I have to say that amidst all of the wondering in my life about what my purpose is, what is next for me, and where that next thing is, I have really enjoyed living down in Texas. I have enjoyed being able to explore a state that I had very little experience with before moving down here in August of 2005. My only other direct experience with the state of Texas was when I took a missions trip to Austin during high school to help a couple of missionaires who worked with the international student population at UT that our church sponsored. I guess because of that experience I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Texas.So far in the last year and a half, I have had the opportunity to vacation/spend time in Abilene, Buffalo Gap, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Denton (University of North Texas), Mercedes, Padre Island, San Antonio, and back to Dallas for a RA conference at UT-Dallas. All of these experiences can be divided up into either time spent with family OR time spent related to my role as Hall Director here at McMurry.
The best times have definitely been with family, although the most rewarding times have been getting to know my RA's at the various conferences (UNT & UTD) as I get to see them outside of their "university persona" and spend time with who they really are and watch them grow and question their own realities.
Fun times with family have definitely been capped off by what has become an annual Fall tradition=Jeremy coming down to visit me around Halloween. For those of you that don't know, Jeremy is my oldest and dearest friend on the face of the planet. He and I figured out that we have now been friends for over 20 years! Those kids of friendships don't come along that often in this world. When he came down to visit last year, we did all of the touristy things that Abilene had to offer and so this year we were looking to find something uniquely Texas to take advantage of my living in this state.
Well, we found true Texas flavor in picking San Antonio as our destination. Jeremy flew down late in the afternoon on a Wednesday afternoon and so we got up and headed out for San Antonio early in the morning on Thursday and headed straight to the Alamo. For many Texans, I think that they get overwhelmed with Texas history and so the Alamo has lost some of its aura but it was inspiring for me to see it in person. We hear about the sacrifice and the heroism that happened there but to see the building in person and actually be up to your ears in history was awesome! The only unfortunate thing about the Alamo is that a lot of the original mission land has been gobbled up by government buildings and tourist traps.
On Friday, we got to experience SeaWorld San Antonio! We paid a little extra and got to enter the park early and go on a tour of the parks behind the scenes with some of the trainers!!! I got to feed dolphins and sea lions; got to pet stingrays and sharks and get front row drenched by Shamu!!! I also got to see penguins, beluga whales, and flamingos up close!!! We started our day in the park at 8:30am and didn't leave the park until after 5pm!!! It was an exhausting day but it was totally worth it and an experience that I will never forget. On the ride home, we stopped and got to interact with some Indian pictographs, but that is a story for another day....
You can see all of my pictures online on my Facebook account=Shoot me an email at feltzy@hotmail.com and I will send you the link.
12/1-It has taken me a while to finish this post but it will be worth it to add some pictures of SNOW in Abilene, Texas. I actually think the wind chill right now is down in the teens! I thought that I had left all of this weather in Iowa=Special thanks to my brother Joe who made sure to call me yesterday to rub it in that THEY did NOT have snow! Well, pay back is ayou-know-what, so I will make sure to be calling him the next time they have a blizzard and we are back up in the 60's!!! Enjoy!!!
