I had visited Texas in the month of March, 2009 as part of some official work. My visit was to our office in Houston, which is the capital of the state. Texas is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population. It is the home to NASA, Rodeos, steaks and everything that’s big.

Texas is always known for its “larger than life” image. Perhaps writer Pete Hamill had correctly said, “There is a growing feeling that perhaps Texas is really another country, a place where the skies, the disasters, the diamonds, the politicians, the women, the fortunes, the football players and the murders are all bigger than anywhere else.” Whether it is the people, or the food that’s served, everything is big.

Since childhood I had been fascinated with the Wild West movies, so I was particularly excited to watch Rodeo. Rodeo is a sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. Today it is a sporting event that consists of events that involve horses and other livestock, designed to test the skill and speed of the human cowboy and cowgirl athletes who participate. The Houston Livestock show and Rodeo happens every year in The Reliant Stadium. This 20 days long event starts with the Downtown Rodeo Roundup, the Downtown Rodeo parade and the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. The Show features championship Rodeo action including bull riding, livestock judging, concerts, a carnival, pig racing, barbecue and the International Wine Competition. Seeing real-life cowboys going through their moves was really incredible. In the evening, different bands give live performances to the roaring crowd.

I had some real fun watching baseball match in the Minute Maid Park in Houston. Minute Maid Park is a ballpark that opened in 2000 to house the Major League Baseball Houston Astros. Even though I was not particularly aware of the game much, but the high spirited atmosphere in the stadium would make anybody love the game. Can't think of anything more American than that! The charged-up and noisy excitement with the American flavor: hot-dogs, cheer-leaders, mascots, and buttered pop-corn.

Houston is also a great place for steaks, seafood and Tex-Mex. Tex-Mex is a word used to describe a regional American cuisine that blends food products available in the United States and the culinary creations of Mexican-Americans influenced by the cuisines of Mexico. I was really impressed by the quantity of food that was served in any restaurant for any meal we ordered compared to the other states in US. Houston is truly a place which will make people feel what the Americans mean when they say “Texan sized”. Particularly if you are a connoisseur of food and like everything big, you should visit this place.