First and foremost:  I am here for the year to save all my money.  That means I don’t go out on the town much, rent cars, take bus trips, spend $15 on a 7 day pass, rent hotel rooms, do road trips, etc.  My sole purpose for doing what I’m doing is not to spend money but to earn money and save it so that I can continue my college education and to have a bit of savings.  That means no spending.  Except for food, I have spent zero money on myself here.  Any time I have gone out, my brother bought me a drink or paid the cover, otherwise, I would have just stayed at home.  Think I’m exaggerating?  On the move down here I lost one of the wires to my computer speakers.  I could easily go out and replace it.....but that is not the point of me being here.  So, even though it might only cost me ten dollars at Radio Shack to buy a new speaker wire, it’s not in my budget.  A road trip, a speaker wire, a couple of drinks at a club do not take precedence over future schooling.  Do you see what I mean now?

I’ve noticed in my lifetime that people will constantly talk about how broke they are or that they need money and then they turn around and buy all kinds of things.  When I say I have to save all my money, I mean I have to save all my money.

No one else is going to put me through the rest of my college.  No one else is going to pay my bills.  No one else is going to support me.  I am the one who is going to do those things and I am the one who has made this year long sacrifice....and believe me, it has been a sacrifice, to try and get myself ahead.  I’m not going to get ahead if I spend $10 here and $20 there and $10 over there.

Maybe to some people $10 isn’t very much money but it’s enough to make a difference to me.

I cannot do a road trip and all the things mentioned and have enough for college.  Plain. And. Simple.

I’m not asking for money, I’m pointing out that again, my entire reason for even being here in the first place was to put it all in the bank for my future.  Otherwise, I don’t have much of a future.  While it may be nice to do some of the things suggested....that isn’t going to help me when it comes time to enroll back in college, rent a place to live, etc.

Second, what I was trying to say is that again, I’ve lived in a lot of different places in my years and I have always managed to get a different feeling in each place...something that made it authentically THAT place and not the town, state or country I was just in.

That isn’t happening here.

When I lived in California, it was definitely California.  When I lived in Washington, it was definitely Washington.  When I went to Florida, D.C., Alabama, Oregon, Alaska, etc. those places each had their own unique feeling.  Naturally Germany, Spain, France and Canada did as well.

Texas is the first place I’ve been too that doesn’t feel different from the place I just left.  Maybe I don’t see “Impeach Bush” signs on the lawns, (although I’m sure if I lived in the Montrose area, I just might), but the liberalness is rampant here.

When I was told about the Southern hospitality, I was looking forward to it.  Again, I’ve only seen it in the senior citizens....and even some of them don’t have it.

Basically what I was saying is that I am in Genericsville, USA and that disappoints me.

And before anyone states that it is because I’m NOT spending money, let me nip that one right in the bud.  Except when I lived in Germany, I have RARELY spent money on myself doing these sorts of activities.  I shouldn’t have to spend money to realize I’m in a new place.

This probably sounds like I’m ungreatful for the ideas but I’m not.  I merely wish to explain why I will not be doing any of them.  Further, I’m probably still not making myself clear....and to be quite honest, as I said in the first post, it’s because my thoughts are not in order....I don’t know how to explain what I mean right now.  Nonetheless, again, I do appreciate everyone’s feedback.