Who are you anyway?

The hardest thing about moving to a new country - especially for a girl, is finding all those places and people that we have spent years sourcing, like a good hairdresser, a doctor, a beauty therapist, or even a cosmetic surgeon - especially here in the US, because I've seen some shocking examples of  Botox and filler overdose.  In fact, while my husband and I were in Maui for our honeymoon we decided to adjourn to the Four Seasons for lunch after a wind blew up on the beach and took with it the umbrella we had just paid $20 for about 10 minutes prior to the weather changing, and there, sitting at the next table was a man and woman who obviously got the "two face lifts for one" deal.  It was very scary and in my opinion, they were totally ripped off and besides that, I am of the firm belief, that men should NEVER have a face lift. It's up there with men dying their hair.

And of course, there are other things that one has to learn over time when relocating.  Earlier this week, I was sitting in bed with my cup of tea and browsing the Internet, when a warning came up from "Qwest".  The message went something like this:  "There's a virus coming from your computer, so we have limited your access to the Internet.  Call this number for further questions."  We are in an apartment building with 72 units and the building has wireless Internet and my husband had the same message on his computer.  So, I called the number recommended by Qwest and they asked me for my account number.  "We don't have an account with you" I replied.   And who are you anyway?  What is Qwest and why am I receiving messages from you?"  And all the while, my husband is waving madly from the next room.  "What's he trying to say?"  Oh!!!!  Qwest just happens to be the largest phone company in the USA!  And for those of you worried about the virus, it was coming from someone else's computer in the building - not mine. So rest easy!

And I've noticed a very strange phenomenon here.  But I want to know - is it only in Utah or more particularly to Salt Lake City that everyone talks in North, South, East or West, or is it an American thing? 

Salt Lake City is set on a grid, which may be fine if you were born here and know which way is North, South, East or West, but for a visitor, it is quite daunting.  If you ask someone in Brisbane where they live, and they say: "Wellington Street, Coorparoo, - just off Old Cleveland Road", you generally know that the person lives in Coorparoo and roughly where Wellington Street is.  But here, if you ask someone where they live, they say: "6165 South 1300 East and their apartment is on the west side of 1300 East" or something like that.  When people ask me where our new house is, I say:  "as you are heading to Park City, take the Jeremy Ranch exit and then turn right and it's just off Jones Road. But my husband says: "head east, take the Jeremy Ranch exit, go south and then head east and we are on the south side of I80 but north-west of downtown Park City".

All I can say is thank God for my GPS!