Not In Kansas Anymore

Hello everyone! Well, I'm here. I hope the breaks and interuptions haven't been too bothersome--I'm still working on getting the internet fully set-up (I'm writing this post from the library), but hopefully we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programing very soon.

I have been super happy and excited with everything I've found so far. It is much scarier even than I thought it would be to be alone without my family or friends, having to make a new start in that regard, but I'm already getting used to things and loving them. The house is a cute old house that reminds me of my great grandma's, only less tacky. My room is very good size, and my house-mate is interesting and nice and we've already stayed up late chatting, which is great.

Most of all, perhaps, I've noticed already how wonderfully different Lane County is to Utah County. The people here don't all have the same look. The girls aren't all blond and the guys don't all have the same short-cropped cut. I don't feel like there's this certain style or look that I'm failing to live up to, and the fact that I graduated from college is actually a cool thing, as opposed to something everyone does. There's a Barnes and Nobles, Ross and Petco not only in a row, but across the street from a movie theater where I saw the new Pirates movie yesterday. (Really liked it, better than 2 & 3, perhaps because Kiera and Orlando weren't there to ruin it, Johnny and Geoffery were phenomenal, of course, writing was good, plot a bit scattered, ending pretty awesome. Number 1 still by far the best).

Other things you just don't see in Utah Valley: The cashiers at Walgreens had a mohalk and nose peircing, and there are probably 7 different churches in a 5 block radius and only one of them is LDS. I'm still figuring out how to not act stupid about recycling and someone else filling up the gas while I wait in the car. The Walmart not only has a recycling station but also sells Fage yogurt, which, in Provo, you could only get in an out of the way health food store. There are trees instead of mountains and people carrying cigarettes instead of babies.

Its going to take a bit of getting used to, but already its greatly refreshing and I feel like I'm going to see and experience a lot of awesome new stuff. I will say, however, that the hardest part by far is being without anyone that I know, and the built-in community and support group you get wherever you go as a Mormon is an incredible relief at times like this. But I hope things will just keep getting better and better, and I'm nervous and very excited to start work on Monday.

Again, hope you don't mind the personal interuptions here, but we'll get things back to normal pretty soon. Happy writing!

Sarah Allen

p.s. If you haven't already, don't forget to sign up for the 500 Follower challenge for a chance at a $20 Amazon gift card. Monday is the last day!