Last week I had two guests come and visit me from home. I’ve been missing home recently, and after a very hard and stressful semester so far, having people come and see me was just what I needed. It was a chance for me to relax and show off Austin, and boy did they love it!

Before Esh and Yem’s arrival, I already knew their trip was going to revolve around food, so I made a list in my head of all the places I was going to take them and everything we would do. Hop Doddy, Salt Lick, Torchy’s, Austin Java, Einstein’s, Magnolia’s, Kerby Lane, Top Golf, San Marcos Outlet … I was running out of days to fit everything in! Oh yeah, and somewhere between all of that I had to fit in going to class, doing homework, and waking up at 6 a.m. for practice every morning.

I was lucky that they rented a car because while I was in class they would go and do their own thing, visiting UT and West campus, exploring downtown, and even send me pictures and Snapchats of them relaxing by the pool at the W Hotel … while I was in a math exam! It was a shame that there were no UT football games going on while they were here, but they did manage to sneak into the stadium and get some great photos.

Before getting to Austin, they had watched Man vs Food on TV and were determined to go to Salt Lick and see what the fuss was about. So one night we went to Top Golf with all of my roommates. When we finished up, Esh, Yem, and I started making our way there for dinner. I got out my phone and typed “Salt Lick” into Google and put the address into the navigation system. I’m going to blame it on being tired that night, but I wish I had realized it was sending us to the Salt Lick at the airport before I saw all the airplanes flying above us. By that time we were 23 miles away and knew we wouldn’t make it there before closing. It’s fair to say they were not very impressed. Nonetheless, we did manage to make it to Salt Lick the next day for lunch, and it was well worth the wait.

I was so happy that they also got to watch two of my soccer games, in which we won both. It’s been a while since family and friends back home have seen me play, so that was special. 

Now that they’ve left all is back to normal for me. Time to buckle down and prepare for finals and hopefully a very successful soccer season.

Heading home soon––six weeks and counting!