dallas

so i'm feeling very lazy right now so i don't want to type a lot, so i'm just going to mostly post pictures and video with brief descriptions.

This is Tracy and Marco's house that i stayed at in Dallas. The first flow is there shop where they sell refurbished vintage and modern furniture and clothing. The second floor is where they actually live. They are a wonderful couple that took me in as a friend from the moment i met them. truly amazing people.


This is a picture from my french friend benjamin passed out on his native holiday, Bastille Day. too much sangria.


We went to fort worth on one of the days and watched the longhorns walk through the streets. We also rode horses that were out of control, but i have no pictures of that. Those horses did whatever they want and there was nothing i could do about it. It could have been potentially very frightening, but i just decided to go with the flow and have fun with it. The horse would speed up when i pulled back on the reins, go left when i pulled right, and stop to eat grass while the rest of the group kept walking ahead.



On another night, we went to the Nasher sculpture museum in dallas and that was pretty cool. They had this one exhibit that was just probably a 30 ft x 30 ft room full of balloons. I mean FULL of balloons. Approximately 9,000 balloons. And we got to go in and just walk around and get lost and confused. It was crazy.

Here is a picture of Marco and ben in the balloon room.

san antonio

w0w. what a past few days. probably some best days i've ever had. It's truly hard to know even where to begin. So on Saturday night, Lalo and i went out for his last night out before becoming a father. We had an awesome time and came home really late. Most of the things were "had to be there" moments, so there's not too much i can say about that. The following morning i woke up at 8:00 am and went to a place called Enchanted Rock. I went with fellow couchsurfers. it was quite a large group. It was pretty cool and had some really neat caves. Although, while in the caves i couldn't help but think of the "127 hours" movie situation, because many of the spots were very tight in there.







at the end of the day, two of the german (federico and nikolas) couchsurfers said they were taking the greyhound to san antonio that night. That's when fernando, the couchsurfer who i met and went to the soccer games in houston with, said he would drive them there and just hang out while they were in san antonio. I had nothing planned and said i would join too! So it actually happened, and next thing i know, i'm heading to san antonio. The guy who federico and nikolas were staying with let fernando and i stay at his house as well. On the first night we got there, he threw a party for us and other couchsurfing hosts and their guests came too. We had 2 germans, 3 french, 2 mexicans, and few other people that i can't recall right now. But it was just so awesome because everyone was so different, and came from many different backgrounds, and yet everyone was able and WILLING to talk, share, and have fun. It was so amazing. We stayed up really late that night too.



woke up the next day and its 4th of july! So before the bbq that our host dan was having, we went out to do all the touristy things in san antonio. First we hit the mission san jose.




it was just so hot out that we did not stay very long. The next stop was the alamo. It actually closed right 2 minutes before we got there, but we got very lucky. There was a man outside who knew his history very well, explaining the story of the alamo. He told the story with some enthusiasm and excitement that we captured the entire audience with interest. And he did all of this, for tips at the end of his story/presentation.




After the alamo, we went to the river walk right across the street. It's very touristy but also kinda neat at the same time. It's a man-made river with a walkway and restaurants that line it all the way down. Definitely a tourist trap with high priced bars and restaurants, so we did not buy or drink anything there.

After that, we went home for the BBQ. It went well and we all had a good time.



But later in the night, they had somehow convinced me to go to six flags the next day! The next morning, i woke up terrified. I am so afraid of heights and roller coasters. Luckily for me, Dan was too, so i wasn't alone. there was 8 of us that wound up going and believe it or not, i had a BLAST! i only skpped 2 rides. The group was an amazing cohesive unit for only meeting the night before. It was so cool.




I feel like this whole couchsurfing experience has changed my life.

Lake Travis

Megan, Nick, Hali, Adrian, and I all went camping for a night at lake travis. We got there around noon-ish, set up our tents, and immediately jumped in the lake to escape the heat. Turns out, we stayed in the water until about 7:30. the water was perfect temperature. not too warm. not too cold. It was incredibly relaxing. We had a little cove virtually all to ourself, away from the wake of boats and jet ski's out further on the lake. Due to the drought that texas is suffering, the water is low, and the fire danger is high. Therefore, the campground did not allow fire. With no fire, you cannot cook anything. So in order to eat, we drove outside the campground and ate at a little restaurant about a mile from our campground. When we got back, our campsite was pitch black. we couldn't do anything. we couldn't see anything. the only thing we could see, were the beautiful stars in the big texas sky. We woke up in the morning, took another dip in the lake, then headed home. All in all, a wonderful little trip.

*the couple in the photos are megan and nick. They are really great people that you can get really comfortable and silly with. I'm really glad i met them because they are always looking to do something new and fun.*

Gold Cup 2011

So on Wednesday, June 22, 2011, i went to the Gold Cup semifinals in Houston, TX. It was incredible. I went with Fernando, a guy i met off CouchSurfing. On the way there we picked up one of his buddies, Tony, who met each other at the World Cup in South Africa last year. So we got to the stadium 2 hours early, to get a little tail-gating in, and soak in the atmosphere.

