Roll Tide Roll!

Hey ya'll! I'm apparently a little behind the times because I'm just now getting a blog. I have no idea how to use this thing, but Missy often reminds me I need to speed up my technological clock...she keeps me in check. So, here's the scoop....I finally moved out of mom and dad's house (who knew it was possible) and have been attending BYU for the past year. I absolutely love it! I'm majoring in Business Management with an emphasis in Marketing....I obviously don't have what it takes to get my MRS degree at the moment, but I'm definitely enjoying the single life! I guess I wasn't home sick enough because I'm spending my summer a little farther south than good ole' St. George, try TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA....ROLL TIDE! Ya, I know what you're thinking...."where is that?" Uh huh! "and why?"

I thought the same things! I am actually here for an internship with a company called ARAMARK (no one knows who they are, but they are a great company. They just like to keep things behind the scenes). Basically, ARAMARK provides food services to many facilities around the world in higher ed, k-12, correctional facilities, sports and entertainment, conference centers, and more. I'm working at the University of Alabama for ARAMARK and I rotate through all the different business departments such as marketing, HR, accounting, and operations. Everyone here is so friendly and I have learned a ton!

Alright, Southern hospitality is definitely real....man oh man, these people always want to feed me too, and might I add, they don't just eat salads...I'm talking soul food sista's! Lets just say my jeans are fitting a little too snug for comfort, ha! I've had a lot of firsts here: grits, collard greens, hush puppies, fried green tomata's, black eyed peas, and real 'southern' corn bread! Talk about the good stuff....I had to get a pass to the rec center so I could run off a few of these extra pounds! I guess working for a food service company doesn't help any either.

ARAMARK is so good to me...they pay for all of my meals, my housing, travel, and yes, I do get a paycheck every two weeks! YAY! I was trying to save all my money here, but I'm totally justifying all the benefits I'm getting so I can go out and play. Amber and I took a roadtrip to Atlanta. We went to the largest aquarium in the U.S. and to my first MLB game, Braves vs Mariners! We had the best seats...5th row up, right behind the braves dugout, on first base! I know, SWEET! We had a blast! So, to say the least, I've just been living it up on my down time....road trips to Birmingham, checking out Lake Tuscaloosa....the good stuff!














I know what you're all thinking...how do I like the south? Well, it's actually pretty fun here! Everything is so green and beautiful, but of course, super humid and hot! You think you're having a good hair day, and then you step outside, whoops! The weather here is very unpredictable....if you're worried about going out because it's raining, just wait 5 minutes. But really, we do get some crazy afternoon showers here, no tornatos yet though! Lets see....there are 450 churches here in Tuscaloosa alone, and only one LDS church. I know right, quite the change coming from Utah. Just imagine replacing every LDS church in Utah with a baptist or methodist church and you'll understand what I'm talking about. Tuscaloosa has one ward, so all the YSA (young single adults) and families are together...kinda weird being in a home ward again, but I like it!

The YSA here are awesome! We have a lot of fun together! FHE on Mondays and institute on Tuesdays (WOW....our institute building is tiny! It's basically a little hole in the wall, but it works)! Oh yeah, and the style here is crazy....I don't think I'll ever get used to it, I mean, when the guys' shorts are shorter than mine, that's a problem. You can definitely see what groups people belong to by the clothes they wear. All the guys wear their polo shirts with their nice khaki shorts, which don't touch the knee, and their boat shoes. Now, don't get me wrong, I like boat shoes, but man....give me a little variety! Haha! And the girls....well, they have some short shorts goin on too, but they're a little more versatile, they just all wear the same gym shorts....I just don't understand why they all want to look a like....I think it's a greek thing! Greek life is kinda a big deal here, so is football!

WOW....for my first blog, this seems super long.....you probably didn't get this far in reading, but if you did.....stay tune for more southern livin! Three more weeks here, I can't believe how fast it's gone!