I've been here for about 2 1/2 months now, and I've made a few observations in that time period. Here are a few of them:
The Views
Umm, wow. There's really nothing like watching the sunset over the Pacific ocean here. It's spectacularly beautiful. But, unless you drive out to the beach, this is more like what you see...
You usually can't see very far at all, whereas, in New Mexico...
Miles and miles and miles of open space! And I do find myself missing that. Plus...
You can't see stars out at night in the city in California :c
They Don't Drought Like We Drought.
New Mexico knows it's a desert. We're nearly always in a drought. When you go hiking, the fire danger is usually "extreme," or, if there's snow on the ground or something, it goes down to "very high." Therefore, a typical New Mexican front yard will consist of tons of crushed rock and a few cacti, maybe a tree. Backyards are usually dirt and weeds, or bermuda grass which is ridiculously hardy.
Californians, on the other hand, love their tropical plants. There is really only one species of palm tree native to California, but all kinds of them are everywhere. That, along with all kinds of tropical flowering plants, plants with huge leaves, and succulents adorn most California yards. They also mostly have lawns, and you hardly ever see yards made up of crushed rock. California knows it's in a drought and gives PSAs over the radio telling people to get rid of their water-sucking plants, but nobody really seems to take it to heart, and California likes to keep pretending that it's actually a tropical paradise rather than a desert, which is a little bit distressing :/
Their Autumn is not Our Autumn.
It's November, and it just barely got down to 65 degrees, and is supposed to go back up to the 80s later this week, and everything is still very very green here. I believe that in California, the only way anyone can know it's supposed to be Autumn is by putting Pumpkin Spice on everything. Seriously, it's kinda creepy. I've seen Pumpkin Spice on the weirdest things here, from potato chips, to pasta sauce, to salsa. Now, I'm a fan of pumpkin and everything, and I never thought I'd say this, but that is just taking things way too far. Calm down, people.
And, while we're on the subject of Autumn...
Californians Have No Concept of Balloon Fiesta.
In October, I had trouble explaining to my co-workers why I was in such a bummed out mood because I was missing one of the best things that ever happens in New Mexico.
"Yeah! It's great! You get up crazy stupid early, way before the sun is out, then go work really hard and frantically drag out all the very heavy parts of the hot air balloon until it is inflated alongside hundreds of other hot air balloons, then you watch them all float up into the sky, then go chase it in a truck, then even more frantically deflate it and put it away into the trailer and come back to the field and chill with the other pilots - it's great! Really! You also get burritos!"
And, speaking of Balloon Fiesta...
Traffic.
They weren't kidding when they said L.A. traffic is awful. It's like Balloon Fiesta traffic, but all the time. And drivers are psycho, but at least they're self-aware of their psychotic driving tendencies, as opposed to Santa Fe drivers who just create their own free-spirited traffic rules in their hippie minds and give you a friendly wave as they cut across 3 lanes right in front of you because they suddenly felt like turning right instead of left because the flow of the universe told them to.
Albuquerque is Tiny.
Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico. We like to think of ourselves as a burgeoning metropolis. Now, look at the freeways. We have two in Albuquerque. Two. And we call the intersection of these two main freeways of the entire state of New Mexico "The Big I." We don't even have carpool lanes in New Mexico because we don't have enough people living in New Mexico to need them.
Living here and trying to navigate the millions of freeways and suburbs the size of Albuquerque or larger has been making me realize just how tiny Albuquerque actually is.
Also, side note, it feels strange referring to freeways as "the 5" or "the 57," because everyone in New Mexico says "I-25" and "I-40." Which is also the one thing that really bothers me about Breaking Bad, because they say "the 40." Which also brings me to my next point...
Differing Vernacular.
New Mexicans have a habit of using the word "all" as an intensifier, i.e. "Dude! That was all sick!" In California, I have never once heard "all" used that way, and it is replaced by the term, "hella."
They also frequently refer to each other as "brah."
Also, nobody knows what the beans you mean when you say "arroyo" or "acequia." Apparently they just call them "ditches" or "washes."
An arroyo.
Acequia = mini arroyo = irrigation ditch
And, my final and quintessentially New Mexican point:
Green Chile: They know what it is, but they don't know.
Surprisingly enough, a lot of people here have at least heard of green chile, and know that it's not the same thing as jalapenos. You can even find canned Hatch green chile in some supermarkets, although most of it is either mild or medium, which, as any true New Mexican knows is entirely pointless and may as well be wet lettuce. But, I have found one store that sells HOT Sadie's, so I have been sustaining myself on that.
Californians do not understand the wonders that green chile has to offer. They've maybe tried it in salsa, or in enchiladas or something, but they have no idea that they've only barely scratched the surface. You can't order green chile on burgers or pizza here, and when you suggest the notion, people look at you like you're crazy. They praise In-n-Out burger, which, admittedly is not half bad, but though they deliciously grill their onions, they are sadly behind Blake's Lottaburger and their grilled green chile burgers.
To a New Mexican, green chile is not merely a condiment, it is a way of life, and Californians will never quite be able to understand.
Okay, I lied, that's not quite my final point...
Both Places Have Their Charm.
Though I do find myself missing New Mexico and all its wonderful idiosyncrasies, I'm really happy to be here. I have countless beautiful and fantastic memories in New Mexico, and so many dear friends and people who have impacted my life, without whom I would not be the person I am today. But, being here in this new, strange, huge place, I feel like I'm where I need to be at this point in my life. I have no idea how long I'll stay here or if I'll eventually come back to New Mexico. But, as a recent graduate from UNM in creative writing, there are so many more opportunities for me to grow and explore and expand my horizons out here, particularly if I choose to stay with Disney. It's definitely been scary and challenging starting this entirely new journey and phase of my life, but I feel like it was time for this. Time for me to break out of my comfort zone, literally and figuratively, and truly discover what I can do. Though I still don't know exactly where all this will lead, I'm so glad to finally be out on my adventure in the great wide somewhere.
