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Kasia Osak, of Warsaw, Poland, on the Zilker Oriental Garden

I looked around as if I were here for the first time. I thought that I've been here quite a few times and I always see something different in this garden. It is never the same. Today I have chosen to sit on a rock dominating over one of the ponds. I was hidden under a tree shadow and was quite isolated. I could see everything around, being invisible myself at the same time. I like places like here, excluded, quiet, far away from the noise of everyday life. I like to go there in the evenings when the weather is getting cooler and not many people walk around. The Japanese garden created by Isamu Taniguchi is perfect for a quite walk, for a contemplative rest in peace. I can predict the atmosphere of this garden right at the beginning, when I walk into it.

When I come to the garden a quietly rustling little stream leads me down the hill to the main part of the botanical garden to the Japanese garden. The garden is full of small, winding paths leading to many beautiful, enchanting places. Walking there, I'm constantly surrounded by the quiet, relaxing murmur of water. Taking one of little paths, I find a small waterfall hidden in a corner of rocks, then a small rocky path leads me to the little wooden bridge stretched over the small pond. All the ponds have beautiful harmonic arrangements of water plants. Taniguchi, this Japanese sensitive garden composer, makes it even possible to a walk across these little ponds. He puts some rocks across the water so I can carefully walk across and get almost everywhere. I can explore all of the park and see all its paths and never get bored with it. I especially like to walk across a little bamboo bridge. I feel then like I was in a fairytale. I can get to all these enchanting places of the garden by various paths, and always see these places from different perspectives. A very nice arrangements of flowers and water plants in conjunction with ponds gives an unusual impression of harmony which makes this place very special. The garden is very peaceful and full of harmony. I like to sit on the bench by the pond and look at all this scenery.

Although this beautiful garden was created by a man, it seems to be very natural and everything in the garden seems to complement each other. I think that it was created by a real nature artist. It is very relaxing place, perfect for me. I go there especially for a relaxing evening walk after a long tiring day. I always feel so good there, close to nature and art at the same time.

Romulo Briceno, of Caracas, Venezuela, on Zilker Botanical Garden

The Zilker Botanical Garden is ideally located in the heart of Austin, in Barton Springs Road in the Zilker Park Area, a big wonderful place where lots of people go running and enjoying life.

The gardens are on land that is wonderfully gifted by nature with beautiful trees, natural caves, fountains and lagoons that have been incorporated into a design of spectacular beauty and tranquility; in this place the birds are louder than the cars and you get pleasure from the peaceful atmosphere, is what I call an urban oasis.

The Botanical Gardens are made up of many different gardens: the Xeriscape Garden, Cactus and Succulent Garden, Herb and Fragrance Garden, Azalea Garden, Butterfly Garden, the Rose Garden and the Taniguchi Garden. The most popular is the Taniguchi Garden built by Isamu Taniguchi, according to the story Taniguchi spent over a year without pay building the garden, which he dedicated to the city of Austin and the University of Texas.

As you enter the Oriental garden, you come upon a quiet lagoon where you can see various multicolored fishes, yellows, whites, reds; it is incredible the size of some of them, also there are some turtles in the lagoon; by seeing this ecosystem I feel enchanted with the peaceful coexistence of all the elements of nature, the garden also has a waterfall, a running trail, ponds, and bridges with a great view of downtown.

If you walk across the main bridge of the Oriental garden you don't feel alone because your own reflex on the pure clean water accompanies you during the journey, when I talked with the friendly staff they told me that during the night the reflection of the moon on the water is out of this world, they also explain you the meaning of the Oriental garden, that it is a symbol of universal peace, and when you admire this serene beauty you find out that this is completely true. One of the marvelous person of the staffs guides me to garden and when I asked about the bridge and the waterfall she told me that this symbolizes a gate at which you can wash your hands, rinse your mouth, cleanse your mind and soul, all this represents a symbolic purification; when I passed the waterfall I took some water and while I remembered what she told me I looked around and sensed that this can be an escape for everyone who feels stress or worry because in this place you breath tranquility all a long. It is not easy to forget Taniguchis words: "A man may exist as long as mother earth allows his habitation."

