Safe arrival to the land of sweet tea and southern gentlemen...and officially a member of the Gator Nation!

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Greetings from Sunny (yet stormy) Gator Country! 😊 I've officially been away from Ohio for a week... in some respects that seems like ten minutes and others it seems more like ten years... but none-the-less, I'd say I've had success so far.

Beth and I left Columbus early on Thursday morning (my alarm went off at 5:00am) and drove to Toccoa, Georgia. The trip took 12.5 hours and was somewhat uneventful- the mountains were cake and Charlotte wasn't crowded at all. North Carolina was a stormy place to be (Beth jokes that the Tracker got two power washes that afternoon), though, which was slightly frustrating, but provided us with an excuse to take an extra break. We arrived around 7:15p and had dinner with our grandparents-- it was great to see them, and I think they were thrilled to have us!

Friday morning we were back on the road by 9:30 and spent the morning driving through rural Georgia in an attempt to avoid Atlanta. Beth was a fantastic navigator, and between her, the GPS (Lucy!), and an old school map, we had no trouble at all. We even took time to stop for some super-sweet Georgia peaches. 😊 The landscape changed almost immediately when we crossed into Florida, and it wasn't long before we reached Gainesville, excited for palm trees, sick of being in the car, and surprised by the noticeable temperature difference between Macon, GA and North-central Florida.

My boss met us at the apartment and waited long enough to make sure I was settled in- very "helpful and sweet uncle"-like! We unloaded the Tracker (which took less than 10 minutes... moving into college was never that easy!) and grabbed a bite to eat before calling it a night.

I wanted to take Beth to the beach on Saturday so that she could see some of Florida before leaving to return to Ohio, but she was kinda' tired of being in the car, and perfectly content to help me learn my way around town and make the apartment feel more comfortable-- that's exactly what we did. We searched out Target and the grocery store (Publix-- which might be my favorite grocery chain ever. I wonder if they ship...), finished unpacking/organizing, then set out to explore campus. We visited Lake Alice, which is about a block away from the apartment, and is home to small alligators (3-5'; they're moved to a local wildlife preserve when they get too big) and other wildlife; we both enjoyed the chance to see them up close (though not too close) and take some pictures. We also found a fantastic southern BBQ place for dinner (one of Beth's requests while she was here-- for the sweet tea!).

Sunday morning we met my boss for some more exploring. He took us to the wildlife preserve that housed "the big gators" (including Lake Alice graduates. haha.), which was really cool because it's not a zoo... rather, we were able to visit them in their natural habitat. Again, there's some risk that we'd actually encounter one, but Floridians respect the gators and, as a result, don't seem to have any issues. Beth and I grabbed lunch afterwards, then I dropped her off at the Gainesville airport... it really is too bad that she couldn't just stay...

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Now, a bit about the new job. 😊

I'm working in the Career Resource Center with 22 full-time staff members, so it's a pretty big office. Everyone is super-friendly, and I was greeted with several "Yay! We're excited to meet you"-type greetings, which was so encouraging. Training has been much more laid back than I'm used to (my last three jobs have all been very "baptism by fire") and I feel like I've learned so much already. Since it's only been a few days and I'm still learning about the personnel dynamic in the office and my specific responsibilities, I thought I'd share a little about the student population at UF-- for a state school, it's much different than what I though it would be like...

1. population of 50,000 (35,000 undergrad/15,000 grads)
2. for undergrads, 90% of the population is in-state (Florida law); out-of-state students must be exceptional to be admitted
3. extremely diverse population... I'm looking forward to learning more about the racial diversity on campus, because it stretches way beyond the obviously-large Hispanic population. and apparently we tie one other university (I forget which one) for the largest Jewish student population in the country (about 8,500)
4. last year's freshman class had an average weighted GPA of 4.1
5. the Chronicle of Higher Ed recently quoted that 95% of incoming UF students qualify for lottery-based scholarships that cover 75% of tuition, which isn't very high to begin with-- so most attend at very little cost (Fain, 2009).
6. about 1/3 of incoming freshmen begin as pre-med majors. architecture, engineering and business are also hot-button programs
7. incoming students enter UF with a fierce loyalty to the institution (that goes beyond football, believe it or not). the University works very hard to graduate their students in four years (to open up more spaces, instead of keeping them for 5-7 yrs.), and my boss shared that many students would prefer to complete a program at UF that they aren't completely excited about than transfer for the sake of their preferred major-- they really want that UF degree!

(I'm attaching a link to the Chronicle article for my HIED peers, if you're interested (about FL schools and budget cuts). I give everyone else permission to skip it. 😊 http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i38/38a00101.htm)

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The next few days should be great. Tomorrow is the annual summer staff retreat at Wauberg Lake, so I'm hoping for the opportunity to get to know everyone a bit better (with the eventual goal of changing "you should go here for a bite to eat..." to "so when are we going to go here for a bite to eat?").

I've also decided that I'm going to use each Saturday that I don't have visitors for a day trip... this weekend will probably be Cedar Key, on the Gulf Coast. I've been told that Florida in the summer will perpetually have a 40% chance of rain, so I should just do what I have planned and assume the weather will be fine. Dad suggested Cedar Key, both for the beach, and the cute atmosphere, so I and my sunhat will be on our way and hope for a great day.

Thanks so much to everyone who's been in touch since I left... I've struggled some with homesickness and dealing with WAY more free time than I'm used to, but it's always great to hear from someone at home on a daily basis. Please keep the calls/mail/email/texts/fb posts coming and I'll update sometime next week!

Love and miss...

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Comments

[Kayla!]

Miss you, Constance!
Yay for you blogging! However, I have a question regarding one of your first sentences...it says your alarm WENT OFF at 5 a.m. But it doesn't include details about how many times you snoozed before you actually got up! :) Miss you lady!

[Brenda]

So it sounds like your first week in the sunny south has been a success. We have been praying for you. (and will continue to do so intil your feet come back to Grafton!) Hope you really enjoy your Sat adventures and that your tan is starting to become a reality! It has been cold here, so not much of a tan for me yet! Love you...Mom Gerber

[Carrie]

OK, I know I've told you a lot of things over the past year. BUT, if you ever take a single piece of advice I give you, let it be this: BUY PUBLIX BRAND ICE CREAM!!! It is sooooo good! Also, check to see if there is a Kilwin's near you. It's not quite as good as Handel's, (and a little more expensive) but still very yummy! Take it from a girl who knows her Florida ice cream : )

[Selby]

How about them Gators!
The blog is great; even though I spoke with you this week it is wonderful to read about it, too. I trust you had a great day at Cedar Key and we look forward to hearing about more adventures. Publix is a terrific market . By the way, Beth just got in; Taffy's had a bath and she, Beth not Taffy, says "hey". Talk with you soon. Selby a.k.a. Dad

[Kira]

I heart you, Connie!
I love you, Connie! Thanks for keeping us updated!

[Jesse]

"40% chance of rain"
fyi the whole "40% chance of rain" thing means if/when it rains, you will experience a torrential downpour coming out of nowhere which will make the worst storm you experienced in Ohio seem like a sorry excuse of a drizzle. 15-30minutes later you will wonder if it even rained. Oh, and Florida Frost icecream trucks are outstanding as well! Especially their fruity soft serve.

[Mom]

I finally had time to catch up on e-mails. This was definately the highlight of all of them. :) I tripled the font size and printed a copy for Grandma to read since I learned this morning that she thought you were doing housekeeping???

[Debbie]

Still mssing your face :0)
Hope you had a good week and that you'll have an even better weekend! Keep the tan going so you can come home looking like a beach bunny! Love, Debbie