ooooooommmmmmmmmmygod

Hippies. They're everywhere. This town is entirely populated by white dudes in dashikis, white girls with dreds, tourists in baseball caps, and locals in cowboy hats. I've totally entered the Twilight Zone. We are not in Kansas any more.

My bathroom has a naked lady painted on the door. There are Buddhist prayer flags all over the house. I have to keep the bathroom drains shut when not in use, to keep the positive energy from being sucked out. Or something like that.

I seriously feel--dare I say it--almost normal in this place. Mainstream, even. I'm actually going through culture shock. A-fucking-gain!

The land is gorgeous, which, combined with the fact that I'm 1000 miles from my family, will make up for just about anything. I like it here. I think. I'm not sure. I'm more midwestern that I thought (she said with chagrin). One minute I'm thrilled to be surrounded by crunchy types that will wierd out my parents, the other I'm thinking, "Oh god. What have I got myself into." But I'm still excited about class, so that's a good sign.

It's a tourist town, and I think that's what grates on me. I've never lived in a tourist area before, it's a bit galling to a staunch anti-capitalist like me. And, oh irony, it's all Buddhism and woozy New Age here. Barely any Wicca or paganism at all, so I'm still the odd girl out. New Age annoys me to no end. But, I'd much rather be surrounded by crystal-wearing aura photographers than Bible-thumpers any day. I think I've spent so much of my life surrounded by evangelizing Christians with bullhorns (that's not hyperbole) that I'm unsure what to do, now that there's nothing to push against. Here I could say, "Yeah, I'm into Wicca," and the response will probably be, "Cool. So do you like the Thoth tarot, or Rider-Waite?"

Still, I think I'll stick with my androgynous, James Dean inspired look, jeans and Docs and white t-shirts, just to balance out the hemp skirts and vegan sandals.