A Somewhat Lonely Christmas

Dear Dad and Mom, I received both of your letters (the ones from the 5th and the 17th). Winter break started about ten days ago. Since then, things have been pretty relaxed—when I’m not doing anything, I just watch TV or head over to campus to use the computers. Getting to school is a bit more of a hassle right now because the campus shuttles aren't running, so I have to take the regular city bus. I ended up getting straight A's in all three of my classes this semester, which I pretty much expected. It definitely gives me a lot more confidence about my coursework going forward. I’ll be taking another three classes next term. I don't know what class I’ll be TAing for yet, but I'm hoping for a lighter workload. The spring semester officially kicks off on January 16th. Christmas wasn't overly lively, especially among the Chinese students, but the holiday lights are absolutely beautiful. Americans love decorating their houses, trees, cars, and streets with tons of little lights—it looks amazing at night. On one little street, the neighbors have turned decorating into a tradition. Lots of Austin residents drive over just to see the lights, and the traffic lines get incredibly long. Christmas over here is just like Chinese New Year back home; everyone heads home to be with family, so almost all the shops and restaurants are closed for the day. A friend of mine originally invited me and a few others down to Louisiana to check out the casinos—mostly just to look around and see what it was like. But on Christmas morning, even though I got up at 5:30 AM, I still missed the bus! So we changed our plans and went to San Antonio instead. San Antonio is a tourist city, famous for its River Walk. It’s a canal lined with restaurants on both sides, and the scenery is gorgeous. It's so detailed and picturesque that it actually looks like the classical gardens in Suzhou, which really made me miss home. Mom, you mentioned in your letter that some articles make America sound terrifying. Honestly, it’s not that bad at all—it really just depends on where you live. Austin is a mid-sized college town, so relatively speaking, it’s very safe. But don't worry, I'll keep looking out for myself. Two or three weeks ago, I sent out some credit card applications, and a bunch of them just came through. I got a Citibank Visa, an AT&T MasterCard, and a Discover card. I managed to get approved for all the major ones! My combined credit limit is $2,100, which is more than enough for me. Buying things will be so convenient now that I can just use a card. Plus, it's really important to start building up my credit history early. I’m moving in about two weeks. Coincidentally, our Taiwanese neighbor is moving out too because she just bought a mobile home. It’s basically a massive house on wheels. She spent $8,000 on it and says it’s really nice—2 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and it even comes with a washer and dryer. The neighborhood seems great too. She repeatedly asked me to be her tenant, offering $200 a month for rent plus splitting half the utilities, which sounded tempting. At the time, though, I was already negotiating with that American guy, and rooming with him would run me closer to $330. Compared to that, the Taiwanese neighbor's mobile home was cheap and just as good, so I originally turned down the American guy and promised her I'd take it. But then a few days later, the American guy called back and said he'd drop my share to 300. It left me feeling torn. In the end, I decided to go with the American guy after all, so now I’m actually helping the Taiwanese neighbor find a different roommate. My only regret is that the rent is on the pricier side, so I’m going to have to pinch pennies moving forward. It’s such a shame that the Christmas card I sent you guys never arrived. I must not have put enough postage on it, and it probably got lost in transit somewhere. The card I sent to Yiqun might be lost too, so I’ll write to her later to explain. I gave her a call two days ago, but she wasn't in her office, so I just left a message with someone. Nothing urgent—just wanted to call and wish her a Happy New Year. From now on, I’ll be the one making the phone calls to save you money, probably every two weeks or so around noon on the weekends. My phone bills are quite low because my calls are pretty short compared to other people, who easily talk for 20 or 30 minutes. Mom, don't be nervous whenever you pick up an international call; it really doesn't cost much. A 5-minute phone call costs about the same as a fast-food meal. Even though money is tight, I can definitely afford to call home. Whether you invite Yiqun over to the house during the winter break is entirely up to you guys. I have a feeling she’ll probably call to wish you a Happy New Year. Things between us aren't moving fast, and I haven't been trying hard enough either. I suppose the long distance makes it tough, and I honestly have no idea what the future holds. If she actually manages to get into UT Austin, it will truly be a miracle. I think it's great that Mom is retiring next year. It'll be a nice relief, and it should be much better for her health. Dad, I took care of that thing you asked me to do. You should be receiving two packages soon—one with application materials, and the other should be information from the Mechanical Engineering department. I hope they get to you soon. My handwriting is getting uglier by the second, so I'd better stop here. Hope the New Year brings you everything you wish for! Tong 12/31/95 P.S. Dad, your poem has a really unique style to it—I liked it a lot! :-) <-- that is a smiley P.P.S. I actually got my hair cut at a real barbershop this time. It looks like the fine tradition of Chinese students cutting each other's hair has officially been lost!