Friday night was the big homecoming dance, and myself and four of my five roommates were chaperones. We had so much fun at the dance- I keep saying that I think I actually may have had more fun than the students! We got all dressed up to go, and we were so amazed by everything we saw once we got there. The theme was Alice in Wonderland, and the students did an incredible job decorating the gym! It looked really fantastical, especially for it being in a gym... there was a photobooth with Alice props, projectors with different scenes from the movie on the wall, and a fog machine with a lighted entryway when you walked in the door. The music was great, and the kids looked awesome. It was so funny to see my freshmen in their semi-formal attire, they looked great all dressed up! The juniors looked so very mature, and they are all really incredible dancers.
We couldn't leave the house without taking any awkward homecoming photos in front of the fireplace...
Saturday was a very eventful day too! After sleeping in from the exhaustion of our night at homecoming, we split up and did different fun things around the city. Rachel went to a community planting day at the house of another group of volunteers in the neighborhood, Eva and Cassie checked out the museum district, and Megan, Karen and I went to the Y where there is an outdoor pool! We basked in the sun for a while, because while you on the East coast were wearing your jackets and scarves, it was almost 90 degrees here in Houston. I worked out, and then got some solid grading done poolside. We had an evening of Boy Meets World and mac and cheese, and then went on an adventure to Market Square Park!
There was an outdoor concert with two really great bands, a parade of some of Houston's famous "art cars," and really great greek food and local beer. We had a lot of fun enjoying the park, and it was the first time that we actually got a sense of culture in Houston. It was a lovely evening to be out and about, and we went to two very cool bars near by after the concerts. All in all a fun, but very tiring night.
This is me and my direct roommate, Karen!
Today was a very typical Sunday, including mass, cleaning, and grocery shopping. The homily at mass was all about letting go, and how hard that can be. It especially hit home for me considering the fact that Tom and a lot of our friends are in Providence this weekend, and I really miss PC and my Friar friends. I am so happy at work here, and my community is filled with a lot of love, but I don't really love Houston as a city. I know that there must be more it can give me, but right now, it's not giving me much to love. A woman at Market Square Park last night was wearing a t-shirt that said "It's OK to love Houston," and I wanted to tell her that yes, I wanted to love Houston, but I don't know how! It's hard to let go of home and Providence, and as I've said before: this year and my work are amazing, but I'm an East Coast girl at heart.
So I'm trying to let go of all the sad feelings I have toward not being in Providence or Philadelphia, and focus on trying to love Houston. I want to love it, I do, but I haven't figured out how to just quite yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment