So this very Mormon town I’m in is Rexburg, ID. It feels more foreign than Canada and maybe even England. In downtown I saw a banner in front of a muffin shop advertising a hot beverage made from “Fresh roasted cocoa beans.” If that had said fresh roasted coffee beans I wouldn’t have even noticed, OK, I would have at least made a mental note to go there in the morning for a cup, but a big banner advertising hot chocolate… This worried me enough that when I checked into the hotel I made sure there was coffee. Fortunately Marriott caters to business travelers, one group that you can’t deny coffee to.

When you pull into town, you see a few apartment buildings, right across the street from each other, one is labeled prominently as “Women’s Apartments” the other as “Approved Young Ladies Housing.” How can people be so repressed as to not even allow unmarried men and women to be neighbors? It’s one thing when it’s dorm rooms with shared bathroom and shower facilities, but apartment buildings?

Are they really that scared that there might be a little too much neighborly love? I’ve lived in apartment buildings before, the last thing you want to do is have an awkward situation with a jilted ex-lover who happens to live next door.

Of course, if there was ever any doubt about who’s in charge in this town, just look up. The Mormon Temple is built on the highest point in town and it’s brightly glowing right now…