Susan's Journey to Rural Small Town Life
Who out there hasn't dreamed of moving out to the country, far away from the noise and traffic of the city? I know I dreamed of it, but I never thought it would happen. Somehow, life led me down a strange path and now, here I am, living the small town, country life. But it's not what you'd think it would be. I invite you to follow my family in this blog to learn the truth about country-life in northeast Colorado. I guarantee you'll be surprised and you'll learn a little, too.
So let's get to the details. My name is Susan and I am a city-girl. Even worse, I am a California girl! I grew up in Gilroy, CA (garlic capital of the world!) and went to college at University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA where I got my B.S. in Geology. I then went to Univ. of CA, Riverside (notice the California trend?) to get my Masters in Soil Science.
Okay, here's where the story changes. At UCR, I met a guy named Rodrigo, whose home town is Mexico City. This guy had traveled the world, which I thought was really cool, although I knew that wasn't the life for me . . . but one day Rodrigo says, "Aren't you ever going to leave California?"
"Nope," I said, "I love California."
"That's sad" he said.
"What's sad? This is a great place to live."
"You should at least go visit another country, learn about other people, live a little while you're still young!" I remember him shaking his head like he was sorry for me.
I was shaking my head, too, out of disbelief that I would ever leave. But the seed had been planted.
Months later, I started looking for jobs and came up with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (a good place to go if you're a soil scientist). Their job listings spanned the country and that's when I got this brilliant idea: I would apply for jobs everywhere in the U.S. and take the first one that's offered. It may not have been an international journey, but I felt very brave nonetheless!
And that's how I ended up in Wall, South Dakota. With a population of 800 people (except in the summer when Wall Drug Store attracts thousands by the day) and the stunning, yet lonesome, backdrop of the badlands, it was quite the culture shock! That adventure was worth a whole blog of its own, so I won't get started. I lived there for about two years, met my Roy on eHarmony.com, packed up my belongings and moved to his hometown of Haxtun, CO.
Now Haxtun is my home, too, with Roy and our daughter, Melise, and six cats and a dog (and an occasional skunk).
Haxtun is about the same population as Wall, just a little farther from a big city, so it was less of a culture shock to move here because I had done the small-town gig once already. But I've decided that small town's are about the hardest to find your place in. Don't get me wrong, there's more ups than downs in a small community. It's just all the quirks you have to get used to . . . Or maybe its just because I'm from such a different background - not a farm-girl, not even a country-girl, not even a middle-of-the-continent-girl - maybe it's me with all the quirks?
Our story continues . . .
So let's get to the details. My name is Susan and I am a city-girl. Even worse, I am a California girl! I grew up in Gilroy, CA (garlic capital of the world!) and went to college at University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA where I got my B.S. in Geology. I then went to Univ. of CA, Riverside (notice the California trend?) to get my Masters in Soil Science.
Okay, here's where the story changes. At UCR, I met a guy named Rodrigo, whose home town is Mexico City. This guy had traveled the world, which I thought was really cool, although I knew that wasn't the life for me . . . but one day Rodrigo says, "Aren't you ever going to leave California?"
"Nope," I said, "I love California."
"That's sad" he said.
"What's sad? This is a great place to live."
"You should at least go visit another country, learn about other people, live a little while you're still young!" I remember him shaking his head like he was sorry for me.
I was shaking my head, too, out of disbelief that I would ever leave. But the seed had been planted.
Months later, I started looking for jobs and came up with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (a good place to go if you're a soil scientist). Their job listings spanned the country and that's when I got this brilliant idea: I would apply for jobs everywhere in the U.S. and take the first one that's offered. It may not have been an international journey, but I felt very brave nonetheless!
And that's how I ended up in Wall, South Dakota. With a population of 800 people (except in the summer when Wall Drug Store attracts thousands by the day) and the stunning, yet lonesome, backdrop of the badlands, it was quite the culture shock! That adventure was worth a whole blog of its own, so I won't get started. I lived there for about two years, met my Roy on eHarmony.com, packed up my belongings and moved to his hometown of Haxtun, CO.
Now Haxtun is my home, too, with Roy and our daughter, Melise, and six cats and a dog (and an occasional skunk).
Haxtun is about the same population as Wall, just a little farther from a big city, so it was less of a culture shock to move here because I had done the small-town gig once already. But I've decided that small town's are about the hardest to find your place in. Don't get me wrong, there's more ups than downs in a small community. It's just all the quirks you have to get used to . . . Or maybe its just because I'm from such a different background - not a farm-girl, not even a country-girl, not even a middle-of-the-continent-girl - maybe it's me with all the quirks?
Our story continues . . .
Posted by Susan at April 4, 2009 
Categories: Our Story
Tags: gilroy rural colorado california haxtun city country
Categories: Our Story
Tags: gilroy rural colorado california haxtun city country
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