Note: I would just like to clarify that I really do love Snowflake, the weather, its school, its teachers, and the people. That said, it has been a really hard adjustment for me because in my mind Flagstaff is a small town. Well, Flagstaff has nothing on Snowflake. Here are some facts you may not know about my new home for the next five months. Enjoy....
1. There is one main road in Snowflake called Main Street. The roads around it are labeled numerically...the numbers East to West only go to 4th street on either side of Main. It's definitely not easy to get lost.
2. A lot of people have the same last name. There are a lot of Shumways, Flakes, Petersons, Webbs, and of course a few Hatchs (although they're mainly in Taylor).
3. It takes about 7 minutes to drive through Snowflake to Taylor and then about 7 minutes to drive out of Taylor. It's that small.
4. Nobody has mailboxes, they just use the post office. So yes, I now have a PO Box mailing address that I had to rent.
5. The only chain grocery store they have is in Taylor and it's a Bashas. On a trip to the grocery store I took around 9:30pm one night, I unfortunately found out that the store actually closes at 9 o' clock PM. That's right, 9pm.
6. After conveying to a Snowflake resident and friend about my incident with Bashas she replied that everything closes early. However, she didn't hesitate to excitedly tell me about the 24 hour Wal-Mart that I can always go to. The Wal-Mart is half an hour away. It's like going to the mall, only farther. You have to plan your whole day around it.
7. The closest movie theater is also half an hour away and shows six movies.
8. Show Low (where the Wal-Mart and movie theater are located) has become, in my mind, the hubb of civilization. They even have a Papa Johns. Hmmm I wonder how far they deliver...
9. The people I live behind just recently got internet. Just recently! Am I the only one amazed by that? Of course, it doesn't include wireless. Fortunately, my neighbor in the apartment next to mine was willing to get wireless set up and we split the cost each month.
10. Everybody knows everybody and everyone smiles and waves at you while driving, walking, shopping. People are very friendly here. That is something I definitely like about being in a small town.
11. Being new in town often makes you the center of attention. It also can result in people wanting to set you up with their sons. Just one so far, but I've only been here for a week so we'll see. I'm sorry, but being the same age, single, and LDS, is not enough compatibility to set someone up.
12. People here give directions based on landmarks. My neighbor told me a story where someone once gave her directions by telling her to turn right at the field with two cows in it because they did not know the name of the street they lived on. These types of directions can often be confusing for someone who just moved into the area.
I will be honest, I am still rather lonely. I even made friends with a daddy long leg spider that lives in my bathroom. His name is Charles. Don't judge me. However, prep work for school and faculty meetings has kept me reasonably busy and school starts tomorrow so I'm not too worried about having too much free time on my hands. The teacher I'm working with is awesome and we are already becoming good friends. Hopefully the students respect and like me as well! Wish me luck!
