- NWA stands for Northwest Arkansas, and everyone refers to being from NWA rather than the exact city you live in.
- Everyone calls you ma'am, regardless of their age or yours.
- Most women either dress very classy, or they dress like they just came from the gym...there's not much in between.
- Some people here call coffee shops "labs" i.e. the Onyx Coffee Lab
- Arkansas drivers are very, very cautious drivers (at least compared to Californians). When the speed limit is posted at 70 mph, they drive 65. And many tend to stop a full cars length behind the (*imaginary*) line at the stoplight. And yes, they are "imaginary" lines....most stoplights don't even have lines to stop behind.
- Every place I've been in has road construction...and only about 50% of the time are people actually there working on the road. The other 50% of the time you just have to drive between the cones and over the major potholes they're working on fixing.
- I knew that Tyson had to kill a lot of chickens to feed Americans so many different varieties of chicken - chicken nuggets, chicken breast, chicken legs, chicken strips, chicken tenders, chicken wings, and the list goes on. I just didn't think I realized just how many chickens they actually kill. I seriously see a dozen or more of these trucks filled with chickens drive by the store every day!
- Since the Walmart headquarters are here, Walmart is actually a nice place to shop - and that's where I do most of my grocery shopping. The shopping carts are all nice without wobbly wheels, the store is clean, and the people are super friendly! It's actually a store I want to go to!
- Again, since the Walmart headquarters are here, they are trying new things out in our area, like Walmart gas stations, with the cheapest gas I've found yet! They're also trying the Walmart Neighborhood Market - which I personally think is the best creation ever! It is a miniature Walmart that just has groceries and a small selection of cosmetics, paper goods, medicines, and beauty/hygiene products. AND even better than that, they have giant cups for just 88 cents and you can get Icees, sodas and sweet tea!
- Oh yeah, and they have sweet tea everywhere! SERIOUSLY!
- Lightning storms are really a thing - and they happen all summer long. So is humidity...85 degrees has never felt so warm to me!
- Just because the Duggars live in the same city as me does not mean I run into them everywhere I go....I have been here for 8 weeks and have yet to see any one of them.
- Lightning bugs and June bugs are a real thing! Refer to the pictures below! (no, I did not catch that lightning bug, but I will catch one sometime!)
- Everyone is super friendly and hospitable.
- NWA has a TON of churches!
- In California I was called a Californian, so I assumed people here were called Arkansonians....um, wrong. They're called Arkansans.
- When people said to me "You're moving to Arkansas? You're going to have culture shock!" they didn't know that in NWA, I wouldn't really have culture shock. I'm told, however, that I would probably have culture shock if I went to the southern part of the state. I have yet to experience that.
- You must be a Razorback fan. If you don't know what the Razorback is, refer to the picture below.
I'm sure the list of things can go on and on, but those are just a few of the things I've learned since being here! I'll be sure to share some more when I learn a whole lot more!
Lauren
