Google says it is 41 degrees today. Welcome to Arizona. Every dorm has a swimming pool. Water is the answer to all the questions in here. Just drink as much as you can and you’ll survive this semester. It is actually not that bad after all. If it was humid, that would be a different story. But the climat is really dry.
Sedona, the red rock town
Last weekend we drove 2 hours away from here to the mountains. A small town called Sedona, the red rock place. Here there is not that much to say, just another town full of people smiling and enjoying the sun.
They have a bunch of tourist activities:
Pink Jeep tours, helicopter rides etc. There is actually nothing special about the place except for the red rocks and exceptionally high food prices.
Nice starting point for discovering the state though.
Snakes! Watch out
Last night in Moscow I got a dream that I got bitten by a snake. I got up, rushed to my laptop and googled “Snakes in AZ”. Out of couple of dozens of those, about a half is venomous. As I’ve seen two snakes – not in the Zoo in my entire life – now wherever I go, I’m always cautious. Haven’t seen any so far. But you cou
ld tell – it was really hard to talk me into taking the mountain walking path over there. The nature beauty won.
Sun makes you smile
I was always wondering why everyone says that people in the southern states are more friendly. Having spent three weeks over there I know the answer. They have around 300 sunny days per year (just think for a second, Saint Petersburg’s average is 38 – at least locals say so). It is hot indeed. But it still makes you smile. Sunny weather, hanging out at the pool. Everyone looks better because of being tanned. That is an amazing place to be. People smile at you. One could come up to any person in the street and ask something – not only will you get an answer, but also a smile. Salespeople will always have a small talk with you.
Russian in the USA
Here is the main point. “You’re Russian going to the USA. Be careful! People won’t like you”. Oh those prejudes, our old friends. Well, as long as they feel some accent, people would always ask you where you are from. And if you are a foreigner – German or Russian -doesn’t matter – you will draw attention. People start asking you a lot of questions. They’ve never been anywhere, they are wondering. Pure curiosity: no less, no more.
So what am I trying to say here?
Welcome to Arizona: the state of sun and the Grand Canyon! (which would be the topic for the next post…pss, don’t tell anybody, that’s a great secret!)
Cheers,
Elisabeth