Northwest VS Midwest.

May 27

May 27 Northwest VS Midwest.

I've officially been in Washington for a year, and I'm loving it! That being said, I am also very excited to have booked my first trip home. All by myself, from the computer that I bought, in the comfort of my own apartment. Anyone else feel the strong urge to brag about how well your doing? Sometimes I feel like screaming "Hey mom! Look, I'm a big kid now!". In reality though, I was incredibly stressed out about the rather large number in my confirmation email.

That, on top of the unsettling feeling that a whole week back home might be too much. What in the hell was I going to do for a whole week? What is there to do in Rapid, that I haven't done 15,000 times before? Not that I am not excited to see my family, because I am, but what about the rest of the time? Out of the three people back home that I am closest to, only one is still in Rapid City, the other two have moved to other states, and one of them is over seas in the Army. Of course the one that's still home, works her ass off just about 24/7... she's already gotten the "you can't work everyday that I'm home" message.

Nevertheless; I will be heading home at the end of August, and I am excited. Especially for Taco Johns- these west coast people don't know what they're missing. Aside from fast food, and the obvious, legalized marijuana, I've been thinking a lot about all of the things that make Washington feel like a whole new world (high five if you sang that!). Now there's a lot of them, and I mean A LOT. So I went ahead, and struggled, to narrow it down to a list of ten, for your reading convenience.

PS- Although I personally don't find it to be a big deal, I would like to point out that I really could care less if I live in a state where marijuana is legalized or not. The only way that affects me, is because it affects a few of my friends. Just a fun fact about me: I don't like the feeling of being intoxicated in any way, shape, or form.

Wait. What was the point here? Yeah, let's get back to that!

And on to the list....

10 Differences Between The States Of Washington & South Dakota:

NO PLASTIC! This is one of the first shocks I encountered when I arrived in my new home, and it still throws me off sometimes. In Washington, or at least in my beautiful city of Bellingham, and a few others along the coast, plastic bags are illegal. This is a good thing, because it helps the environment, but the first time I went through the self-checkout lane at Target, and it asked me how many bags I was taking, I was thoroughly confused. Why does this machine care how many bags I need? -because it's going to charge you 5 cents each for those lovely paper bags, and you better hope it's not raining out.... in Washington... Every time I go to the grocery store, I miss South Dakota, because in the Dakotas there's plastic bags GALORE!
What Are Mountains? Here's a cute one that I've been enjoying for a few years now. It really shows how small, and "in the middle of nowhere", South Dakota is. IN WASHINGTON mountains are, well, actual snowy topped mountains. IN SoDak, one of my friends that was born and raised, and never left there, had a full on argument with me about how the Black Hills are mountains. In case you've never seen the Black Hills, just think about it. The Black HILLS.
In Washington 32 degrees (fahrenheit) is apparently FREEZING winter weather, whereas in South Dakota 10 degrees (fahrenheit) is CHILLY winter weather. Wimps.
One thing my roommate (from Wyoming), and I have noticed is that out here people think that having to drive across town is "too far". Another example of this would be when I first moved out here, I moved into my dad's house, in Mount Vernon, and I commuted the 30 minutes to bellingham everyday, for work and friends. People tried to pity me as if it was the worst thing in the world, but in South Dakota/Wyoming people drive all around the state daily, for work, and sometimes just for fun.
One of the first people that I met after moving to the Northwest was a lovely girl, who thought she needed to take her car to the shop, wait for it... to check her tire pressure. Now, I'm not saying everyone in Washington is clueless when it comes to their vehicles, but that was the first time I had heard something that silly. If you can drive, you should know how to change a tire, check your oil, and for goodness sake, at least know how to check your tire pressure.
Speaking of driving. The age at which you can acquire a driver's licence in WA is 16 (at least I think so). In South Dakota, you can start driving at the age of 14, and it's stupid easy to get your licence. Also, I hear that in Washington it is strongly suggested, if not required to take drivers ED. I don't understand... how are you people so bad at merging onto the freeway, if you have to go though so much more just to be able to drive? Seriously, my cousin moved back to South Dakota, from Arizona a few years ago, and without any prior testing or licence, he walked into the DMV, and then walked out with a drivers licence. Not a permit. A LICENCE.
Being in a place that is much more populated, means more crazy stuff happens, i.e. crime. I've seen a lot in my first year here, from forgetting to lock my car and having a few belongings stolen, to the mother flippin' SWAT team sneaking though my dad's backyard, searching for someone. (I'm not exaggerating either.) I never realized how much of a small town mind I have until I got yelled at by my boss for telling someone over the phone that they missed the person they were calling for, but that they were scheduled to be in later that day. Apparently you can't tell people that information, in case they are a stalker. I NEVER HAD TO THINK ABOUT THIS CRAP IN SODAK!
You know you're from South Dakota when you measure distance in hours. For example: I don't know how many miles it is from one side of SD to the other, but I do know that it takes 5 and a half hours to drive it. I don't know how many miles between Bellingham, WA and Rapid City, SD, but I know that it's a 18 hour drive!
Washington: BAD WEATHER= Overcast day, breezy, drizzly/rainy, 2 out of 365 chance of 0.2 inches of snow. South Dakota: BAD WEATHER= 60+ mph winds, 0 visibility, average -10 degrees, 6 inches of snow. (Summer time bad weather= possible tornado, definite insurance claim for hail damage.)
This one was basically a huge slap to the face. It's amazing the things you realize about yourself, and where you come from, that you wouldn't have if you had never moved somewhere else. Basically, South Dakota is a very conservative state. It's full of old rancher's, with old views, that are perfectly comfortable with doing things the old way. (That's not EVERYONE, just a lot of them.) Somehow, despite growing, and evolving, into the 21st century, pieces of that old world attitude have stuck with us, without us even realizing. You know, that whole "be a man, take care of the women, macho this, macho that..", yeah, that kind of thing. Anywho, I was at a friends engagement party, and I asked some guy for something, it was a small something, but I don't remember what. What I had expected, or what I was used to, was for him to graciously hand me whatever it was that I was asking for, because (and this even makes me cringe), I expected him to do this for me because I am a female, and he was a male, and because I was dating his friend. WHICH MAKES NO SENSE, I KNOW! I honestly didn't even realize it until he turned around, gave me a look, and said, "I don't even know you, we've hardly said two words to each other." My first reaction was that this guy was a real asshole, it didn't take me long to analyze the situation, and confirm that he really did have every right to say that. It was a valid statement. Plus, I am a big girl, and if I want something, I can go get my own. I couldn't believe this was how my brain worked. Definitely not in Kansas anymore.

AND, THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS!

I'm going to end this with a little bit of Black Hills news.

Unfortunately, this morning (5/27/18) a sacred, and beloved spot in the Black Hills was vandalized, and destroyed. The entire region continues to search for the two girls, that dismantled, and stole from a local favorite destination.

Holding my memories close, Poet's Table!