SNOW!

okay, i know that i've not updated in weeks, but i honestly didn't realize just how much reading i'd be doing. naive of me, i know. and this update isn't a true update of what's going on in my life, but rather just a blurb to let you know that on wednesday, september 30th, 2009, it snowed here in pocatello, idaho. luckily for me, the snow didn't stick on campus or around town, but the "hills" now have a light dusting. i'll be uploading photos of them soon.

i'm actually at the point where i carry my camera with me almost everywhere i go, because i never know when i'll see something really cool that i'll want to document. in fact, i'm contemplating getting a low-end (i am a broke student, ya know) digital slr, mostly so i can zoom and focus.

what i learned this week

i learned a lot of things about my new home this week, but there are a few that stand out, namely:

1. if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it will be different. we used to say this in syracuse, but here it's more pertinent. i had a meeting with someone at 10:30am the other day. i left my apartment in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, cos it was about 65 degrees farenheit. at 12:30 it was in the 90's. around 4pm i went to the grocery store, without first changing clothes, and thought that i was going to keel over. however, that evening it was 50 degrees. this, i'm told, is normal weather for this town.



2. the scenery here is beautiful, the air is pristine, and you can't drink the water. i don't quite understand that phenomenon, but it's true. okay, i guess it's a matter of opinion, but the water here has a taste that i find particularly unpleasant, and it's hard, really, really, hard. i sometimes wonder if i could get my daily supply of calcium by drinking the tap water. admittedly, i've been spoiled: nyc is reputed to have some of the best-tasting tap water in the country. i don't know if it really is that high up on the list, but it's higher than here. i have a water filter on the tap, and i put filtered water into a refridgerator-based water filter, and i sometimes still find myself adding fruit or powdered drink mix to the water, to dilute the taste.



3. life is slower here, and that can be kind of frightening, in an odd way. everyone is so laid back that i find it almost stress-inducing, but i guess that's something else i'll have to adjust to. i often want to zoom around people, esp. in the supermarket, because i feel they're going to slowly, but then i ask myself, what's my rush? unless mother nature has me on speed dial again, or i'm hungry, there's no reason for me to rush. my schedule is open, i'm free as a bird, i might as well take my time and relax. i just have to keep reminding myself of that, at least until classes start and i have deadlines again.



4. when people here ask "how are you?", they want a real answer. unfathomable, i know, but true all the same!



5. the most interesting thing i think i learned this past week, however, is that there are seagulls here in pocatello, idaho. stop and think about that for a moment: seagulls. in a land-locked state. in a town not near a large body of water. it is believed that they come from a neighboring town called american falls, but no one knows why they choose to come here. (but i don't think it's for the water!)



6. crows are kinda spooky. i blame alfred hitchcock for some of that feeling, but when one lands on the overhang to your apartment and starts cawing as storm clouds are rolling in and then it flies off and the sun comes out and the storm never materializes, it just makes one wonder. or it makes me wonder, anyway, since i lived through it. maybe hitchcock knew something about crows that i don't. hmmm...

that's all for this post, folks. stay tuned for next sunday's update, which will most likely be me panicking over the thought of classes starting in 2 days. i voluntarily placed myself in a postion where i'll be receiving homework. sometimes, i wonder about myself. but other times, i just know.

good morning idaho!

well, actually, it's afternoon. anyway, i've finally gotten my hands on a loaner laptop and have taken the time to upload some photos to my flickr account. hopefully soon blogger and flickr will play nicely together and the slideshow will display properly. sometimes, technology is kinda frustrating.

anyway, life in idaho, where to begin?

i've been here for 10 whole days now, and the adjustment continues. i must admit, tho, that some of the things that people thought i'd have a hard time adjusting to (ie, being the only "spot in the milk" as some would say), haven't yet become issues, while other things that i didn't expect at all have caused problems. here's a list:

THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN BEFORE I GOT HERE:

1. the campus is surrounded by mountains. people from the area assure me that these are hills, not real mountains, but being as i come from nyc, i'm gonna go ahead and call these hills mountains.
2. and, not only is the campus surrounded by mountains, it's in a mountain valley. the elevation here is 4,462 ft above sea level. the change in elevation means several things:


1. when making cakes, you need to follow the directions for baking over 3500 feet


2. the air is thinner and carries less oxygen, so your body will create more red blood cells to aid in breathing. being an iron-deficient anemic with a low red blood cell and low hemoglobin counts, the past week hasn't been aerobically fun.


3. the pollen of night-blooming desert flowers will travel far on the wind and induce allergic reactions for miles aronund.


4. everyone wears sunscreen here, cos there isn't enough atmosphere to sufficiently block the sun's radiation. or you burn, or you bake. i've not yet burned (thankfully), but i am roasting unevenly.


5. you dehydrate much more quickly at higher altitudes than lower ones. i cannot explain how much water i drink nowadays. it doesn't matter, cos it's never enough


6. it takes a really long time to get dark up here. the sun doesn't completely set until sometime after 9pm


3. there's almost no nightlife to speak of in this town. there are a few bars, and one dance club, but how many times does a person want to go to a club where they'll see all the same people they've seen every other time they've been there?
4. walmart is the big place to go shopping here. and if you've never been in a walmart supercenter, let me tell you: they're HUGE! think costco on crack. i found it to be quite overwhelming and was glad we only had a limited amount of time to shop the one time i went in there. you could probably spend an entire day in there and not go down the same aisle twice. did i mention it was huge?
5. while i knew that i was moving to a desert, it's one thing to know that and another thing to internalize exactly how living in a desert will change your life. for example, i now carry lip balm with me everywhere i go; i apply oil to both my skin and hair the moment i step out of the shower. after i dry off, then i slather on lotion; and i'd heard that the temperature drops drastically in the desert at night, and i even understand the science behind it. i didn't understand what that would mean for me as a person until the first time the temperature went from 91 degrees while the sun was out to 50 degrees that night. i sleep with a blanket on even though i spend the days sweating. whisky tango foxtrot?
6. people had a great time regaling me with tales of the bears in eastern idaho, and i knew about the random cougar sightings that have occurred on campus. no one mentioned the poisonous hobo spiders until AFTER i got here, however. before i move again, i definitely need to do a better job investigating my new environment.

that's all for now, i'm going to go wash the dishes, do some yoga, and take a hot bath. tune in next week to find out what i felt like writing about then!