After missing last week because of pre-Spring Break craziness, Jessie and I met up for another Monday lunch.
Jessie went with her classmates and teacher to Houston for SB11. They stayed at a hotel in downtown within five minutes of the Galleria. I know the exchange rate is different over here, but it still surprises me how much she likes to shop.
She explained that they booked their hotel off of priceline.com. While I know my parents have done this before, Jessie's initiative on life still astounds me. She found her hotel super cheap and had a great time getting to site see and shop. Her teacher left them after two days, taking some students back with her. Jessie and Jackie, her boyfriend, stayed behind and found their way back with the Greyhound Bus system.
I must admit, Greyhound is not my preferred mode of transportation, it rather scares me. One too many CSI and murder mystery's for me to really trust the system. I've ridden trains, planes, and buses in Europe, but their friendly and clean ways aren't nearly as intimidating. Funny how one's own shadow can be the scariest.
Jessie was surprised to find the vast amount of "wasteland" between here and Houston. She explained how she lives in east China, meaning she's in the definition of urban. I got to detail how our history has valued the spreadout nature of city planning and how we just have a completely different mindset. Jessie had no problem leaving Houston at 6pm on a Greyhound. Most people would find that annoying, thus we all have our own individual car and complain when we have traffic.
While some of us may carpool, it's not like we are the most proactive when it comes to public transportation, as they are in China. It was neat to hear Jessie compliment our enviroment but also disheartening to realize just how wasteful we really are. Jessie and Jackie want to get their drivers license and want to own cars so they aren't so dependent on a bus system. I hope they pass their tests, but I know that now I feel the need to take a turn on our own public transportation.
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