Alya went to Austin! She
contacted me over the break, asking if I would send her a list of restaurant to
try. I recommended a number of restaurants in different parts of the city and
that had a number of different respective types of food. One of the restaurants
I recommended is a burger bar called Hopdoddy. On Saturday night, she and her
family went to try it out. Alya told me it might be their favorite new restaurant.
Her husband, Mohammad, liked the burger and fries so much that he asked if
there were any other locations. Turns out, there is a Hopdoddy in Dallas.
Mohammad ate there the day they got back to the DFW. I’m glad I could introduce
them to their new favorite place to eat.
Alya, her husband, their kids,
and Alya’s brother all made the three hour drive down to Austin. She and her
friend woke up early for the Black Friday sales at the outlet mall in San
Marcos. She was able to get a cheap new Samsung galaxy phone and a handful of
purses and different clothing items. She said she enjoyed the experience a lot.
I’m glad she had a good experience because I have heard a lot of horror stories
about shopping right when the doors open on Black Friday. On Thursday, they all
went to San Antonio to see the river walk and eat, but Alya and her friend, who
she met up with in San Marcos, were determined to make it to the outlet mall before
it opened.
Altogether, they had a great
experience, and I’m glad because I am from Austin. They also took my advice and
visited some parks, as well as walked along Town Lake. Alya and I both agreed
that Austin is much more enjoyable than Dallas is. Alya also got her TOEFL
scores back. She did not do quite as well as she hoped, and she has decided to
focus on studying and taking the GMAT before refocusing her energies on the
TOEFL. I tried to encourage her because I know how much she wants to go study
Information Systems at Carnegie Mellon. We scheduled our last meeting for next
Thursday. Kind of sad to think we won’t be meeting anymore soon.
First off, Hopdoddy is the greatest burger restaurant known to mankind. I am happy to see you, your conversation partner and her family have such great taste. It's also pretty cool that your conversation partner has a family! I bet that gives you a totally different perspective on her culture than what I get to figure out through Jeff. I am glad you guys get along so well, too, because that could have been a tad awkward since you guys are in two completely different stages of life. She sounds pretty great though!
ReplyDeleteP.S. You don't even know the insanity of Black Friday until you go to Walmart at opening in Wisconsin.
P.S.S. Sick prof. pic.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that you and your conversation have gotten along so well, so quickly. I'd definitely feel great about myself too knowing that I've recommended places to eat from my hometown, especially adding the fact that she actually went to Hopdoddy. I hope she had a great time in San Antonio and on the Riverwalk! That's my territory of Texas.
ReplyDeleteIt seems she really immersed herself in Texas and American culture this Thanksgiving! How exciting for her and I'm happy to know she had a blast and loves Austin. Hope her GMAT goes well!
It's pretty cool that you've developed a friendly relationship with your conversation partner that allows her to ask you for advice. I too have a conversation partner with a husband and children, and it's definitely a different experience than I had with my previous partner who was roughly our age. Like Bridget commented, I figured it might be a little awkward, but surprisingly the conversations are very entertaining, and my partner is very enthusiastic about everything. It sounds like you're having a similar experience!
ReplyDeleteI think that it is wonderful that you were able to assist your conversation partner with her trip to Austin. This experience to me clearly demonstrates the benefit of the conversation partner. Through that tool, she was allowed greater access to American culture while fostering a friendship between the two of you.
ReplyDelete