Earlier this month, I headed back to the great state of Texas for three weeks for work. Although I missed my hubby and pup a lot, it was nice to be back home for a little while. I was able to reconnect with all of my work buddies at Dell’s headquarters in Round Rock, eat lots of Tex-Mex, attend a friend’s wedding, and visit my family in El Paso.
The first week I was back in Texas, the team stayed downtown at the new W for our symposium. It was really nice and the location was great! On Thursday afternoon, one of my coworkers from Slovakia, Tomas, asked me what the capital was like because he had some spare time and wanted to take a tour. Embarrassingly, I had to admit that I had never been to the capital. But the good news was that I also had some free time, so I tagged along and we headed a few blocks North to check it out together.
Congress was in session, which is very rare, so that made the tour extra cool. There were congressmen everywhere holding press conferences and meetings. You can even view the session from an audience box above the floor. While touring the governor’s reception room, our guide announced a celebrity was in the room with us. I looked around for someone famous but didn’t recognize anyone. That’s when I noticed a little Beagle near the door... It was Uno! He was the celebrity! For all of you that don’t know, Uno the Beagle made history at the Westminster Dog Show in 2008 by winning 'Best in Show.' He was the first Beagle to ever win the coveted title. My family loves Beagles, which is obvious since they have Otis the Beagle. So I took a pic to show them later and make them very jealous. Tomas didn’t understand who Uno was, what the Westminster dog show was, or why I would possibly want a picture with a random dog, but he took it for me anyway!
The last weekend I was in Texas I was able to fly to El Paso for a short family visit. It was so good to see my parents and Elizabeth again. I hadn’t seen them since July during my immigration tribulations. Elizabeth is all grown up now and driving by herself. It’s so strange to hear, “Mom, I’m gonna run out to the store” coming from her mouth. She’s the youngest so we all still feel like she’s the baby. She’s also very into shopping, so we spent most of Sunday after church at the mall before my flight. On Saturday, we spent all afternoon planning their upcoming European vacation. Only a few more months and we’ll have a full house here in London.
I’ll be back in Texas again in June for the next Audit symposium. But until then, adios Texas.
The first week I was back in Texas, the team stayed downtown at the new W for our symposium. It was really nice and the location was great! On Thursday afternoon, one of my coworkers from Slovakia, Tomas, asked me what the capital was like because he had some spare time and wanted to take a tour. Embarrassingly, I had to admit that I had never been to the capital. But the good news was that I also had some free time, so I tagged along and we headed a few blocks North to check it out together.
Congress was in session, which is very rare, so that made the tour extra cool. There were congressmen everywhere holding press conferences and meetings. You can even view the session from an audience box above the floor. While touring the governor’s reception room, our guide announced a celebrity was in the room with us. I looked around for someone famous but didn’t recognize anyone. That’s when I noticed a little Beagle near the door... It was Uno! He was the celebrity! For all of you that don’t know, Uno the Beagle made history at the Westminster Dog Show in 2008 by winning 'Best in Show.' He was the first Beagle to ever win the coveted title. My family loves Beagles, which is obvious since they have Otis the Beagle. So I took a pic to show them later and make them very jealous. Tomas didn’t understand who Uno was, what the Westminster dog show was, or why I would possibly want a picture with a random dog, but he took it for me anyway!
Hanging out with Uno, who was in Texas as the official mascot of a responsible pet owner's bill
Tomas sitting at the governor's desk
Later that evening, the European team wanted to go shopping for some cheap American goods so I suggested we take a trip to Wal-Mart. I warned them about Wal-Mart on the way there… but despite my best efforts, they still had no idea what they were getting themselves into. As I was going through the grocery aisles stocking up on my preservative-filled American food (for which I brought an extra, completely empty suitcase), they asked, “Is any of this healthy?” I looked in my cart full of pudding, corn bread mix, taco seasoning, and Poptarts. “Ummm not really” was all I could say. I’m sure they weren't surprised though, since they’d seen me eat a breakfast taco every morning that week... and no judging allowed - I needed my fix!
That weekend, I headed to Houston for Anna Pham’s wedding. Anna, Ankeeta, and I were roommates our sophomore year of college. A lot of my old college friends were there and Katie and Dave were nice enough to host me. Ankeeta’s boyfriend was unable to make the trip from Boston to Houston so she was my date for the evening.
It was a very international wedding. Anna is Vietnamese and her husband, Mauricio, is Colombian. The day before the formal Catholic ceremony and reception, the bride's family hosted a tea ceremony where the group donned traditional Vietnamese dress and feasted on a whole roasted pig. During the toast at Saturday's reception, Anna’s uncle gave his speech in Vietnamese, her father translated it into English, and then her brother-in-law translated it into Spanish. And for favors, guests were given chocolate-covered Colombian coffee beans.
Terri, you've officially made the blog - yay!!
The last weekend I was in Texas I was able to fly to El Paso for a short family visit. It was so good to see my parents and Elizabeth again. I hadn’t seen them since July during my immigration tribulations. Elizabeth is all grown up now and driving by herself. It’s so strange to hear, “Mom, I’m gonna run out to the store” coming from her mouth. She’s the youngest so we all still feel like she’s the baby. She’s also very into shopping, so we spent most of Sunday after church at the mall before my flight. On Saturday, we spent all afternoon planning their upcoming European vacation. Only a few more months and we’ll have a full house here in London.
I’ll be back in Texas again in June for the next Audit symposium. But until then, adios Texas.
It was great having Sarah visit us in El Paso. Congratulations to Anna on her wedding, may they have a wonderful life togehter.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been back to Texas in YEARS! I love how you went to Wal-Mart for cheap American goods!
ReplyDelete