Kirsty Goes West*

Welcome to my blog. I hope it will serve as a way of keeping you all up-to-date with what I’m up to and, from time to time, I hope to write posts on particular things that interest me about living in the West or the US in general.

I’m in Laramie, Wyoming for two years to do an MA in American Studies, thanks to an award through the British Association for American Studies. I’m going from East Anglia to the Mountain West, the ‘Fine City’ to the ‘Gem City’. Laramie has had an interesting history. It is a town that was established along the transcontinental railroad, which for a time was a place of gambling, prostitution (you can take a tour of where the various brothels used to be) and general lawlessness. It is a much more respectable place now of course, but I kind of like that I live in a town that was very much part of the mythic West.

When I told people back home that I’d be coming here, I was met with a range of responses, from the “Really…? Wyoming?” to questions about cowboys, Matthew Shepard and Dick Cheney. It is the tenth largest state, but has the smallest population, has mountains, desert, high altitude and has not elected a Democrat to Congress for more than thirty years. It’s certainly one of the more unusual destinations for a Brit, but I really like it so far. In fact, I might go as far to say that I’m falling in love (don’t tell Oregon).

My year in Oregon was one of the most incredible experiences I could have asked for, and now I am really excited to see what Wyoming has in store. I am taking, as my friend put it, something of a reverse Oregon Trail (though hopefully with less dysentery and fewer dead oxen).

Here’s to an adventure!

Forever West.

NB: The name of this blog comes from one of the state’s mottos (the main one is ‘Equal Rights’ due to the state’s apparent history of equality for women, including giving women the right to vote in 1869 – the first state to do so) 
* 'Kirsty Goes West', at least in my usage of it, is a reference to ''Fievel Goes West', from the 'An American Tail' series, which tells the immigrant story through mouse Fievel and his family. Just in case you were wondering.