Life according to Lise
 
So they call me ma’am.
Sunday 20 August 2006
Monument from the Texas War against Mexico in 1836.
 
I have been here a couple of days now, and I have had some encounters with real Texans. The best way to start a conversation is always: “So, are you a real Texan?”. They always answer: “Born and bred.” And they all have really deep voices, when they say it.... Texans are really, really, really proud of being Texan. Fortunately everyone has been really nice to me. And I’m sure I will have a wonderful stay here. I have almost gotten used to be called Ma’am. The cars overhere are HUGE. I am not saying this because that is what I am supposed to say. They drive around in giant pick-up-trucks the size of busses in the middle of the city.. I wondered; why do they need these big cars? I bet only a small percentage of them actually get off road. This question was answered when I started driving around in the city of Houston. The roads are in such a bad condition it is unbelievable. I’ve bumped my head against the roof of the car several times. Even the highways are dangerous to drive. Some are build by blocks of concrete, just like the ones in old East Germany. *Bedam bedam bedam bedam* But no worries. Next time I will by a big off-road pickup-truck and then I’ll be safe!!!!!!!!!  Wednesday was Ivan’s birthday. He chose not to tell us till late in the evening, so we didn’t celebrate much. (But we did have cake) That evening we had a great barbecue dinner. The Park@Voss have two big gasgrills. Eva is our little cook. She bakes some lovely bread-things with pesto and tomatos. I would give you the recipe, but I don’t know it. You’ll have to ask Eva. Saturday This saturday we went to La Porte near Galveston to see a monument of the Texas War in 1836. Just to let you know: Texas won the war and was considered a sovereign state until they joined the confederation. YES, it looks just like the one in Washington. But this one has a big star at the top, which means it is approximately 14 feet higher (about 4 meters).. hehe.  There was a big battleship just near it, so of course we had to see that as well. It was used in both World War I and World War II. Take a look at the pictures.