Under the Texan Sun

Part II of a lot of catching up.

Shadow the dolphin!

Sea turtle swimming by!

Corpus Christi: What a city! Closed in with beaches and resorts from all sides, it was a great weekend escape. I started off the day at the Texas State Aquarium. I got to touch a sting ray there. Slimy...with a rough back...but so slimy. I'm not going to lie, I thought about Steve Irwin the whole time I was with the sting rays. May he RIP. Irwin was such a brave man of his time...the Crocodile Hunter.

Anyways, I then walked around the park and saw giant turtles, sharks, the Gulf of Mexico, dolphins, sharks, jellyfish, and all sorts of aquatic animals. The jelly fish were so graceful and elegant as they floated through the water. Beautiful creatures, and my favourite animal to see. 

Gulf of Mexico sand!

After the State Aquarium, I visited the Art Center and checked out the Dr. Seuss exhibit with original secret Art Deco works by the man himself, Theodor Seuss Geissel. It was excellent and such a pleasure! I also stood and interpreted some of the other works in the gallery...walking towards and away from each art work and looking at it in different angles, searching for meaning while listening to Mumford and Sons. (Mumford's music opens me up and makes me feel so open and vulnerable). So while listening to Mumford, I felt as if my mind  opened even wider and the thoughts swimming around became much more profound.

One painting struck out to me, and I greatly enjoyed it, though I can't recall its name for the life of me right now... what I do remember is that it was on a large 5 ft x 5ft canvas. On the canvas, lay what appeared to be a human...(the whole painting was created in red hues with some black adding shadows and dimension) so it was hard to tell. As I walked away from the painting, I began to distinguish a shadow of another being...it appeared embracing the first human. Bodies converging... It was beautiful. At first, it just seemed like someone took different shades of red and plastered it on canvas and sold it for over $1,000. But, with some time and thought, the painting opened up a secret...a simple secret. I felt love, horror, enlightened...every emotion in the book after the realization of what I was seeing. (I know I sound like such a dork right now :P  hehehe) But really, it was cool.

Next stop was shopping. Now in southern TX, Spanish and English are equally predominant. Menus are written half in Spanish and half in English, so many people are bilingual. While at Macy's while purchasing my brother a present, the sales clerk asked whether my host family or I speak any Spanish to which I responded..."Si! Yo hablo espanol!" We continued to speak some more in Spanish..the usual..where are you from? "Soy de India per vivo en Memphis. Estoy visitando Texas." Meaning, I'm from India, but I live in Memphis. I am visiting Texas." The lady was so impressed she told me my accent was so great and before I told her I was from India, she asked if I were from Mexico! Such a great confidence booster! Love Spanish so much! :) It made a great ending to a great day.