2. There is no explaining how the snow disappears off of the roads. Whether they salt the heck out of it everyday (when I never see salt trucks) or plow it when I'm not looking, no matter what the roads are clear. On Friday night, Graham and I went to see the Panthers (UNI not Carolina-ha!) whoop up on Old Dominion and when I went over there it had probably been snowing lightly for a couple of hours and we had about 2 inches of snow on the ground. So, as I park my car (driving over about a 5 inch high lump of snow that has been stagnant for quite some time just to get into my parking spot) I realize there is a pretty good chance at the end of this game I will not be able to get my car out. Well, at the end of the game, we had about another 3 or so inches of fresh snow and after brushing it all off of my car spun out only a couple of times before releasing my car from the spot. Everything was covered at this point. Cars, trees, roads, driveways, etc. and if we were in NC this would have been a pretty significant snow--let's just say school would have been out for at least 3 days. Well, to my utter amazement when we woke up on Saturday morning to head over to Village Inn (kind of like Denny's) for breakfast, all of the snow was "melted" off of the roads! The miraculous thing is the temperature was only about 19 or so at this point and literally has not gotten over freezing since we have been here. How the snow "melts" is amazing to me.
3. I will never get the pronunciation of Waterloo correct. As I'm sure most of you know, Midwesterners say there a's differently. You know Sarah Palin? Yeah. That's what it's like. Well, as of course all true Iowans would do, Graham and I have been practicing our "a" sounds.
Here, you practice:
Instead of pronouncing your a's like "ah", change the pronunciation to "ay" in all words and you've got it.
Ex: Waterloo. This one is a toughie because although it seems to be one word, in all reality it is more like two. Wayter-loo. There is an ever so slight pause between the wayter (water) and loo that cracks me up (at least inside) every time I hear people say it here. Hilarious.
Another example: Target. NC Pronunciation: Tahrgit. IA pronunciation: Tayrgit. Or even "Bag". NC: Bahg. IA: Bayg. Awesome.
4. My cute brown Nine West winter boots just don't cut it in the snow here. I decided that since we were sitting in a box for the basketball game on Friday I would at least attempt to dress up somewhat. This means I was going to try and wear a different pair of shoes besides my uggs which have been AMAZING here. I think I will buy another pair before next winter so I can have options. Anyway, I decided to wear my suede (i.e. they don't look too good when they get wet) Nine West boots which barely have a heel because they are pretty much my go-to dress boots. I walk downstairs and what's the first thing I do when my boots hit the snow? Slide all the way down the sidewalk Jerry Maguire style. Great... After looking around to see if anyone has seen be I continue to ice skate to my car and literally slide one foot in front of the other from across the street, up a hill and into the arena where UNI plays. I felt amazingly coordinated.
5. You know the fake snow we can sprinkle around our houses at Christmas, etc.? That is what the snow looks like here. It is so dry, light and fluffy. I love it! It always looks too beautiful when it falls to be real.
6. This may or may not be the most surprising thing I have learned in the past few days. Our apartment officially may be the nicest apartment complex in Cedar Falls. When we first came, I've got to be honest. I wasn't super excited about the pink tile and carpet up the side of the kitchen island (not to mention the front of our kitchen drawer which is just sitting on our counter until someone comes to fix it). But hey, everything has some quirks right? Graham and I went around Cedar Falls looking at some apartments, townhouses, etc. for rent and the more we looked the more we realized how "lucky" we were to have gotten our apartment! Ha! So, as of right now, I think we are considering just staying in this apartment at least until next July. Too funny. We are, however, getting there as far as decorating, getting organized/settled, and so on and so forth. I really hope I can get some pictures up soon!!
7. Hairstyles are totally different in NC and in IA. The girls in college here take advantage of the poof way more and I think they all own bump-its. No joke. They at least all own a can of heavy duty hair spray because poofy (in the back) is definitely "in" here. And they look super cute doing it! Also, Graham is the only one here with the frat swoop I've seen so far and I'm loving it.
Well that's all for now! Looks like it is just going to be another cold week in paradise...supposed to only get up to about 10 degrees on Wednesday. So while y'all are enjoying the warm blasts down South, think of us as you cruise with your windows down and send some warmth this way!
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