Pictures!

Here are some of the pictures I took of my trip downtown.

The skyscraper being built in this picture is a pretty big deal around here. When it is done it will be the tallest one in the mid west... which I know may not seem like too much of an accomplishment but the closest skyscraper that is taller then it is in Chicago... so that's pretty cool! It's called the Devon Tower. 

I finally am completely moved into my new apartment and have started to decorate. It's starting to feel more like home now. I have the next week and a half off of school and am planning on exploring the area.

Nutrition Assessment

The class that I had this week was Nutrition Assessment. It was really good because the first day of class also served as an introduction into the program. The class started off with my professor saying, "This is probably going to be one of the easiest classes of your internship"... however 30 minutes later she added, "At the end of the week we will be taking a final composed up of questions from past RD exams which if you don't pass will delay your graduation by 6 months!!" So, every spare minute this last week has been filled with studying and more studying. But, I PASSED!!! 

Also, this week helped me realize more how much working in a hospital has prepared me for this internship... even in little things. We had a test on medical abbreviations on Wednesday so on Monday I was studying with some of my classmates and here was one of our conversations...

Nick-"I have a hard one for you...CIB"

me-"Carnation Instant Breakfast"

Nick-"COW"

me-"Cream of Wheat"

Nick-"How do you know these?!"

I guess typing them into the computer 100 times a day was more helpful then I was realizing. 

Also, the highlight of this week... Dad came to visit me!!! It's so fun to have people out here it makes me fill a little less secluded from everyone. We went out to eat (Olive Garden...yum!) and he helped me move my new couch into my apartment!! The apartment looks so much better now... though my only furniture right now is the couch, a mattress and a desk that is not put together yet.. Oh well, I love my apartment! Also, the couch has a queen size fold out bed in case anyone else wants to come visit. I'm really glad that dad and Jordan came and carried it for me, it is very big and very heavy. 

Bricktown

For those of you who don't know, downtown Oklahoma City is called Bricktown and it is very fun. When driving up it looks like your average city but then you get into Bricktown and all of the roads are made out of bricks and there is a cute little canal running through town. The canal is full of ducks and boat tours and is so fun to walk along. Also, downtown OKC is probably the same size as Salt Lake City so it's not as big and intimidating as I thought.

 The big colorful theater in this picture is where I went to see Harry Potter at midnight!! I think it's the biggest movie theater I've ever been in. 

I'm not really sure why but I am always tempted to call the canal a creek... people around here don't like that too much. Also, I had to steal these pictures off of google because I still can't find my camera cord. 

I guess Oklahoma City is in the middle of this big project trying to make it a fun place to visit so there are lots of murals, statues and fountains. In front of the theater there is a large fountain with an open social area where they have different musicians and performers each night (or maybe they just come Thursday nights I'm not really sure).

Campus

I have been trying to post pictures of my house, campus and my recent venture into downtown OKC...however, I have yet to find my camera cord. Until then here are a couple pictures of UCO from their website. It's a beautiful campus and there is a lake in the middle... Broncho Lake!

Tornadoes!

I have been in Oklahoma for over a week now and I am happy to say that I have not seen any tornadoes yet!!! However, thanks to all my friends back home I think I am now one of the most paranoid people in Oklahoma City. Here are some examples...

On my first Saturday here Mollie and I were in my room when all of a sudden the tornado sirens go off. We run to the window and look out (which I recognize is the exact opposite of what we are supposed to do). It is a completely clear day, not a cloud in the sky. So we decide to run to the front yard so see if there are any ominous clouds on that side...nothing. My roommate then informs us that they test the alarms every Saturday at noon.

Well from that experience I learned that our house is far enough away from the alarms that they are not that loud. If I were awake I would hear them, but that is not a noise that would ever wake me up. So now every time there is any lightening or thunder at night I lie awake in bed thinking, I can't fall asleep because I won't hear the sirens if they go off... and we've had lots of thunder storms lately. 

On Friday, I went with my roommate to her home in Ponca City... in northern Oklahoma. Well it was about 9:00 at night when we left and getting dark quickly. About 30 minutes into our trip we run into some thunder and lightening and a thought crosses my mind... How do you know if there is a tornado nearby at night? I spent the next little while looking out the window and every time lightening lit up the sky I searched frantically to make sure there were not any tornadoes swirling around us. In between lightening strikes I turned to her and asked, "Let's say you are driving down the road at night...how do you know if there are any tornadoes coming right at you?"  Her response..."Oh you don't, just make sure you check the weather everyday". That did nothing to calm my fears.

Luckily, I am safe and have come no where near a tornado. I will be posting some pictures of campus and such by the end of the week.

I'm (in) OK!!

At long last I have made it to Oklahoma and am now getting used to it here. Edmond is a very charming city and I like it a lot more then I thought I would. Surprisingly it's very green here, there are about 5 times as many trees as I thought there would be. Also, it is very hot and humid... every time you open the door a wave of hot, humid air hits you. Campus is very nice too. It's small, a lot smaller then BYU, but that just makes it easier for me to find my way around. All the buildings look nice and the classrooms (well the one I've had class in) are pretty high tech. I will be posting pictures soon.

Right now I am living in a beautiful home in a very classy neighborhood. I'm renting out a room and there are three other girls living here. They are all very nice and I like living here, but I will only be here till the end of July. 

When I was moving out here I anticipated a lot of differences... here are some random things that I didn't anticipate.

• There are restaurants and churches everywhere! When driving down the road everywhere you look there are tons of huge churches and different restaurants. I think for every non-food business there are probably 2-3 restaurants. And so many churches... there are even a good number of TV churches which I have never seen before. 
• No one has heard of cinnamon bears or green goddess dressing! Before moving out here Shannon and Aubrey gave me a bag of chocolate covered cinnamon bears. When I moved into this house I thought I would share them with the other girls because I knew that no one outside of Utah covered their cinnamon bears in chocolate. Come to find out they had never even heard of cinnamon bears in the first place! Also, I have searched the dressing isle high and low and come to find out Green Goddess Dressing is just a Utah thing...who knew?
• No one sleeps on campus! At BYU everywhere you look there are people taking naps on the grass, random benches, couches, wherever they can find a place. On my first day walking around campus I passed probably 10 occupied couches with no nappers. I was puzzled about this until I walked into the library...right in the entry way is a giant vending machine just for energy drinks! And nearby is a Starbucks...no kidding the students here are always awake!

Well that's all of the random things I can think of now. All in all I like living here. I do miss everyone so much though! Keep in touch!