Wednesday, March 15, 2017

My "Home"

As a military spouse we get the unique privilege of seeing and living in different places that we may not have ever expected to. In the almost 9 years that Kyle and I have been married we have lived in North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and soon to be Kansas. What an amazing journey and adventure it has been. 

A few days ago I read a post by the awesome and fellow military spouse Carolann at Finding Ithaka and I thought it would be fun to play along and answer the questions that she shared.

1. Where were you born, where did you grow up, and where do you currently live? 

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yes, you read that right, I was born and raised in Sin City haha. As of right now I call Louisiana home but will be leaving Cajun Country in June. 


Fun Fact: My SIL's Grandma designed the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.

2. What made you leave your home state?

I got married. I honestly had no desire to leave Vegas. My whole family was there (my family has relocated to Florida within the last few years) I had a great job, a house, and I was comfortable. However, Kyle changed all that. We got married on a hot June day and loaded up what I could fit in my car and headed out for NC the next day.


3. What type of reactions do you get when you meet new people and tell them where you are from?

Oh gosh, don't even get me started haha! I have been asked what casino I lived in, did I gamble when I was little, did my parents have normal jobs, and did I go to school. Of course, I also get the standard "oh my gosh, that is so cool!!!". 

4. What was the easiest/hardest part in adjusting to your new state?

I really did not have a hard time adjusting to Louisiana. I embraced the small town life because we had just come from a bigger city (El Paso) and I think we were both looking forward to a more simplistic life. If you know anything about Fort Polk or the surrounding areas you know that it is very small. For any bigger restaurants and shopping we have to drive at least an hour to get to it. We have a Walmart and that's about it, that was a small adjustment but it wasn't hard.

5. Images, words or sounds that sum up the experience you’ve had so far.

Life Changing: We had our daughter here and it will always have a special place in our hearts.


Family: We have been able to have so much time with my family. Not many military families are lucky enough to live close to family. We have had the last few years of being close to them and I am so thankful.


Charming: It may be a small area but it has so much charm and so much to offer. It is stunningly beautiful with all of the greenery it has to offer.


6. Your favorite food or drink item in your new state?

Crawfish and Beignets!!! Yes please!! You can't come to Louisiana and not partake in these delicious items. 


7. What’s the one thing you said “yes” to in your new city that you wouldn’t say “yes” to, back home?

Trying new foods! I was never an adventurous eater living in Vegas, I stuck to what I was comfortable with and never expanded my horizons. Living in Louisiana you are almost forced to try new things because the variety of food is huge. Believe me I would have never thought of eating etouffee, alligator, or boudin but now I love those foods!

8. Are there any cultural norms/phrases in your new state which you cannot stand?

To be honest no. I have not come across anything that has bothered me enough to really take note.

9. What are the cultural norms/phrases in your new state which you enjoy?

Kindness. I have to say that everyone I have encountered has been incredibly friendly! I have been in situations where I needed a little help and have always had people jump to help. People here really treat everyone likely family and I love that.

10. What do you enjoy most doing in your new state?

      To be honest, everything. The food, the culture, the scenery, the activities, and the people. We have loved living here the last 2 1/2 years and we will be sad to say goodbye when the time comes in a few months.

 Feel free to grab the questions and play along!

20 comments:

  1. When I get my a$$ together, I will play along... How cool is it that your SIL grandma designed the Vegas sign! I find that the older I get, I'm definitely more open to trying new things. I would love to eat all that delights of LA!

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  2. Yay for Vegas natives!! Even though I haven't lived in Vegas in 12 years. I don't know if I would even call it "home" anymore since I haven't been back in seven years, but I do always say that is where I grew up. Only my mom and youngest siblings still live there. I get all the home feels when I think about Alaska, maybe because that is the longest we have been at one duty station so far. But I do enjoy moving around, basically for all the food opportunities. ;)

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  3. Makes you wonder what Kansas will be like? I imagine it to have the same small town feel you have now but I'm excited to find out with you!

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    1. I am so so excited to find out and I can't wait to share it!

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  4. FOR REAL?!?!! People actually ask you what hotel you grew up in!? Thats nuts!

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  5. Ooooh I'm drooling over those beignets! And I've always wanted to go to Vegas! My brother plays in the World Series of Poker each year, so I'm hoping to join him in the near future!

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  6. You have such a great attitude about the adventures that await you at each duty station! So refreshing! I hope y'all enjoy Kansas as much (or more!) as you have Polk! :)

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  7. Ohh this is fun - I may have to play along too! People usually look at us like we're crazy when we say that we like Fort Riley. My feeling is, "cool, good thing you don't have to live there (yet!!)." We're happy and that's all that matters!! So happy you guys have enjoyed your time there.

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  8. This is so fun! I might do this one.
    Gah I miss crawfish. I don't know what this crap is up here they call crawfish (I think it came from a frozen bag or something) but NOOOOOO. NOOOOO. And NOOOOO. Seriously, it has NO flavor to it and where the heck is the corn and potatoes?? Lol.

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    1. I am going to miss crawfish soooo much!!! I know it won't be the same anywhere else. :(

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  9. This post is so fun. The typical question/comment for my home state...is that where potatoes come from? or I've never been there. No one ever goes to Iowa on purpose :) NC phrases always make me shake my head. I feel like they just make up their own grammar and pronunciation rules. "What can I do you for?" That one always takes me a little time to rearrange the words and respond :)

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    1. Haha I remember that phrase in NC! It always cracked me up!

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  10. This is awesome! I can't wait until my husband and I PCS to live in a new place and experience new things! CO is our first duty station, so many more to come! And those beignets look AMAZING!

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  11. I love Cajun food! It is one of my favorites. I keep telling my husband if we ever get Polk it wouldn't be too bad bc you guys really seem to embrace it.

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  12. I miss it!! Craig and I were just talking about how nice that post was too! Yes, so small surrounding the area! Lol most people don't realize when you say you have a Walmart and that's it, you actually mean that it is it!

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  13. I am so glad you answered these questions! I loved reading your answers and I love that you have been able to enjoy Louisiana, it looks like such a fun place to live for a while. I think it's so cool that you and Kyle have been able to live so many different places. Nick and I have been married about 3.5 years and we have only lived in two places, mainly because we came back to Hawaii for a second tour. So many people here fall in love with Hawaii and try to stay again and again and again, but part of what I love about the military life is being able to move around. Before Nick and I got married he lived in Washington (near Seattle), Charleston, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. I'm excited to see where we end up next.

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  14. This was such a fun post, and I love all of the responses that you get when people find out that you grew up in Las Vegas! I was there this past weekend, and we stopped by the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. That's so cool that you're SIL grandmother designed the sign!

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  15. Love this! Life changing for sure! She is adorable btw! We miss the food most of all from there. It was all so delicious. Best phrase I heard while there "that dog don't hunt."

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  16. We just moved to Fort Polk, and I've been meaning to comment for a while now and thank you for being a source of information that didn't paint this area/post as awful. It was beyond helpful and reassuring as we made our move from a large city to find someone that described the experience with positivity. We are both enjoying the quiet and being able to run outside with all the trails available, and are glad we made the decision to live on post. So, hoping this doesn't sound too odd coming from an internet stranger, but thank you for writing the blog posts that helped me start feeling better about this move!

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  17. Louisiana is pretty high up on my list of places I'd like to visit! It looks like such a great time, and the food looks amazing!

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Love hearing from you!! :)