Chiltepin, Transplanted

We've been away from Tucson for over two weeks and living in Bowling Green, Ohio for nearly a week and a half. We did A LOT of driving and we've done much in terms of home improvement. Here's our journey thus far (photos will come later as the public WiFi is not cooperating):

The Drive Out
Our move began a little late on Monday, July 25 due to re-packing the trailer and the bed of my dad's truck. We drove to Ruidoso, NM very cautiously to get accustomed to pulling the trailer. However, our self-imposed 60-65 miles speed limit faded away as the miles piled on.

There were only a few minor incidents as the caravan drove east. Paco escaped from his seat belt once while Javier was driving alone and the caravan got split up twice (once in Oklahoma City and again around Indianapolis) but thanks to cell phones and common sense we were quickly reunited.

Our trip also included a brief stop in Paducah, Texas because Javier wanted to see where my dad was born and where he spent the first six years of his childhood. We visited with the son of one of my grandparents' friends at the house where my sister, dad, grandmother and I would visit every summer or so and where Alana and I would chase pet rabbits gone feral and I watched way too much Country Music Television and ate Wuther's butterscoth candy non-stop.

The Arrival and Initial Impressions

Javier and I drove the last half hour together into Bowling Green and were a little anxious, needless to say. We pulled up to our new home and I was relieved to see the house we found online and selected by looking at a hand full of photos turned out to be cute and in a sweet little neighborhood just two blocks from a park, a short walk to downtown BG, and an even shorter walk to the beautiful county library.

On initial explorations of BG I was slightly disappointed as all I noticed at first were bars and tattoo parlors, obviously geared to undergrads that make up the largest percent of the population in town, and strip malls leading in and out of town. Now the town has grown on me as we have found some gems, like the Wednesday afternoon farmer's market (we bought several yummy treats, including a potted chile plant called a Black Pearl-the chilies really look like knuckle-sized, deep purply-black pearls), the used bookstore and cafe, a Bulgarian restaurant, and again, the garden-bedecked, light-filled library where we use the internet and check out gardening books. The residential neighborhoods--those especially west of Main Street/the Dixie Highway--are charming, filled with so much greenery; the fireflies at dusk, and the fact that Thai and Indian food are just a few towns away has also helped win me over.

Projects
Javier's projects have been many and include putting up screens, removing storm windows, creating a compost system, hanging hooks, etc. I've been focused on gardening and my dad and Javier helped me build a 4'x8' raised bed garden; I've also planted salad greens and cress in hanging baskets for the front porch and assembled a small container garden of starter plants. Much of our time was consumed by shopping trips, more shopping than I've ever done in such a short period of time. Home Depot has become a continuous stop-over, and the trip to Ikea was both fun and stressful-I have to admit a few tears were shed on my part by the end of the maze. But now, thanks to the generosity of my dad, we have some great furniture and, thanks to Home Depot, plenty of hardware.

Paco
Paco has had many firsts on this trip and has done remarkably well, most of the time, with these. First cross-country trip, first staircase (it's adorable to see him go waddling down the stairs; he and I often race up the stairs at our house.), first fleas with first flea collar and flea shampoo bath, first carpets (that didn't go too well initially: he "christened" the carpeted bedrooms straight away). We've blocked off the entrance to the front porch with a baby gate and stake him in the backyard in lieu of a fence and he seems content in these outdoor domains.

Job Prospects, Etc. for Moi
I signed up for a class at BGSU; it's an elective for the PhD program in Rhetoric and Composition and it's titled "African American Gothic Literature." The book list looks fabulous: a mix of fiction by Toni Morrison, Gloria Naylor, and others, as well as nonfiction books about slavery and identity.

I have an interview in late August with a company the contracts substitutes for local county school districts, I applied for a part-time Youth Services Assistant position at my local library, and I found out yesterday I'm a candidate for a fellowship in the College on Innovative Learning at the University of Toledo. One concern is that the letter informing me of my candidacy addressed me as "Dr. Conway." While the title sounds great, I hope it was a simple error made by the admin. assistant typing out the letter and not the belief that I possess a degree higher than I actually have.

El Fin
I was sad to see my dad leave yesterday and head back home, but thrilled that my mom is coming to visit next Saturday. Javier's parents plan on visiting in October and his sister in the spring. We welcome all our friends and family to visit and we have a guest suite to offer (I know: you never expected to visit Bowling Green, Ohio, but now you have personal guides to introduce you to this piece of Midwest farmland).