You're not from around here, are you?

To date, nearly every interview I've conducted has taken the same detour in a different direction. Whether it's the way I talk, or a follow-up question after a truly Texan answer, I almost always get a curious look followed by, "You're not from around here, are you?"

No, actually, I'm not. How did you guess?

Was it because I didn't know which Texas football teams were rivals, or that I didn't know I could get sunburned at 10:30 in the morning? Perhaps it's because I still carry an Amarillo city map in my car and refer to it almost weekly?

Don't get me wrong - Amarillo is growing on me. In fact, I can name a handful of things right now that I really love (such as the lack of humidity, the beautiful sunsets and the fact that, geographically, this city is pretty easy to navigate). But I'm a southern girl, born on the Georgia coast, raised all over the southeast, and a recent transplant from east Tennessee. Summers were suffocatingly humid and barbeque only came as a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw. Neighbors stayed divided by their fanatical allegiances to Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama football and I could get to Washington DC, Disney World or an Atlantic coast beach house in a brisk eight-hour drive.

I keep thinking about what someone told me in an interview last week. He said, "If you buy a pair of boots and stick around long enough to wear them out, you'll never leave Texas."

In the six months I've lived here, I've come to appreciate the slower-paced lifestyle, the fierce dedication to all-things Texan, and the passion folks have to support local business. Writing for the magazine has been the catalyst for me to embrace this city, and with each issue, I've come closer to calling Amarillo home.

This weekend I'm playing tour guide to my first friend who's visiting from back east. We're going to see "Texas" in the Canyon (which is a first for me - special thanks to Alvin for giving us the tickets!), and then we'll catch the fireworks show Saturday night at John Stiff park. Perhaps, after showing another east coaster the ropes around this windy town, I can send her back home without desperately wishing I could join her. After all, I have brisket to taste and boots to buy.

--Jennie