Why did I sleep on the floor at the bus station?

Looking back on my life in the U.S.A, I did many things. For example, I gambled at the casino in L.A., watched musicals in New York, and ate pizza in Chicago. However, one of the unforgettable experiences was that I slept on the cold floor at the bus station in San Antonio like homeless people. It was Friday, March 13th, 2009, right before Spring Break.

I go to McAllen at least twice a month to see my family, and I usually take the bus. On that day, as soon as I finished class, I went to the Korean market to buy some rice cakes and snacks for my family, and I left my dorm earlier than usual because I didn’t want to miss the last bus, which was supposed to leave at 10:40 p.m.

However, the bus for McAllen didn’t show up at the scheduled time, and there was an announcement that the bus would be late because of a traffic jam. As a result, I had to wait more than 2 hours at the bus station in Austin with many people. Finally, the bus came, and I fell asleep as soon as I got on the bus because I was too tired. By the way, all of a sudden, the bus driver told us to get off the bus in San Antonio because she noticed something wrong with the bus. What’s more embarrassing thing was that I had to wait for the bus not knowing when it would arrive.

It was past 2 a.m., and I was too sleepy to open my eyes. Most of all, I couldn’t stand the situation even though I knew there was no way except for waiting for the bus. I thought that if it had happened in Korea, people would have asked for refunds or apology. However, most of the people looked quite calm, and started sleeping on the floor at the bus station using their backpacks as pillows. At first, I was standing in anger, but I sat on the floor with fatigue. Then, I lied down on the floor like other people. Finally, I fell asleep, and slept more than 1 hour. The time when another bus took us to McAllen was around 11 a.m. I spent almost 13 hours to go to McAllen. It was a long trip.

Through that happening, I realized that Americans are more patient than me even though I don’t know whether it is the general reaction of all the Americans about this situation. That is, I was surprised at their calm behaviors. What do you think about this? Was it a cultural difference or individual personality?

A Little Orange Tree in McAllen

Before I came to America, I didn't know much about McAllen. The only thing that I knew about this city was that my sister-in-law's family has been living there. Not knowing anything about this city, my family flew to McAllen on January 12th, 2009. However, when we arrived, it was around 10:30 p.m. Therefore, we hit the bed with fatigue after having talked about our trip for a short time. Until then, everything seemed okay. However, when I saw my son and husband sleeping, I burst out crying because I felt sorry for bringing them to the U.S.A. just for my benefit. I had a mixed feeling at that time. That was the first night in McAllen.

The next day, when I went out of the house, my sister-in-law showed us two things. One was a bicycle, and the other one was a little orange tree which was planted in celebration of coming to McAllen. They were for my son. I couldn't tell you how happy I was on that day. The orange tree was not just an orange tree. It was my son's orange tree, which was really special to me.

We have been spending almost 10 months here. The orange tree also has been growing well with my son's love. Now, thankfully, it has a big orange in it. To me, the little orange tree is a priceless thing, and McAllen is one of the best places in my memory. Now, you know that it is the most treasured part in my life in the U.S.A.

Hook'em Horns!!

(October 10th, 2009 Texas Vs. Colorado)

My father is a big fan of soccer. He was a member of a small community soccer team until he bacame 50, and he woudln't be exhausted even though somebody makes him talk about soccer all day long. What I want to say is that my father is not the only person who is crazy about soccer in Korea. That is, soccer is one of the most popular sports among Koreans.

What about Texas in the U.S.A? Even though every person has his or her own preference about sports, nothing beats football, I guess. However, when I first saw football on TV, I couldn't understand why football is so popular in the U.S.A. Moreover, I couldn't get the rules exactly even though my brother tried to expain as much as he could. There was only one reason why I didn't understand the rules. To me, football was just a game, which is not interesting.

However, when I came to Austin, Texas, I came to know a lot of people living in Austin really love football and UT also has a great fooball team. That is, football is a part of thier community. I felt that they are really proud of thier football team. Moreover, when I went to the stadium to watch football game with my friends on October 10th, I felt that this just one game could make all Texans happy. It was an amzing experience. While watching that game, I realized that football was not a boring game at all. It was really fascinating.

Actually, I still don't know much about rules, but I sometimes talk about McCoy, the quarterback of UT with my friend. What's more surprising is that I somtimes read sports section in the Daily Texan that I was never interested at all.

Am I in costume?

I was brought up by a family who puts more responsibilities before anything else. After marriage, my mother used to told me that I had to act my age, and think about my situation whenever doing something becasue I am a mom as well as a wife in a family. Actually, I don't think she's wrong. However, it usually made me be hesitaged when I try to do something differnt. As a result, I didn't think about myself in Halloween costume, and I thought it would be not suitable for my age. However, when I went to ESL classes, I was a little bit surprsied by some teachers and students in costume becasue I didn't expcet that a lot of people would wear costumes. I realized that it's not the matter of age but a part of their culture. Why did I think Halloween as a patry among young people who are interested in wearing costumes? Why did I think to stay at home instead of hanging around Sixth Street? Moreover, I am living in Austin right now. It's a part of culture. Let's enjoy my life in Austin when I was given a chance.