I've been in Dallas for 10 or so days, and I already love it. I was nervous on the 15 hours drive with Katie that Texas would be similary to I-20 in Mississippi. There was nothing to look at and ten miles between exits. We spent a lot of time writing down a list of questions we had about life with the intent to look up the answers if we ever got to civilization. (Side note: We are now armadillo experts and can answer any question about them.) Our night was spent in Meridian, Mississippi, a seemingly big city. We didn't get a chance to look around; because of a delayed flight, we weren't able to leave Columbia until noon on Friday. Friday night we went straight to the Microtel, and left early the next morning. We were just happy to make it to Mississippi on Friday, since we had to drive through six states, and Mississippi meant we were more than halfway done!
Seeing Dallas for the first time was similar to the drive to Vegas with my family. There was lots of nothing, and then a city on the horizon. The feel of Dallas is somewhere between NYC and Cola, which is awesome. SMU, however, feels to me like it should be right next to Quinnipiac, in Hamden, CT. It is all green and beautiful, with tree lined sidewalks and flowing fountains. There are spacious quads and hidden courtyards. Besides the heat, you would never know SMU resides in Dallas. The heat is pretty hard to ignore, actually. This week has been mid-nineties, but its already 80 when I walk outside at 8:30am. It never stops being hot.
This past weekend was my first full weekend in Dallas. Myself and three of the other interns went to happy hour on Friday; these are some great ladies! Katie took us to her aunt and uncle's house on Saturday, and we had a blast! We had a home cooked meal, Texan Margartias (or The Famouse Mary Freeman Margaritas, depending on whom you ask) and some real family time that I know I'm missing right now. Sunday, Craig and Aunt Mary took Katie and I to a Rangers game. The seats were great, but it was scary knowing we could get hit in the head with a ball at any second. (No balls game near us- phew.)
Working at Southern Methodist University so far has been awesome. The campus is beautiful, the people are so friendly, and I am so excited for my students to get here! I've been having meetings to plan for their arrival and going though last summer's documents. The more I learn, the more optimistic I feel that this will be the best summer internship! I'm so grateful that my time in Athletics at SC has prepared me to work with these academically underprepared students. My job at SMU is a combination of the departments of Student Housing and Residence Life, Admissions, and the Learning Enhancement Center (LEC). People from all three departments make up the Prelude team, working to prepare for our wonderful Prelude students! Here is the LEC's website:
http://smu.edu/alec/. They work will all students on campus, regardless of their athletic status.
That's all for now! More later.
Meridian, Mississippi's website:
http://www.meridianms.org/index.htm
