1. Traffic
It's everywhere. It's constant. It takes at least 20 minutes to get anywhere before 9:00 PM.
People like to stop. Just stop. There's more risk of rear-ending other drivers here than on Amish country roads with horse-drawn buggies beyond every curve.
Drivers don't use turn signals here. Ever.
2. Food
It took some time to get used to the grocery scene here. Fortunately, we have both Aldi AND Trader Joe's within driving distance! I can find most basic items (beans, dairy, great produce) between those two stores. However, I have to go to a more "mainstream" grocer (Bi-Lo) to get basic baking items like flour and yeast.
Harris Teeter is akin to Weis, in that it's a local, family-owned chain whose selection is okay and whose prices are unnecessarily expensive.
I really miss the Mennonite health food stores and farm stands of Berks County.
3. Church
We've visited a few PCA churches (where fellow seminarians are involved), and have figured out that we're truly more in the reformed baptist tribe. We have been attending a small, young, diverse church that we LOVE (truly a pillar of God's truth in the community, serving in many ways), but we may yet visit a few more. One congregation that Greg wants to visit is offering a *paid* (!!!!) internship to a seminarian, which is really enticing for us. I looked at their website, and photos of the staff, choir, and preschool make it appear to be an all-white church. :/. How does that happen in a large, diverse city?
4. Climate
Spring is beautiful, but pollen is pervasive. I simultaneously want to play outside and hide under a blanket all day. *sniff*
