Chasing the Sun: Odd Things Happening in Odessa, Texas

Or perhaps not really. It is just different. Having lunch at 11:15 or 11:30 AM in the US, when we usually eat around 2:00 PM in Mexico is just different. This is something we Mexicans have in common with Spanish colleagues, however, my Spanish roommates have refused to eat dinner until 10:00 PM, despite eating lunch around noon. Once school starts, I guess it'll be like having our recess lunch and early dinner (perhaps at 7:00 PM, not 6:00 PM as Americans seem to do) due to the fact that waking up early will be a must, and being awake for 10 hours without any food is too much.

You can feel the sun burning you in Odessa as soon as you walk out the door, even if your skin doesn't really burn. I have been used to winter sun in northeastern Mexico, when it is cool, dry, and you feel the cold sun slowly burning you. Contrariwise, summer sun in Monterrey makes you feel sticky, hot, and humid, but not as much as Houston or South Padre Island.

People are warm and seem to be friendly too. I don't mean to say that people in big cities in Texas are mean, but I would say that Odessans' kindness outperforms other peoples' kindness in places like San Antonio, Houston, or Dallas (Austin is a different story with which I need further observation to reach a possible conclusion). Would it be perhaps that unlike previous shopping trips, now I'm really having the opportunity to interact with people north of the border? 

Being invited to dinner or for a drink on an almost daily basis is cool, however, I will be on a budget until my first paycheck. Hopefully as we start school this will start to be something that will be done mainly on weekends so that we can all save money to travel, to cover unforeseen costs, and simply save for the sake of doing it. Odd is not bad, it's just different. I am looking forward to this life I live.