The One Where it All Begins

For those of you who don't know, I am living in Columbus, Ohio with my aunt and uncle until April. I've been here for 3 weeks now and I love almost everything about it!

Likes:

• My Internship. I am working for 15 weeks at a place called the NRN (neuro recovery network), a part of the OSU medical center. We work with patients with Spinal Cord Injuries on recovering muscle strength and walking ability. We put everyone up on a treadmill in a harness that supports some of their body weight and work really hard to make their walking look as normal as possible. To do that, we use 4 people, 1 to work the treadmill, 1 to control the hips, and 1 on each leg using a hand on the knee and a hand on the ankle to move the leg through normally. So we work really hard when there's a patient who can't really move their legs at all. For more info on what we do, check out NRN Info. It's the Sheperd Center website, but it explains everything really well.
• The People.  The people I work with are all pretty young (21-35) and like to hang out and go out, so I've been able to have a social likfe while I'm here. I've been able to hang out with my cousins some and meet some new people through them. Everyone that I've met has been really great!
• Zumba.  I know that you can do this anywhere, but I didn't start going till I was here...and now I love it! I go once a week, because that's all I can afford, but I would go more if I could!
• Swing Dance.  I went to a swing dance mixer last Tuesday and learned a few simple moves then got to try them out. It was so fun! I am really terrible compared to the people who have been danceing for years, but I am a quick learner and could keep up, for the most part. My cousin and her husband help teach a more advanced class on Thursdays that I think I'm going to start attending.
• Vegetarian Food. My aunt loves to cook and she's a vegetarian, so I decided to give her cooking a shot. I love almost everything she cooks! So I am now a vegetarian about 75% of the time. I don't think I will fully make the switch, but I am much more concious of what I am eating.

Dislikes:

• Weather.  It snowed 6 inches right before rush hour traffic the other day...my usually 10 minute commute took 30-40 mins. The next day the temperature dropped to 8 degrees and the sludge on the roads turned to ice and sludge, lovely. On the bright side, I'm getting better at driving on this stuff.
• School.  I have to study for the boards on top of my 40+ hour workweek.
• No Free Anything. At my other internships, they give me parking passes for free and discounts on food. Here, I have to pay $100 to park and zero discounts on anything. I have to pay major money to use any gyms on campus, too. makes me miss the ARK and working out with Rikki.
• No Kitty. Tucker couldn't come with me :( I miss him so much and I'm worried that he'll get so used to living with my parents that he won't want to come with me wherever I decide to move. He also gets fatter when my mom is in charge of him. 
• It's not Chattanooga or Nashville. 

I have a lot more to say about my experiences over the last 3 weeks, but I'll save something for later.