I have arrived!

Today was orientation to PA school - aka, an opportunity to practice not hyperventilating and passing out in public when given thoroughly overwhelming information! This summer is going to be tough. REALLY TOUGH. Lets just say I'm wishing I had left all my "fun books" at home (since I wont get a chance to even crack them open) and saved the room in my car for something really useful. Like a coffin for my social life. haha.

In all seriousness though, I am really excited! I have my new fancy hospital access card that makes me feel all official, and I cant wait to start learning interesting things that I actually want to keep in my head after the final is over... :)

Iowa is gorgeous. Green and lush and just plain beautiful! I feel like I live in a park. The humidity is obvious to me already, and from what I hear, this is nothing compared to August! I have yet to see the lightening bugs that everyone talks about, but its still too cold I think. I did see two fluffy little bunnies in my backyard though. Right in the middle of the city- crazy! But since the whole place looks more like some type of fairytale forest than skyscraper land, I dont blame the bunnies for getting confused.

The people here are extremely friendly- almost to the point of making me wonder if there is anything funny in the water... I bought my bed from a lady through craigs list, and ten minutes after I met her she said "well now you have a contact in Iowa, feel free to call me if you ever need anything!" And when I got lost on campus and asked a guy for directions, even though he didn't know where my building was, he still helped me out- he pulled out his smart phone, Googled the address, used his GPS to find the best route to the building, and then led me there! Who does that? Apparently super friendly Iowans do. :)

I live super close to the school, and most of the time I can just walk to class. On rainy days, though, get to park at the LDS institute for free! (parking in Iowa City is a monster, so this saves me a ton of cash and hassle) The singles branch seems pretty awesome so far, and they have been extremely helpful in getting me moved in and oriented to the city. Lots of Church history around here, and I'm excited to discover it! I got lost the other day and somehow ended up at a place called Mormon Handcart Park, which I think is one of the major campsites of the pioneers. There is also a Mormon Trek Blvd, which follows their path out of the city. And of course Nauvoo, IL close by.

Well thats about it. Not too much excitement yet- though I have learned a few interesting things in the last few days:

*Do not attempt to curl your hair on a rainy day. Seriously- dont even try. I dont care how many bottles of gel you just put in it. Its pointless. Give up.

*Wyoming was such a boring drive, my car almost fell asleep.

* Do not attempt to disagree with a Hawkeye fan on the subject of University of Iowa's obvious supremacy. You were wrong before you opened your mouth

:)