The Xeriscape garden displays native low water use plants, including trees and wildflowers and demonstrated the use of good design, soil improvement, efficient irrigation and low maintenance; I contemplated in this garden an

attractive colorful landscape, and it wasn't like I thought just cactus and rocks, but beautiful and colorful plants which are drought tolerant and well adapted to soil an sun conditions.

As many Austin families I enjoyed this park, but I think the best time to visit the garden is on a quiet weekday, since it is a very popular attraction on weekends; the increasing popularity has created a high demand for limited accessible amenities, I am completely sure that the parking is inadequate for the rapid growth of Austin.

In conclusion, I can tell you that I love this place and I look forward to visit it again in different seasons.

CAPITOL BUILDING: TEXAN'S PRIDE

by Maria Fernanda Cala, of Bogota, Colombia

One of my closest moments to the Texas soul was in the Capitol Building. Being there I listened the Texas history told by walls that have been the focal point of the state government for more than a century.

I approached the building from the south by driving on Congress Avenue. The view is absolutely amazing and I couldn't resist the temptation to pull over my car and take a couple of pictures. All that I could say about this image is not enough to explain you what I felt, and what I still feel any time I take that route.

At that moment, I was thinking that the photos I had took, was the best souvenir of this beautiful place. But I radically changed my mind when I crossed the heavy front doors of the building to see the majesty of the renaissance architecture and decoration of this place. In that moment I became aware that I wouldn't be taking the best of this place without knowing some of the history of its construction or even better, some of the history of Texas

During this tour I found out that the design made by Architect Elijah Myers in 1888, supposed to hold up to three hundred people, was modified through the years with the addition of walls, partitions, and mezzanines to divide many of the large spaces to house the almost 2000 people working there, as well as false, lowered ceilings to hide wiring and ductwork for electricity and air-conditioning that weren't in the initial design, since one century before, Austin had the same weather, but for some inexplicable reason, Austinites were able to work without the magic of the air conditioning.

According with the tour's guide, by the 1980's, the Capitol had lost much of its interior grandeur due to all these alterations, and was structurally unsound, overcrowded, and threatened by the very real danger of fire. And this threat became reality in 1983 when a fire caused significant damage in the east wing of the building.

The answer of Texas to this fire was the entire renovation of the building and the construction of four underground levels, including a tunnel system to connect the capitol with other buildings in the capitol grounds. For me, this kind of work is what I have understood as the spirit of Texas, doing always the biggest and the best they can to be recognized as the great state. Today, Texans celebrate the successful restoration of their historic Capitol showing with pride to the rest of United States and to the world, the highest capitol building in this country. According with the words of a proud Texan I met in my tour, even higher than the National Capitol in Washington D.C. for seven feet.

During this tour, the capitol building is not the only one place to visit in the capitol grounds. The Capitol Visitors Center, which housed the government offices before the actual Capitol building was constructed, is located southeast of the Capitol and is a permanent gallery displaying different exhibitions of Texan art or Texas' history. The exhibitions are changing through out the year according with a program that is available inside this building.

If you want to know more about the powerful Texas history and also you love the Renaissance architecture of the 15th century this is a place that you ought to visit.

Hui Chang, of Taipei, Taiwan, on the LBJ Museum and the Sixties

I was born in 1970. For my generation, I know nothing about the world and my own country of the sixties. The LBJ Museum gave me the opportunity to get images of the turbulent sixties as well as American history from 1920 to 1970.

Admission is free. I walked in the entrance of the huge white hall. The woman at the information desk greeted me warmly and explained the exhibitions on each floor clearly. I asked her if she was a volunteer to work here. She told me that she has worked here as a volunteer for six years and came three hours a week. To meet people from all over the states was an enjoyable thing to her. She regarded President Johnson as a respectable person and he was one of her favorite presidents. When I asked her how did she evaluate the accomplishments of President Johnson, she refused to answer me because the question was too political. She said she should not comment since she is working in this museum. I did not know that I was rude to ask such controversial question until I studied more about President Johnson.

