Shai Mohammed: Is this your first semester here at UH?
Ashleigh Maney: Yes it is.
Mohammed: So how do you like the city so far?
Maney: Well, I haven’t been seeing too much of the city, but I’m liking it so far. I’ve gone out with friends and we’ve been around the city and everything. It looks like it’s a really cool city. I’ve seen, like, all of the architecture downtown. I’ve been to the fun places in Houston so I can’t go wrong with it.
Mohammed: How does it compare to Dallas?
Maney: I know more about Dallas than I know about Houston so I guess I just feel kind of lost here because I can’t just wake up, call up a friend and say, "Let’s do this, this and this," and then we just drive there and do it. I guess the difference is my orientation.
Mohammed: Do you live on campus?
Maney: Yes I do. I live in The Moody Towers.
Mohammed: How do you like it?
Maney: I like the Towers. It’s very social. You have friends all over the floors…. You’re not alone, or anything like that.
Mohammed: I bet that’s comforting, coming from a place where you have friends and a home and family and now you’re here and you at least have a way to, sort of, ease into a place.
Maney: Yeah.
Mohammed: What’s your favorite part of it so far, of the whole experience.
Maney: The people I’ve met. I would have never met the people here in the college experience I would have had in Dallas. I’ve met people from different countries; I’ve met people from different backgrounds. I just like the whole closeness.
Mohammed: Do you like the food (in Houston)?
Maney: I do. I pretty much will eat anything as it is, but it’s nice that I have a full access to it all at any random time. So I don’t have a problem with that.
Mohammed: Have you had time to explore the city more in terms of going out to eat?
Maney: I have, but I’d like to do it more. I’ve gone to a few places outside in the city, but I’d like to go to more. But that just takes time.