For the game between USA and panama, the stadium was probably only half full. That was kind of a bummer. would have like to see more people excited for that game. U.S. ended up beating panama 1-0. But oh boy, when the mexico game started, you best believe that stadium was packed. But for the Mexico game, we wanted to see if we could get a little closer to the field, because our seats were basically the very top row in the stadium. So we took a stroll around the stadium looking for open sections, and we finally saw a row that had a few open seats. So we sat down and no one ever said anything. There was all sorts of drinking, dancing, shouting, and all kinds of craziness going on. There was a group of girls next to us that were nice and we were all having fun, then next thing you know we are all taking pictures together!

It probably took about a good hour to just get out of the stadium. I don't mean the stadium parking lot, but the stadium itself. There were all sorts of chanting, dancing, and playing of drums that got in the way of exiting the stadium. It basically felt like a party that no one wanted to end. We finally got to the car, and made our way back to Austin. i got home just after 3am, and went to sleep with a smile on my face just thinking about how awesome the night was.



a view from the seats that we first had:


a view from the seats we moved to:






exiting the stadium:

el campo and matagorda

This past weekend alone made my decision to come to texas worth it. it was an absolute human experience. My friends lalo and nohemi had their baby shower in el campo, tx, where her family lives. It's crop-land out there and they grow mostly corn, milo, and cotton. Her family has so many kids. its insane. but they are all so sweet. Lalo and i were assigned to watch all 21 of them as they ran around playing tag and hide-and-go-seek outside while the women went on with their baby shower activities. I probably sweat more than i have in my entire life but still had a blast (the humidity there is unprecedented). The food was some of the best you'll ever eat. Homemade tamales, beans, and all the other fixings for tostadas.

After the baby shower we went to our motel room and relaxed for the rest of the night. Lalo and i drank beers and talked until 5:00am about life, fatherhood (not that i know anything about that), family, germany, and how funny it is that us hanging out together in texas is probably the last we thought we would be doing a year ago. He believes there is a reason for all of this.

In the morning we headed out to matagorda, along the gulf of mexico. At this beach you can drive on the sand and just keep going until you find a spot to your liking. The water was really warm. perfect for swimming. Lalo and i both got super sun burned. absolutely roasted. we looked like lobsters, we were so red. At the end of the day i took some photos of Lalo and Nohemi, and i think they turned out pretty good. Our happily exhausted bodies barely made it back to austin.

it is hard to explain what made this weekend so awesome and special, but that's exactly what it was to me. and i think it's a pretty average couple days to a lot of people, but i enjoyed it so much. The whole time i have been in texas, i have been in such a good, up-beat, mood. It's what i call my "vacation mentality", where nothing really bothers me and i jump at every opportunity that comes along. It has made me so content, and i want to try to transfer this into my everyday life, no matter where i am.

Here are several pictures from the weekend:

hot hot heat

yesterday i played soccer in 102 degree heat and then walked across the street and jumped in a natural spring. The contrast from hot to cold was amazing. Also checked out the Texas State History Museum. it was pretty cool. it was also huge (texas wouldn't have it any other way).

After that, i decided to take a bus i've never taken before and didn't know where it went. dropped me off somewhere pretty deep in east austin in unbearable heat. now i had to walk back home and wasn't even sure about where i was. Then, i stumbled upon this bbq place that looked really ghetto, and i knew it was going to be good. boy, was i right. it was incredible. I also got this drink called "Big Red". i asked the lady working there what it was and she replied, "oh, its just a texas thang," so i got it. after i finished my meal, i was so content that i didn't even care about the long walk ahead. it was then, that it made perfect since that i purposely got on a bus in which i had no idea where it went.
Here's just a couple pictures from the past few days.





texas state history museum

Armadillos

The other day there were armadillos in our front yard. check 'em out!

Barton Springs

i would say the house is pretty much fully furnished. thanks to my friend lalo and his truck, we picked up two couches the other day off craigslist. Now we have a place to sit and relax. I met lalo in san francisco through some other friends. He's from germany and probably one of the most genuinely awesome people i know. He lives in austin, tx now with his girlfriend and their unborn daughter. They've both been great friends so far, and i really appreciate them.

The other day we went to barton springs and it was so cool. barton springs is a 1,000 ft long natural limestone pool. The water comes from several underground springs which makes it super refreshing to swim in. There are grassy knolls surrounding the pool to lay out in the sun, and trees to provide shade for those who do not. and just when you thought it couldn't get any better... clothing is optional.

Austin, TX

I am now living in austin, tx. Just got here a few nights ago, and i probably already sweat out a gallon and have 10 mosquito bites. But don't let that deter you. This place is awesome.

last day at MODEL

Thursday was our last day at our internship. We had a pizza party for them. They seemed to have fun. Of course, i had fun too. I really enjoyed working with these kids. In so many ways they are very different from the kids i worked with in irvine, but there are also things about them that are similar. I think this experience furthered my interest in education. I really do not like our education system for a multitude of reasons that i could maybe rant about another time.

Anyways, I'm back home now, but i think i'm going to try and keep updating for the fun of it.

Here are some pics with some of the kids and i: