It is week five already! Well my aunt and older cousin came to visit. They actually stayed with my aunt’s cousin (Beth) and her daughter who live in State College. I woke up pretty early for a Saturday morning, I was up at 10:00AM as opposed to usual 12:00PM desired wake up time, but this was a special occasion. I really do not get to see my mom’s side of the family very often because they live in New Jersey, and two of my cousins are in college, so we all have schedules that do not match with one another’s. None the less, they were finally able to come see me.
We started our day by going to the art museum on campus. Beth and her daughter appreciate art and stuff like that. But my aunt, cousin, and I just cracked jokes the whole time to make the experience more tolerable. After the museum we walked to the Nittany Lion Shrine to get some pictures. It was a pretty hysterical time because the people in front of us were actually taking their Christmas card photo, and they had sparkly, blue and white signs that read “Merry Christmas.” Once they were done, they offered their signs to us, but little did they know my mom’s side of the family is actually Jewish, but we had some fun with it. I got on the lion and my cousin held the “Christmas” part and his second cousin held the “Merry.”
After the shrine, we went and ate Thai food from Beth’s favorite Thai place. I have only eaten Thai food once and it was last year. I made the mistake of eating in between doubles for soccer, so of course, I got sick and had to sit on the sidelines the whole two hours of conditioning (but I am not complaining). This time I opted not to order anything spicy, so I got the Pad Thai.
Then, we drove to a farmer’s market, and my aunt knows I am a pretty healthy eater, so she bought me some peaches. Since I have been sick for so long, she was hoping that because I have not been eating as much fruit as I usually do when I am home that it would help my body. The farmer’s market was very cute, it was in a little wooden shack that was filled with so many different smells. The owners had food and drinks you were able to try, there were also various types of honey and jams. I would have totally spent all of my money in there if I brought it with me.
We drove back to Beth’s house and let her dog out, and then we went to a really cute cupcake shop. I chose to get a red velvet cupcake and a vanilla with chocolate icing cupcake, they were both delicious. We then drove to the top of a mountain and got out of the car and saw an amazing view. Then, we went to an open house because Beth is looking for a different place to live. When we got back to her current house, she made us spaghetti and garlic bread, and her daughter made us Matza ball soup, which I had not had in forever. By this time, it was later at night, and we started watching an episode of Conan O’ Brien going to Italy, and when that was over my cousin drove me back to my dorm.
I really enjoyed spending time with my aunt and cousin. It is very unusual I get to spend individual time with them without all of my siblings. Also, my cousin and I are close in age, so we were able to talk about college things. I really like when my family visits because it breaks up my time here and makes it feel more like home.
