Things that are different here

I knew that living on a farm in Vermont would be different than my life in San Francisco. Here are a few interesting things I have noted:

1. Walking down the road, people in cars wave to me and I wave back. Not just a couple of cars, every car.

2. We buy our maple syrup and eggs from our neighbor who has chickens and taps the trees on his land for syrup.

3. If you don't have stamps, you can put your letter and money in the mailbox and the mailman will give you stamps.

4. You have to drive 20 minutes to get to town.

5. If you want to see a movie in a big movie theater, you drive an hour to go to Burlington.

6. The cars are parked in front of the house, unlocked, with the keys inside.

7. The yoga instructor at the studio here gets hugged by all the locals in her classes. I have never seen this happen in California.

8. They don't have a trash man. You have to take your garbage to the dump yourself.

I'm sure there are more things, this list is just a start.

6. Some people here actually chop their own wood to heat their home.

I never thought I would say this...

But, it's been pretty warm here the last few days! And by warm I mean 39 degrees midday. It is funny. When I arrived last weekend, it was almost 0 degrees and the Vermonters were telling me it's cold. Now they are having the January thaw and, when the sun is out, it actually is warm.

I went cross country skiing again today with my cousin Hannah. After not sleeping well last night (several weird dreams and an 85lb dog hogging the bed), I was a mess this afternoon. I have read three books and been skiing more in the last week than in the last 3 years. I have also been on two dates, which is more dates than I had all last year in San Francisco. The thing is, here I actually tried--at home I never do.

Several snowmen were out today and I think this is the week I will try to make one of my own. Look for the pictures!

Colleen

It's Snowing!

Today is day 5 of my adventure. Good thing I already got a walk in this morning, because it just started lightly snowing outside. I must say that seeing the snow fall is pretty cool. Henry is resting on the couch next to me and there's a fire going.

Monday I went skiing with my mom's cousin, Judi. We went to Middlebury College's Snow Bowl for a couple of hours. Monday afternoon was a great time to go--hardly anyone on the mountain and the trees were all covered with frost and snow. It was beautiful, I wish I had a picture to share with you! I fell once on our first run and managed to tweak one knee and bruise the other leg pretty good. It is amazing how uncoordinated and clumsy I can feel on a pair of skis!

I'm hoping to try cross country skiing tomorrow with Judi's daughter, Hannah. She works at a resort nearby and they have snow shoe, cross country and sledding trails. Plus, she gets to use all the equipment for free and seems to want some company. She may just be humoring me, but I'll take what I can get! Judi and I rented snow shoes for the weekend so we can explore the woods on her farm. She has almost 100 acres, so there's a lot of space to get out.

It is definitely cold here. Even the native Vermonters are saying so, which makes me feel better. I have been reading a bunch and am on top of the financial aid process. Five days in and I feel I am most definitely where I should be right now.




These pictures are of Judi's house and my view from the window right now. Though I don't think you can see the snow as well as I can.

Colleen

First days in Vermont

First, let me give you a little background as to why I decided to "move" to Vermont from California in January! I grew up in Northern California, went to school in Southern California and have lived most of my professional adult life in California. I have lived in San Francisco for the past 4+ years and I absolutely love it. But....I have always wondered what it would be like to live in a different state. I thought that wanderlust might go away once I settled in a career. It hasn't. Graduate school and a change of career has been on my mind for the past three years and I am finally making the move! I am here in January to see if I really would like to live here and if I can survive the cold. This blog is going to be my journal about my experience and life here.

So I am applying to graduate school for a masters in counseling with the plan to become a school counselor. I lived in London after college and worked in a school administration office for a year. I decided last year to apply to school and to apply out of state. I mean, what better opportunity is there. Move some place for two years of school to try it out and see how it goes. Yes there are downsides (higher tuition costs, being new to town, etc.), but in the end, it's only two years of my life. Right?

Vermont is a place I had visited as a young girl for a day. My mom's cousin lives on a farm outside of Middlebury and I remember riding a horse, visiting the Ben and Jerry's factory and not much else. I don't remember loving it or really giving the place much thought for the next 20 years. That is until my mom's cousin, Judi and her daughter, Alex came to visit us in California two years ago. I got along with both of them and Judi told me to come visit. Since I love to travel, I took her up on the offer this past summer. I've been itching to connect to some kind of life outside of the city and I had a great time this summer driving through the country, hiking, and enjoying relative peace on Judi's beautiful almost 100 acre farm. My visit this summer made me think about Vermont and me in Vermont. And I applied to the University of Vermont's counseling program.

Last week I was home in California where the weather was something like low: 45 high:61. I arrived in Burlington on Saturday where the weather was low:3 high:12! That's a big difference for someone like me, a softy from Northern California. But you know what, I love it!! So far at least. I stepped out of the airport in my California clothes (Uggs, cords, layered t-shirts, scarf and down vest). It was cold, but not freezing. Yes, I only had to walk to the car, but it wasn't that bad. Plus, the sky was blue and the sun was shining.

Since my arrival, I have spent some time with the family and recovered from the red eye flight from California. I'm also enjoying the horses right outside the door, the beautiful scenery, the snow and the two dogs that live here. This morning the dogs (Henry and Phoebe) came in and rested on the bed with me--see my picture below. I've always wanted a dog, so I'm loving it!

I'll end this one now. This morning I've been doing some research on financial aid for graduate school (because I need it!). Judi and I are going skiing this afternoon. It's been a couple of years since I've been and I can't wait!

Until next time...