On the first floor, there were lots of pictures, photos, models, films and audio to present the history and culture of American from 1908 to 1973 as well as the entire public career of President Johnson. I was astonished to see the signs of "Colored waiting room" or "White only" that called to mind a true story in Shanghai 100 years ago. When England were in power there, signs of park entrances indicated "Only Chinese and dogs are not allowed to enter". I thought discrimination among races had not been existed but it was still there. It must not have been an easy task to fight for African American rights. I was so impressed with LBJ's efforts on the historic 1964 Civil Right Act that ended legal discrimination in the United States.

If the Vietnam War had not broken out, part of Asian and American history might have been rewritten. I have seen lots of movies that reexamined the meaning of warfare in a critical view. Some people thought President Johnson's inappropriate Vietnam policy culminated in the war that broke America's will. The whole processes were still full of painful memories for Americans. I think this might be one of the reasons for the woman to refuse comments on LBJ's performances. Nevertheless, I sympathized with LBJ when he ended his political career by a sudden announcement on TV.

When I walked up the stairway to the second floor, the great hall stunned me. On the north side of the wall, there was the seal of the president of the United States. On the south side of the wall, I saw piles of red paper with gold seals that reminded me of Chinese red envelopes. Parents give red envelopes that

have some money inside to their children in the Chinese New Year. The red and gold colors were beautiful and joyful for me. After I read the signs, I realized it was the library to house the presidential papers collected in the red boxes.

What surprised me most was that I found something connected with my country, the Republic of China. During Johnson's Presidency, there were diplomatic ties between the United States and the Republic of China. One of the State Gifts, Chinese Tomb Sculpture, was given from our ex-president, Chiang Kei-shek. The letter of credence from our Ambassador Chou Shu-kai was displayed also. LBJ said, "The Communist empire is vast and forbidding" in the sixties. Now, the threat of Communism has dwindled and we are no longer recognized as Republic of China by the international society. How ironical it is. We remain at the same place but world changed her mind to call us Taiwan now. Needless to say, my emotion was complicated when I saw the word of "Republic of China" in this presidential museum.

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." wrote Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities, describing the French Revolution. Dicken's immortal words could as well apply to the sixties. This tumultuous decade saw the Cuba Crisis, the assassination of J.F. Kennedy and M.L.K. and the Vietnam War. At the same time, the sixties witnessed the first steps to the moon and the plan of Great Society. The LBJ Museum brought me back to the decade. My generation, called Generation X, came under the influence of the triumphs and tragedies of the sixties. I am glad that I am not too late to comprehend it.

TRAVEL WRITING: THE TEXAS CAPITOL BUILDING
by JORGE MORALES BARUD, Cuernavaca, Mexico

The Texas Capitol Complex is a Lone Star Treasure as Texans say about this beautiful and historical building, and I am sure this thought is not just of because its beauty, but because the Capitol houses two of the government branches, the Legislative power and the Executive Office.

Built during the late nineteenth century, the Texas Capitol Building was remodeled between 1990 - 1995 in order to return the building to its 1888 - 1915 appearance and to solve the building's overcrowded conditions; consequently, this important building has both an architectural and historical value.

On the east side of the complex, the chamber of Senators has plenty of chairs and desks where Senators listen, work and vote bills. The walls here are decorated by paintings representing several pages of the Texas history, like the Alamo and San Jacinto Battles, as well as different pictures of the most outstanding heroes such as Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, Mirabeau Lamar and Lorenzo de Zavala The State Senators represent the counties interests, as the US Senators represent the fifty State's interests as James Madison wrote in his federalist paper number thirty nine: “The Senate will derive its powers from the states, as political and coequal societies”Located on the opposite side of the Capitol complex, the House of representatives has a very similar lay out. Representatives are the people's representation of the State of Texas, and again, following what Madison said in the same paper: “The House of Representatives will derive its power from the people of America; and the people will be represented in the same proportion, and on the same principle, as they are in the legislature of a particular State”.

