1. DC is a very lost city. The amount of unchurched people up here is staggering. People walk around with no self-respect or self-awareness, and thousands upon thousands don't even care. Having grown up in the belt buckle of the Bible Belt, it's really hard to fathom how so many people could live their lives not wanting anything to do with the church and the goodness one gets from a relationship with Christ. It makes me want to live here and shine His light that much more.
2. You can seem like a true native in less than 2 days if you memorize the Metro map. Then, when tourists show up, all you have to do is point them in the right direction, and they'll not only be incredibly grateful, they'll think you've lived here forever. Bringing an iPod and calm composure adds to your case.
3. DC may be a "big city," but it's the smallest big city I've ever seen. There are so many people I have run into time and time again on the metro - some I've known from Texas, some I've met here. There's one captain that I take the shuttle with every. single. day. even though I get on at different times, and the shuttle comes every 15 minutes. It's a little insane.
4. I would hate living in DC proper with as many people as there are who come visit here. The suburbs of Virginia are definitely where I feel most comfortable.
5. Military men have a much different idea of what constitutes "business professional."
6. Work is exhausting, even if you're just sitting at a desk for 6-8 hours, looking at Excel spreadsheets, and typing in data. It makes it more exhausting if this foreign thing called the sun has no way to reach your office.
7. DC and NYC are big, bustling cities; however, DC actually sleeps - and it sleeps early! Coffee shops close no later than 8, unless it's a locally owned shop...in which case you may be lucky to see them open til 9. Bars however stay open past midnight every night...
8. It is obnoxiously expensive to live up here, compared to having lived in Texas my whole life. There is a 10% tax in DC, and plastic bags cost 5 cents extra when you shop. In VA, there's only a 4% tax, but you get taxed on groceries.
9. Traditional churches are very hard to find, at least on the Protestant side. Many of the churches I've either visited or been told to visit meet in movie theaters, school cafeterias, run-down buildings, etc. Few have hymnals, and fewer still have pastors who wear suits and ties. It's not wrong or anything, just different.
10. Certain parts of DC are okay at night; others are not. These places also happen to correspond to certain colors of lines on the Metro. Take a few hours and just transfer lines and you will see the drastic demographic change. Not sure why this phenomenon happened or when it happened; I just know I noticed it within two days of being here.
No comments:
Post a Comment