Although it is still very hard to believe, I have been living in Los Angeles for two, count ‘em, two weeks now. It’s quite — well, extremely — different than Mississippi, but words can’t tell you how much I love this place and how grateful I am to be here.

I am thrilled that most of the rumors I heard about L.A. as a child are virtually untrue: the traffic isn’t THAT bad (Atlanta is much, much worse), the people aren’t THAT superficial (Hollywood, Beverly Hills excluded), and I never really even notice the smog (Inland Empire excluded). But here are seven observations I have made about L.A. that I have found most interesting:

1. People here cannot drive in the rain. That’s the one rumor that is 1,509,409,090% true. No wonder a simple shower becomes a live breaking news event.

2. The homeless are very aggressive. In Downtown Memphis, you will at most be asked for a dollar. Today in L.A., someone asked me for a hot meal at the post office. I wonder where at the post office do they sell plate lunches?

3. People really do walk! Think twice before you try to turn right on red — you’ll be surprised by the amount of people using crosswalks. I don’t even think we have crosswalks in Mississippi.

4. The weather is weird — one day I drove less than 10 miles to Santa Monica. When I left for SaMo, it was hot. When I arrived in SaMo, it was freezing cold. How did that happen?

5. People here love being to themselves. I went to a sit-down restaurant one day, and 90% of the people there were eating alone. Now that’s something I’ve NEVER seen before.

6. Who cares what you think? People here do whatever they want to when it comes to personal style, etc. You gotta love that kind of attitude, which doesn’t exist in the South.

7. Diversity! From the landscapes, to the people — I have never been to a city that offers so much variety.

Dear Los Angeles, you are amazing. That is all.