In the middle of the complex, we can find the Governor's office, the Executive branch of Government. I had the opportunity to meet there Gov. George W. Bush there last year and we spent a wonderful time talking about our state's affairs and the commercial advantages between each of them In addition, the first place that I visited before meeting him was the Governor's Public Reception Room, an impressive Victorian place. Now, as a student visitor, I had a new impression of the Texas Capitol Building, because I could look at almost each building's details, as the paintings, the floor, the ceiling and I was able to understand the importance Texans give to this government palace.

What I enjoyed very much was admiring the Dome, a huge and beautiful architectural work. On the first floor of the building, just under the great dome, visitors can look at the pictures of the Presidents of the Republic of Texas as well as the Governor's portraits, including the firs female Governor of Texas, Mrs. Miriam Ferguson.

Another interesting part of the Texas Capitol complex is its floor constructed in several pieces representing the Texas Counties and the places where the most important battles took place. The whole building radiates harmony in its architectural features, strength in its construction, strong beliefs, and a clear prosperous destiny for the people of the State of Texas.

Visiting the Capitol Building is like an open historical book because what one can learn there is a vivid and in situ experience. In this building, it's possible to recreate the battles, the political debates and the difficulties early Texans had to undertake. Each piece of the building represents the Texan's courage and high spirit, a proud inheritance for his son and her daughters.

Erika Korger Leone, of Buenos Aires, Argentina,
writes about Lake Travis

Located on the west of Austin, Lake Travis is a magnificent place for all kinds of
recreation. On the lake we were able to do some windsurfing, boating, fishing, swimming, scuba diving or camping. In our case, we,
a group of friends and I, wanted to experience a boat trip, but as we didn’t have a boat, then we rented one.

The whole day, I felt I was enjoying nature in a different way that I could in maybe a park. For a few hours, I felt I was taken to an
unknown place, like to another state, but I was still in Austin, and that was because the environment was completely different from the
rest of the city. The hills, the green of the trees, the crystal water and last but not least a very good group of friends made the
difference. For all these reasons, I want to share my experience with you, so you can see this wonderful place through my eyes.

Every part of the trip was immensely enjoyable. Just from the beginning, on our way to the lake, we saw hills, which surrounded the
road, with few but beautiful houses on them. The same route we were travelling crossed Lake Austin, where we could glance
Mansfield Dam. This enormous wall was so impressive, and my first thought was: "How can this wall support all the water pressure!"
In the harbor were all size of boat, but the boat for the trip was a two-storied flat boat equipped with a BBQ, a CD player and the most
fun at all: a slide. The boat had a capacity of sixty people, who didn’t have to worry about the navigation, because the boat came with a
captain.

The day was wonderful, since the temperature was perfect, which was helped by the wind, and the sky was completely without any
cloud. The captain drove us for an hour to a place surrounded by trees and vines, but, because of the drought, the lake was 15 below
its regular level, so we could see many white and gray rocks usually covered by water. It was amazing how we could distinguish
where the water was before. We saw on the hill, just where the trees ended, where the band of gray rocks began.
Finally, the captain docked in a nook, on one side of the lake and we stayed there for a couple of hours. During this time, we

students
were able to cook, drink, eat, swim and dance. As the weather helped us and the sun was very strong, the whole group could swim in
the warm water. Every one of us jumped from the slide into the water. When we came out of the water, we were cold, so we chose to
dance the whole afternoon. Music has always had some magic over people, and that afternoon, it had this magic over us.

Returning to the harbor, the boat let us look at a magnificent sunset. The water became gold and the sky slowly showed all the colors
one could imagine: white, yellow, orange, red, violet and blue.

This is a place everyone should go, not only because it is different from any other place in Austin, but also because it helped me to
forget my everyday routine. At the same time, I felt at home, because of the nature that surrounded us, and because of the friendly
situation that developed on the boat.

Masha Orechova, of St. Petersburg, Russia, on the Texas State Capitol

I was in the capitol of Texas six years ago. I thought that I would enjoy a fresh look at the capitol and seeing something that I didn't see last time capitol. While I was walking toward the capitol, I came hrough the beautiful park with the fountains, the trees, various statues and of course, flowers, among which I enjoyed the most roses. As far as I can tell most of these statues are related to Texas history. It was interesting to see the monuments of the Ten Commandments. The capitol reminds me a little bit of Saint Isaac Cathedral in St. Petersburg because of its style, dome, and shape. Despite these dim similarities, they are very different.

