When the ex & I first moved to Ames, ISU gave us the equivalent of a month's salary for moving expenses as the "hiring bonus". Wasn't nearly enough to get professional movers, so we loaded up a UHaul truck and my car and schlepped everything here from the SF East Bay area (Albany, to be specific).
We stayed in a hotel the first night in Ames. The next morning, one of the faculty from the dept my ex was joining met us at our duplex with about 10 grad students and five large coolers of beer. They made short work of the unloading AND the beer. When everything was done, a couple of the students gathered up all the cans on the lawn, put them in a couple of large garbage bags and gave them to me, saying "Welcome to Ames - here's a housewarming gift for you!". They must have noticed my confusion and had to explain the "gift" to me. California didn't have bottle/can deposits, so I had no clue they were handing me two bags worth of "pocket change".
We stayed in a hotel the first night in Ames. The next morning, one of the faculty from the dept my ex was joining met us at our duplex with about 10 grad students and five large coolers of beer. They made short work of the unloading AND the beer. When everything was done, a couple of the students gathered up all the cans on the lawn, put them in a couple of large garbage bags and gave them to me, saying "Welcome to Ames - here's a housewarming gift for you!". They must have noticed my confusion and had to explain the "gift" to me. California didn't have bottle/can deposits, so I had no clue they were handing me two bags worth of "pocket change".