Alive and Well in Columbus

Taking a cue from Tamber, I decided I would set up a blog so that everyone back home and everywhere else can keep up with what we're up to out here. I'll try and update this blog every week, and once I dig out my camera I'll post some pictures.



Our trek out here was a long one. We got a late start on Monday, but managed to make it to Kearney NE at about 2 am (which was nice because Wyoming is much easier to handle when you don't have to look at it). We left around noon on Tuesday and made it to Champaign IL, then went the rest of the way on Wednesday and pulled into Columbus around 3:30 pm. We already havea few connections out here, so later that night, the Elders Quorum President from our ward, one of my old mission buddies who is in the orthodontic program, and the Dean of the Business School here at Ohio State came over to help us unpack. Unloading our trailer would have been better if it weren't for the humidity. And this being my first major move in my life, I'm realizing quickly that unpacking is 100x worse than unloading. If we're all settled and unpacked by next week, I'll be shocked.



Our place is really nice. It's smaller than our place in Orem, but it's much nicer. You can see OSU campus and some of downtown Columbus from our bedroom window. If it weren't for a few trees, The Horseshoe would also be visible (for those of you who don't know, The Horseshoe is where OSU plays football). Our apartment is less than a mile away from The Horseshoe, the Schottenstein Center (basketball arena), and the business building. So most of everything that we will need or want is under our fingertips here.



The campus at OSU is gigantic. With all the undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs here, total student enrollment is 55,000+. All of the buildings are made out of red brick, and the campus feels like a small city. It's a very cool place, and we haven't even seen all of it yet. The people here are really nice and friendly.

I was able to scalp a few tickets to the Akron vs OSU game, and that was amazing. It was awkward sitting in a stadium wearing red for a change. The Horseshoe is unreal. I was looking around trying to figure out a comparison with the Horseshoe and the Ed (LaVell Edwards Stadium), and the best way I can explain it is to imagine if they were to put another layer of seating from the Ed on top of the exisiting seats. Buckeye fans are insane too. Football is all anyone cares about here. I asked a student sitting next to me about basketball season, and he said basketball is gaining popularity. Gaining popularity? They were the top seed in the Big Dance last spring, and they have a brand new building. He said that no more than 100 students show up to the games. Needless to say, Amy and I will be there most games we can get to.

This post is pretty disjointed, but I wanted to update everyone on how we're doing. We miss everyone back home, but we love it here so far, and anticipate it being a great place to live for a while. Orientation starts Monday September 10, and school starts on the 19th. Come back for more updates and pictures.