Barrio.

Check out this video from El Minuto that I did as part of my project on Barrio Viejo: