First Post

I have decided to take the plunge and start a blog. I'm hoping this will be a good way for friends and family to be able to keep up with my new life in Virginia. It's a good ways back to PA, but hopefully the blog will make me seem not *quite* as far from home.

I'm just getting settled in down here. I have a good feel for the town and have found several great places to take the dogs. Work is going very well, though it is taking forever for Virginia to process my license. I've been doing a lot of supervised work in the field, and helping out some in the small animal clinic. I'm learning lots and I really enjoy the people that I'm working with. The girls in the clinic are super helpful to me since I don't quite know what I'm doing with the dogs and cats. And they are so fun to be around...the other day we were crying from laughing so hard! Oh, and I'm learning to drive stick shift since all 4 vet trucks are stick. It's tricky with all the hills, and I hate having to stop! One day I pulled off an "80 point turn" getting the silver toyota out of the parking lot. There were some clients sitting in their truck watching, and once I finally got things under control, they erupted with cheers and applause! All I could do was laugh at myself (well, after the cursing outburst subsided).

I'm having a terrible time understanding folks down here. It's not just a southern accent, but some sort of mountain dialect. I find myself zoning out for awhile when I get lost in conversations, I swear it's like being in a foreign country! It's rather embarassing!

The dogs have adjusted very well. My little "cottage" is 1 mile from the clinic, so it is very convenient for me to get home to let them out. Often I can make it home at lunch to spend some time with them. I very much miss having a fenced in yard. My yard is plenty big enough for them to go potty, but is not conducive to ball playing as it is on a very steep hill. My front porch is a very nice hang out spot for us, though. I have the steps gated off so that the dogs are kept up there with me while I sit out. I am conveniently located less than 5 minutes from town, where I can find everything to meet my needs. Based on what everyone was saying during my interview, I thought this was a small town. But according to the last census, there are more than twice as many people living here than in Boiling Springs! It is very, very rural outside of town. Every direction you look there are hills as far as you can see. How beautiful.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to go into more details about some of the work I've been doing and what I've been up to with the dogs. I have photos to share, too!