Pat’s Point of View

The biggest problem with traveling is trying to communicate. And in Texas, my accent is pretty much indecipherable. It’s a challenge for me to understand the local accent at times, but they just can’t get what I’m saying at all! :)

Some people laugh (”You tawk funee”), some get a bit annoyed and some just keep asking me to repeat myself. The best was the bus driver who clearly didn’t get what I said but he took it in his stride and just said “OK” and kept on truckin. Luckily I figured out where to get off on my own. Try it for yourself, compare how Americans say ‘bus pass’ to how we say it…worlds apart. Combined with the fact I have been sweating profusely, I guess the accent made me seem a little weird.

Anyway, today I went off exploring again. After a proper night’s sleep I went to a nearby cafe for breakfast and coffee. Then I registered for the UPA conference (and found out there’s no free wireless internet!) and checked my schedule for the next 4 days. Then off for a walk to Town Lake, the Congress street “bat” bridge (no bats during the day unfortunately) and the south shore of the lake. I’ve noticed lots of wildlife in Austin; besides squirrels and bats, there are these birds that sound more like a video game than birds. Freaky.

Then onto the buses, which I made better use of today. I went around town for a bit, then got off at the University of Texas campus. It’s huge but there doesn’t seem to be much open space; all buildings. I wanted to pick up some college merchandise, so went to the co-op and got some t-shirts (as well as many bottles of water).

I took a look at the UT tower, where in 1966 a guy with a rifle started picking off students. I guess that was the original school massacre. I was going to go to the science and history museum but it’s closed for renovations. So I headed back downtown to do some more shopping. I was relieved to hear a local shop assistant say it sure is hot; I thought it was just me! Eventually I got a special gift for Jenn :) Yee-harr!

Feeling peckish I headed towards my hotel to drop some stuff off before getting lunch. On the way I spotted an R2-D2 trash receptacle (ie a bin) on the street. Cool.

It would have been wrong to come to Texas and not have some typical tex-mex so I checked out Chipotle’s and got a great fajita burrito. I tried to keep it small, but there’s just too much per serving. I’d happily pay more for less :)

Then I was off the to Austin Museum of Art, but it’s closed on Mondays. I’ll have to come back on Saturday. Decided to get out of the heat and do some work in the hotel, not a bad half day.

See what people are blogging about: Austin, UPA2007, travel, accents

Popularity: 5% [?]