(the following was written about a week or so ago... some details may have changed slighty, so beware....)

So, where was I, Bush country, right? I left Penn on Monday the 8th of May, and I managed to avoid a teary goodbye because we kept telling eachother that we'll see eachother again... and we have! I caught up with Amma and Rania and Maija and Rebecca in New York, and I shall see Nadeige next weekend... but I feel I have to describe my travels in chronological order. It seems the only way that it would make any sense...

I arrived late Monday night in San Antonio, overloaded with wayyyy too much luggage (what's new?) and hot from the muggy weather. My suitcase nearly didn't even fit into Krytal's small Beetle! I went to San Antonio, Texas, to visit my friend Krystal and her family. My plans had changed so I only had a week in Texas, and then I was leaving on the Saturday to travel with my Dad in California.

Krystal's house is absolutely gorgeous - nothing like I have ever seen before. I have seen beautiful houses, I have seen mansions, but I have never seen a home the size, oppulance and with such taste before - it was such a pleasure to live in for the week. I forgot to take photos, but I might ask Krystal to give me some - seriously, you must see it. They have a library with books that reach the ceiling, an elevator, a swimming pool, a movie theatre, a gym... but to be honest it's not only what they have, but their family closeness and warmth is infectious, and it's carried throughout the house. I really enjoyed being in a family situation, and it made me look forward to spending time with my Dad and then the rest of my family in Israel in August. And seeing my sister in July. Anyway, not going on a tangent, Krystal's family made me feel very welcome - even with their food. The dad's side of the family are, as they call themselves, 'Jewophiles' - and while they love Jesus, they wish they were Jewish. So in order to really experience Texas, they wanted to cook me a Texan barbecue. They bought Kosher chicken, and scrubbed down the barbecue, and made me a KOsher chicken barbecue! How nice is that! And when the Mum forgot and put cheese in the salad, she made me another seperate salad!

(I'm still writing about food? Man.)

But I was introduced to the real deal TexMex the next day, when Krystal and her sister Erin took me to an authentic Mexican cantina - only Mexicans were there, the waitresses only spoke Spanish, and I ordered one of the few vegetarian options on the menu. (They love their meat in Texas.) That day Krystal and Erin showed me around San Antonio. We went to the Alamo, where the americans fought the mexicans in the 19th century for control over Texas (also the sight for Miss Congeniality (yes, the film) where Sandra Bullock demonstrated her 'talent' at making music from glasses of water....) I forgot my camera in the car, but here are some professional pics of the place...

The afterwards we headed to a mexican market where Erin and I tried to fit in...
Not. We were told off by the owner of this stall for taking photos in the sombreros... there was even a sign in the corner that said in RED PEN explicitly "IF YOU TAKE A PHOTO WITH THE SOMBRERO, YOU MUST BUY IT!" Yeah right. He started to yell when we walked away, so we just hurried that little bit more. It was too hot outside so we went inside the little market under the cool breeze of the airconditioning. Little stalls were selling Mexican trinkets and folk outfits and tiny little jesuses and maries. Sometimes I really like those kitch figurines of little jesus... and of course mary... I know this totally goes against my religion, but I think theyre quite adorable. Hrmm, that, coupled with my loving of gospel music right now... See what a Yavneh education has done for me???
So the next photo displays my 'sexual temperament'. Well, only this temperament, says the fluro pink machine above, is recorded according to the heat of my palm. Well, it was thirty eight degrees that day, so what does that say! My reading was 108... and that means...
Or does it?






On the Wednesday, we went to Fredricksburg on a road trip, through the Texan Hill country. Who knew Texas was green? And had lush hills? We all think of Texas as stretches of desert, with the occasional cacti and crazy Mexicans running around shouting "Andale Andale!" Or was that only that mouse in Loony Tunes? Well, there were lots of Mexicans running around (and hardly any blacks at all, which was one of the first things I noticed. Living in West Philadelphia has opened up my eyes to so many different worlds, and the differences between the cities across the United States...)

(will continue when have the time... right now I'm putting the rest of my life at Penn into boxes... xxx)