just a small town girl

Well my first week here in Norman Wells is coming to an end and let me tell you it definitely hasn't been lacking in humor. First off 'wing night'... best night ever. It's in this bar they call "big" bar because it's bigger than the only other bar, which I guess they call "small" bar... geniuses. Let's skip right past the fact that the bar floor is carpeted with non other than leopard print carpeting and the walls are lined with taxidermy to the part where the waitress is a petite women with the worst case of googlie eye I've ever seen, you literally cannot tell who this poor women is looking at, so there I am, terrified of offending her, ordering my wings and then cowering in the corner confessing that I am glad I didn't where any leopard print that day. Something I've noticed since I've gotten here is how butch the women here are. I've lately learned to be proud of my height and decent muscle sizes and then I arrived here and am always watching my back as these women could take me out with one swing. I must remember to youtube self defense classes online. I spent three days working for the mayor in which I learned three important facts about him. First, he adopted his students baby and so he's now raising an 8 year old native girl with his partner. He teaches, does community service, marries people, is a coroner and sits on every board or mayor thing ever. Thirdly, he has perfected the art of knowing everything that is happening in town and everything about all the residents and slowly he's teaching me his ways. People here are either extremely kind and wonderful or they are completely off their rockers wacky. The snow is starting to melt, finally, and it's actually not that cold. Ben and I went for a bike ride to the dump (the main attraction of Norman Wells, yes, this is no joke) and we've been on a lot of walks through town (these take about 10 minutes). We also went to the museum, think less like the ROM more like your grandparents attic, but still somewhat interesting. I still find I speak a thousand times faster than everyone and I'm constantly biting my tongue to shut up but I'm hoping that will happen in time. I must share this, as I nearly peed myself when this occurred. A man came into the store today, he looked to be about 18 or so and of first nations decent, he wanted to buy his mother a mothers day present and so I offered him my two cents about candles and soaps and after about half an hour of browsing he came to the cash with the largest figurine of Christ's Last Supper I have ever seen, it was roughly the size of a very fat 3 year old. This is what he chose for his mother, and I pictured the look on my mother's face if I had chosen such a gift and couldn't help but contain my smile as the man paid $200 for Christ and his Disciples. These are the things one thinks about while living in solitude in Norman Wells. Hopefully this weekend will be as wild as the Royal Wedding only a little less Elton John and a little more Atanarjuat the fast runner. In case you were worried, I'm still alive.