Trinity University

I don’t know what’s up with me. I’ve just been home for three days and already I can’t stay up past 10pm. It must be because everyone at my house drops off to sleep at about 8. Oh well, I never cared much for the stay-up-till-you-drop college mentality, but you do what you have to do. And now, nothing calls to me so much as my bed. Wow. Done with a whole semester. It’s amazing really; I’m that much closer to being a junior! That was such a big deal to me in high school, because no one wanted to admit that they were underclassmen, but here at Trinity I can’t tell the ages of anyone half the time. College, the great equalizer…
We just finished setting up the Christmas tree and house decorations at my house. I know—shocking! They’re supposed to be up on December 1st, but my mother was taking advantage of the fact that I would be home for a few days while my siblings were off at school. She assumes that my idea of relaxing is setting up the tree and the 3 million knickknacks we have acquired over the years. Of course, she is correct, but she overestimated my abilities. You see, I could have handled those things if I wasn’t also shopping for gifts. No matter, I think it was much more pleasant setting up the decorations with everyone else and having some of my own gifts to add under the tree.
Goodness. I believe I forgot to mention the Christmas lights and decorations outside my house which, it should be noted, were put up on schedule, thanks to my dad. They are show stopping, really. My father has outdone himself this year. If you were to go down our street you would need no flashlight; our home is a beacon, Santa won’t dare miss it. This year’s theme seems to be “there’s something for everyone." There is a section of lighted Christmas trees that play three different songs, with the lights coordinated to the beat, a life size nativity, complete with manger and star of Bethlehem, four penguins en route to the North Pole, Santa riding a motorcycle, a giant lighted drummer boy and some reindeer, which appear to have been relieved of their duties now that Santa has the motorcycle. This display, combined with the lights wrapped around the house render nightlights useless, as the entire house is suffused with a glow the entire night. Oh Christmas, without you there is no other way to proclaim our faith and Americanism quite so wonderfully.

Posted by Bianca at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bianca called me today and said “It’s snowing in El Paso." Currently in San Antonio it is drizzling and 40 degrees. Come on…just a little colder and voila! Snow! For as long as I have been in San Antonio (14 years), I have never seen serious snow. The older people who have lived in San Antonio for ages always speak fondly of the great snow day in the 80s. I am doomed to never ever see snow here. The weather in San Antonio is unpredictable. The humidity is unbelievable but I am used to that, being from Vietnam and all. My roommate has a hard time dealing with it because she says her hair cannot get used to it. I find it exciting to face the challenges of the varying weather. One day it is 90 and the next, windy, chilly and 45. Bianca once told me, “the great thing about San Antonio is, if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes." The only thing that does not seem to change is the dorm temperature; always freezing. Well, I will not be in the dorm for another month so I can type this in my cozy home. No white Christmas here but at least I am warm.

Posted by Nancy at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some days, it is just too pretty here not to relax. And so far, the weather seems to be encouraging this thought. I finished my Spanish final and other Spanish project (for which I wrote a short story) so I gave myself today, Saturday, in which to relax. I was so bad about that last year (knowing when to relax, I mean). I’m the type to just ignore things (Stress? What stress? Whatever it is, I can take it!). So anyways, many little nervous breakdowns later, here I am, ready to accept that I do need a break. (For that matter, I believe Nancy needs one too, but she thinks it would hint at a laggardly work ethic if she were to admit it.)
While Nancy went off to make the big bucks at the library, I spent a positively idle morning in the room reading Something Wonderful (that’s actually the title!). Ahh…There’s nothing like a guaranteed happy ending to make the day better. But at 12 o’clock, with a mere 40 pages to go, I gave up the battle with hunger and drove off to Fina’s. Fina’s is the only Mexican food restaurant in San Antonio I’ve been able to find that has food comparable to El Paso’s. They prepare their tortillas by hand, not like at Central Market. The other day I saw the most extraordinary piece of machinery at that store. I believe it was something like a tortilla assembly line.

Speaking of tortillas, tortilla soup is the main reason I go to Fina’s, it’s just like at home!

Granted, we have a distinct advantage being so close to the border in El Paso, but wouldn’t you think that some recipes are universal? We are in the same state after all...
After Fina’s I did a little light Christmas shopping—and I really do mean light. When I fly back home over the holidays, I usually manage to over-pack my suitcases by 10 to 20 pounds. Unfortunately, the bag-checker-people at the airport now fine you for this small discrepancy in weight; so much of my Christmas shopping is probably going to be done the week before the holiday. And therefore I expect that when I go home, I will have to fend off everyone’s dismayed surprise.
Family: “Are you sure that’s all you brought?"
Me: “Don’t worry, you’re getting something!"
Just five days and one more final until I get that warm reception and I'm so excited! How did the semester go by so fast?

Posted by Bianca at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)