The capitol of Texas is made outside from granite. It seemed to me the shining floor was made from granite and marble. I was able to see the House of Representatives. I saw many governors' portraits in the capitol, some of them from early history, some from contemporary times. All these characters of the portraits looked at me, while I was walking through the state capitol of Texas and I was thinking that this capitol is more than 100 years old .I can imagine how many people have been here, politicians and commoners, rulers and tourists, it seems to me that old and new things come together, ancient and modern become one, the times got interwoven.

I was surprised last time and I am still surprised now how it is possible to walk through the capitol without any permission and so freely to enter in many rooms even in the House of the Representatives. I was surprised by lack of security also. When I was in the capitol last time, I expected that some one would come to me and say: Go away! What are you doing here? It is not allowed to walk here. If you were in Russia, nobody would allow you to enter such state an institution as a capitol without special permission, moreover you would have to come through strong security control. In addition to this, if something were opened freely, many things would be stolen or destroyed unless you have a strong security and monitoring system. I was impressed that a Xerox machine stood on one staircase .It is a little bit strange to see modern technique inside the old building done in the classical style and moreover, nobody steals it nor destroys it. If such machine stood openly in Russia, it would be stolen or destroyed very quickly. I walked through several rotundas up and down stairs. The dome surprised me; on which center was the lonely star and it actually reminded me of Saint Isaac Cathedral. I saw the statues of Sam Houston and Austin. It was interesting that I got a chance to talk to the policewoman and to two the repairmen, who were painting the floor or column. They explained to me, who was on one painting and whose statues were near by.

While I was going back, I noticed some modern governmental offices downstairs; they seemed to be on the ground floor. I got down stairs and took a look from this place. Apparently these offices are modern, though they were built from granite or marble. When I walked in the south part of park near the capitol, it is a nice and beautiful place. Once again I was observing different sculptures, beautiful fountains and various flowers; I enjoyed my tour through the capitol and the park around. It seems to me that I was able not only to take a fresh look at the capitol, but also to see much more and to notice more details. Whenever you visit or see something again, you learn, notice and discover something new. I learned more history, and I was able to discover new things. So my tour in the capitol was very interesting and enjoyable.

Alpha Diallo, of Conakry, Guinea,
on the Lyndon. B.Johnson Library

The LBJ museum is a very interesting place, which took me back forty years in time. What surprised me the most is that LBJ isn't very famous in other countries; people know more about Lincoln, Kennedy, Nixon etc...I was positively surprised to know so much about a man who has been president in a very hard and tough period.

The museum is divided into 3 levels. On the 1st floor you can see different pictures of the Johnsons and their background. These pictures taught me a lot about their families and their childhoods. On the other side of the level, you can see a Ford T, offered to the Johnson family by Henry Ford and a presidential limousine.

The best part of the whole museum is a small room on the 1st floor and its topic is life during the sixties presenting a lot of pictures of that decade. I really liked this place because something strange happened when I was there: I was watching a very terrible picture, taken in a southern state of the US, a restaurant sign, on which it was written "we don't serve Negroes" and while I was staring at it, trying to imagine how this kind of thing could happen in a developed country, a juke box started playing an old rock-music song behind me and I really felt the ambiance of the epoch.

One of the saddest parts of the museum is the room dedicated to J.F.Kennedy's life and how LBJ became president after his assassination. The room contains also a lot of videos and newspapers of the sixties about Vietnam War and other terrible events such as the assassination of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy.

On the second floor are presidential gifts and a very funny lifelike figure of LBJ .On the eight floor, there's a representation of the white house's Oval Room and pictures of other different rooms. You can also see a part dedicated to Lady Bird and her welfare actions through the years.

What I enjoyed the most about the LBJ museum is that the place is full of historical events and shows another unknown and bad aspect of American history, with the different problems the country went through in the 1960s.The museum is also a very warm and peaceful place where the visitor can learn a lot about the personality and the life of the Johnsons.