Greetings from Columbus, GA!!
Compared to my trip last year to Oklahoma, this trip is much more enjoyable. It's not so bleak here; it's very green in fact.
The weather is overcast, and so muggy!! They've been having thunderstorms each evening. I got here last night (late because of the dang thunderstorm....); the route was a 757 from Seatac to Atlanta, GA. Then some sort of commuter plane from there to here. The plane has maybe 40 seats in it and it was bouncing all over the place in the wind and rain with piles of clouds everywhere. My only experience flying above clouds previously was a nice flat peaceful place, like a Hallmark after-school special about heaven. Heh. But this trip/place involved piles of scary luminous dark cloud formations that twisted and writhed. Glimpses of murky lakes and red-laced rivers below made me feel like I was descending into hell instead.
The plane had to circle three times before landing. I couldn't see the airport so it just felt all of sudden like we were dropping for no good reason. By this point I was crying like crazy scared, and embarrassed, trying to be quiet so nobody thought I was a freak. After climbing off into pouring rain, I was trying to find my baggage claim ticket and wipe my nose on a wet napkin saved from the previous flight, and the security guard came up to me, no doubt wondering what this tie-dyed crazy lady was doing. He assured me I didn't need the claim slip (no kidding....mine was one bag of maybe a dozen on the one of three tiny conveyer belts).
Everyone's really nice here, very friendly.
I don't have a rental car, so I figured I would walk today for entertainment and food(although I took a taxi from the airport). It's a strange place that doesn't seem to support foot traffic. There are no sidewalks. And while there are pedestrian crossing signs on the corners of the few major intersections I've seen, there are no marked crosswalks. Drivers don't appear to care if you're walking with the light so I've had to use my stern face a few times to remind them to not run me over. And it's like walking in a sauna!!
For brunch, I found a buffet restaurant (otherwise, my choices are McDonald's or Burger King) that featured Home Cooking. Too much fried meat, thank you. But the potato salad, cole slaw, deviled eggs, and chocolate cake was delicious! With salad bar broccoli, raw carrots, cottage cheese, and a small dollop of what I presumed was some sort of cooked green stuff, it was all mostly filling and satisfying. The corn bread was a bit dry. I almost got a soda and the pretty gal asked if I wanted sweet tea. Sounded good. I tried it and whoa! Yum! I asked her what was in it, and she blinked..."um, tea and sugar". I explained that I was from out of town and had never had it before. She thought that was the funniest question she'd ever heard.
The time difference isn't too much of a problem because I'll only be here a short time. The local accent is a bit thick, but I'm managing to not appear too foreign, I hope. R. is going through all sorts of classes, tutorials, certifications, tests, and paperwork during the day, but it's sweet to spend a bit more time with him before he heads out of the country on Friday. I'm heading home tomorrow evening.