Epic Journey Log Entry #9
Austin/San Marcos
After 5 nonstop days of travel and adventure, I was looking forward to relaxing in Texas. I had been once before, to stay with my friend Amanda and her family in the Valley, and enjoyed it a lot. I had decided to schedule Austin into my itinerary since one of my best friends, Naomi, had moved there a little over a year ago. With her living so far away I only see her during winter break, spring break, and once in the summer, so I was very happy to hang out with her for 3 days!
Essentially, being in San Marcos con Naomi was like being home – I felt very relaxed and at ease throughout my time there. Since she had class Thursday night and all day Friday, I just hung out and got a lot of work done on my laptop. On Thursday I did go to class with her but left in the last half since they were going to watch a movie and I needed to get some e-mailing done. It was my first Student Affairs grad class to sit in on (in Chicago I sat in on a Public Administration class at DePaul University) and it went as I kind of expected a Student Affairs grad course to be.
(Side note: For those who are unfamiliar with this graduate program, Student Affairs aka High Education Administration aka College Student Personal is a program that educates and trains future higher education administrators who special in Student Affairs/Student Life at Universities. These professionals serve as Residence Hall Directors, Career Counselors, Dean of Students, etc. It’s a career that I am highly interested in but, unfortunately, not at this point sure if I want to pursue it as a career).
From there we got dinner at this Mexican place that had this delectable spinach and cheese enchilada (spinach is my veggie of choice as of late) and then we headed back and hung out.
In the morning I got *quite* the rude wake-up call.
Bleary eyed I turned my head, looked at my right shoulder and SCREAMED.
There, just hanging out was the BIGGEST CRICKET I HAVE EVER SEEN!
I brushed him off with a burst of energy (scratching myself in my over-extended must-destroy-at-all-costs efforts) and tried to leap out of bed…but since it was an air mattress I just slid off in an ungraceful heap, gaining painfully throbbing chalie horse at the same time.
So yes. Do not underestimate the much talked about motto that ‘everything is bigger than Texas’. Because it is. Also, I learned the value of another motto- ‘do not mess with Texas’…because they will send mutant crickets after you.
Naomi and I later in the evening did a very Naomi-style outing – to the Victoria’s Secret Outlet store ;) That was fun and then we had pretty tasty thai (I say pretty only because my previous thai was in the Seattle) and then hung out later that night with some friends of hers.
Later the next day we didn’t do a whole bunch besides hang out and eat at the famous Whataburger, which is a much-beloved Texas fast-food chain that I had during my previous trip to Texas. I’m going to be honest….even though Texans may hate me….but after eating it this time, while it was *very* tasty* it wasn’t much different from any other fast-food chain in Ohio. The fries are like McDs, except much less salty (which is good!) , the burger was similar to Wendy’s, while the strawberry shake tasted just like Burger King’s. So perhaps it is the best of all 3 worlds? ;)
Here's my meal:
http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z357/Nix_BGSU/SDC10611.jpg
Interesting observation about Texas: Texans *love* Texas. Here are some examples based on observations and discussions with Texans during my trip (and I have tons of good friends from TX):
- A couple guys said they don’t like country – unless it is from Texas. Then it’s okay.
- The Texas flag *almost* flies higher than the American flag at some stores. The USA flag is higher, but just barely.
Well…alright, those are not many examples but I can’t quite remember any more…but I know more exist!
Overall, I loved my Texas time con Naomi and Austin is still on my list of ‘Places I Would Like Living In’ :)
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