Saturday, November 13, 2010

Quick Oregon / Salem Facts

*It rains a lot. And by a lot I mean A LOT. Every morning I check the forecast to figure out what I should wear for the day. My glimmer of hope for sunshine is normally quickly shattered after reading something along the lines of, "Monday - Rain, Tuesday - Chance of Rain, Wednesday - Showers, Thursday - Rain, Friday - Rain..." You get the idea.
*Fashion is overrated in Salem. Scrunchies, hunting gear, and UofO or OSU gear is about all people regularly sport. Upside is I will not have the temptation to shop for awhile until I return to Cali since my wardrobe is very fashion forward here.
*In Salem there are primarily two races: Mexican or White.
*You can go hunting, skiing, or to the ocean an hour and a half away.
*Bottomless mimosas do not exist.
*Drivers ALWAYS use their blinkers and share the road. No more aggressive driving necessary.
*Drivers also know how to drive in the rain - unlike Los Angeles.
*Sometimes I feel like I'm still in Mexico from the honks and whistles of drivers.
*A strip club is guaranteed to be within one mile (or three blocks in my case) from your home.
*The only IKEA is located in Portland.
*You can only buy hard alcohol at a liquor store. For some odd reason, Oregonians are against selling hard alcohol in grocery stores. They even tried passing a new bill, but voters were against it.
*You can still recycle your cans and bottles at the grocery store. Expect a long line for the process. Sometimes they even have someone to help you! When asked what we do in California, I responded with, "We recycle out of the goodness of our heart to nature for free."
*Paper bags at grocery stores are hard to come by. One would think for how consciously aware and cautious of nature Oregonians are, they would have gotten rid of the plastic bags already!