Farewell Kentucky

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that a new job would result in a new country to live in, the opportunity to visit four different states, and the chance to meet some amazing people. Okay, well technically the job only required me to visit one state of America, but you’ve got to make hay while the sun shines, right?

The time has come and gone to do one of the things I hate doing most, saying goodbye. After five short months in America’s Bluegrass State, it was time to buy yet another suitcase and purchase additional baggage for my flight home. Yes, home! And although I was thrilled to have the chance to come back to NZ and visit family and friends, it wasn’t easy saying goodbye to Kentucky, and even harder to leave everyone I’d met there.

But I try to remember the saying, “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it’s happened”. I loved my time in the States, and I was ecstatic that I had the chance to visit Nashville, New York and California. So now that I’m safely out of America, I have a few questions and comments. (For the record, I love the country, and I appreciate culture differences – one of the reasons I love to travel. Also, some of these may only relate to Kentucky/the south). So here goes…

• I love how much support you have for sports, especially at the university/college level. I never imagined that you could get around 18,000 people to watch a university basketball team, and that it would be so hard to get tickets. Actually the fact tickets are even sold for these games amazed me.

• I was surprised at the number of times a restaurant only provided you with a fork to eat. Sometimes you even got two. Do you have something against knives? Or do you just appreciate a challenge?

• Why does the majority of your population not use their indicator (or turn signal)? Is it not part of your driving test? Do they not need to be working for your cars to be road worthy? Do you just enjoy making other people guess where you’re going or why you’re slowing down unreasonably on a main road?

• Continuing with the traffic theme, I did appreciate that your speed limits are light suggestions. Anything less than 10 mph over the speed limit seemed to be considered “too slow”.

• I also appreciated the “right-hand turn on red light” rule (or the equivalent of left-hand turn for those countries that drive on the left side of the road).

• This one is directed mainly at the south: I’ve tried both fried chicken and chicken fried chicken and in my opinion the difference is in the types of chicken used, not the way you fry it. This could be considered false advertising.

• I loved that your school buses are exactly what’s seen on TV and in movies, and more importantly the same as “The Magic School Bus”.

• I also loved that when you get a non-alcoholic drink at a restaurant (tea, soda/fizzy/soft drink) they refill it just like it’s water. Thank you for that.

• I will, however, never understand why there are no taxes added to things before you buy them (like clothes, makeup, groceries etc). Is part of the American Dream being surprised every time you go to pay for something and it’s more than you’d expect?

• Finally, and I really mean this, I wish you good luck America. For the five months I was there, there was no escaping the presidential campaigns, and I’m still waiting for Donald Trump to announce that his campaign is a joke. Anyway, that’s as political as I’m going to get.

Now that I’ve asked my questions and made my comments, there’s something else I have to say as my time in Kentucky has come to an end. My reason for being there, as you’ll know if you’ve read previous blogs, was for work. My position with that company is part of a development program, along with three other ladies. While I met many (wonderful) people through my job, I worked, lived and socialised right beside these three gals. So, to my Quality Ladies, Laynie, Alex and Marcela, you all know me well enough to know that I hate leaving the party early. However, it’s been such a privilege to work and learn alongside such strong, ambitious and talented women. We’re fortunate to be doing what we do, but girls, never forget to always take a seat at the boardroom table, and make sure it’s right in the middle!

America, thank you so much for having me. You do a lot of weird and wonderful things, like having drive-through banks, continuing to use the imperial measurement system, and recording your temperature in Fahrenheit, but you do it with confidence and I like that. I felt so welcome in the States, and I will absolutely be back again in the future.

So, as this Kentucky chapter of my life comes to a close, and I spend some time at home celebrating a couple of rather special occasions (blogs to follow), it’s time to start thinking about what could come next. As usual, I have some idea where I’ll be heading to next (beginning with Ireland), but even more typically I have no idea what this trip will bring with it. And that’s exactly how I like it.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” – Seneca

That’s all for now,

Jordyn x