Can you see the water level below the bridge go down?
Yah-you betcha! This is a popular extreme Norwegian saying around many parts of Minnesota. Growing up in Minnesota has been an on-going learning culture experience. It seem like there are two different cultures-cities and rural, which I discovered after living in rural college town-Morris, MN-�Motown�.
When I lived in the cities, despite the on-going diverse European ethnic culture (Norwegian, German, Scandinavian, etc�) exposure; I saw �white� or Caucasian Americans as one group. It wasn�t really until I came to Morris when I began to see the real diversity amongst �whites� or �Caucasians�. I really never heard an �Ole� (Norwegian) joke until meeting people in-town from Morris Community Church. I then notice more of the Norwegian cultural impact after college when I really lived in-town (e.g. Dave�s Barber Shop on Atlantic Avenue-the barber would share �Ole� stories/jokes with his customers). Lutefisk or lefse was the biggest Norwegian ethnic-food mentioned many around these areas. Till this day, I have yet to try Lutefisk.
Just the other (8/20/03) day at work, I was talking about several sayings: �Listening is a golden...?�, �ufda�, from my co-worker that I�ve never heard of. I told her about the book/play on �How to Talk Minnesotan, which I need to watch/read to understand more of the dialogue as a resident around here.
INNER CITY: Growing-up in the St. Paul Public Schools, I attended many culturally diverse programs and events. I remember in elementary, our first grade teacher�s husband dressed in a �kilt� (eg. mini-skirt) to show the Scottish outwear during a performance of many ethnic-cultures represented in our school. Then in junior high-middle school, we had to do some dance from our ethnic background and performed it in front of the whole school assembly (I remember some of my classmates and I performed the famous Filipino Tininkling (sp?) dance, which I was somewhat familiar). In gym class, dancing was part of the academic genda, which I learned how to dance polka and some other ethnic dances that I can�t remember to this day. Then in high school, we had a cultural fair (eg. Festival of Nations held annualy in St. Paul), which I was able to do a Philippine booth with some of my Filipino-American peers/friends and cook some lumpia (Filipino egg-rolls).
RURAL-TOWN: living was a little of a cultural shock when I came to UMM, which I encountered many people who never been exposed to much of a �culturally diversity environment� that one would find growing-up in the inner-city. For example, one of my floormates told me that she grew-up with a negative stereotype of African-Americans (eg. �bad boys�, �gangstas/thugs�, �criminals�, etc�) because of the �fowl language� (eg. Nigger) she was used to hearing growing up in a rural Minnesota town. Myself, some of my floormates honestly shared with me that they thought I was a �gang-banger� because of the way I dressed (baggy pants) or my haircut (crew-cut style) with an earing in one ear.
I particiapted in several ethnic focussed student organizations for many reasons: to get in touch with my ethnic background (Asian-American: Filipino), to learn more of �who I am� culturally, to be able to bond with people with familiar-similar background, and to �feel like-home� culturally (e.g. food, language, social atmosphere). Also, our student organizations (e.g. Asian Student Association) served as a purposed to culturally educate the college campus, local-surrounding Morris community. It was an excellent opportunity to �educate� the people that never been/never much been exposed to a different ethnic background. We too, inner city folks, needed to be educated about rural town living too; so I made an effort to do so by planning a floortrip (Gay Hall II-III) to one of the floor resident�s farm. Unfortuanatelly, not every body were able to make it. Most of the people that went were �city folks�, which was my target type of people to come�.
FARMING: We saw various farm animals: horses, pig, cows, etc�; which I had a chance to ride an �unchained� pony (I rode a chained pony that went around this circle at the Como Park Zoo once in St. Paul) for the first time! I learned the two types of cows for the first time: dairy cow (produces milk) and non-dairy cow (just grazes the field). After this experience, I�ve grown to learn more of the rural-farm experience by: watching campus plays, attend many bon-fires, play ditch at a farm field, and going to several local and surrounding museums on the past rural farm life. I�ve grown to highly appreciate farmers and their hard dedicated work (eg. get up 5/6am sunrise and work till 8-9ppm sunset in the farm field with 5 meals in that time span-including �dinner�-not lunch at 12 noon) .
MINNESOTA OUTDOORS life is filled with a lot of adventure that folks from the inner-city needs to experience to get in touch with nature and God! I went �real� hikking recently for the actual first time (down below) this summer of 2003, which was one of many outdoor actitivities that I�ve accomplished so far:
Summer: fishing, water-skiing, swimming, camping
Winter: cross-country/down hill skiing, broomball, snow fort building, building a snowman
I have yet to try:
Summer: Jet-skiing,
Fall: deer-hunting, pheasant-hunting, etc..
Winter: ice-fishing
As a Christian, I�ve grown to appreciate the outdoors as a time to be surrounded with nature and really take a good look of what God has created. I really started to appreciate his �nature wonders� when I started traveling :
Can you see the water level below the bridge go down?
The picture above was taken during the Spring of 1997 during the "big Red-River flood of 97". I went to help a UMM friend's (Naomi) family move before the Red Laker River flooded over its banks in Crookston, MN
Red River Flood of 1997: KARE-TV News April 22, 1997
"News coverage from KARE-TV in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN on April 22, 1997, a day after the Red River crested at an all-time record high level in Grand Forks, ND and East Grand Forks, MN."
Other Related Sites:
-Philippines� (waterfalls, caves, tropical trees, salty sea, white beaches, sea creatures-crabs, etc�)
- Mexico-Arizona�s (red rock formations, desserty land, cactuses),
-Montana�s, (snow-covered mountians, BIG forests, bear, etc�)
-and of course our beautiful Minnesota 10,000 + lakes
�.which I began to appreciate more after my trip to the non-green, non-lively, non-colorful sandy desertland of Mexico-Arizona. )
Next time you get sick of being surrounded by technological hi-tech devices, go out of your house or familiar environment (eg. concrete, high-rise buildings, robot �busy� people of the inner cities) and talk to God and bask in His presence through what he has created. Plus, my mom told me to always look at �greenery� when she notices me watching too much t.v. or playing nintendo as a little kid. I would then just look at one of the many indoor plants in our townhouse or look at the trees/grass out in our backyard.
Minnesota maybe considered a �white� state not because of the snow, but the many white-settlers from Europe (mainly Scandinavian or German). However, the diversity is growing as one can see based on the stats: Ethnic Harvest, which I received at a conference focussing on reaching the nations from different �diverse ethnic neighbors� that God is bringing �next door�.
My Favorite Minnesota - Scenic Byways - Road Cruise
"Hey, I'm Jon Hawks and one of my favorite things to do is to jump on my Harley and explore Minnesota with my friends. It's a beautiful state with great scenic roads no matter which direction we feel like heading -- North, South, East or West.
It just depends on what we're in the mood for: curvy roads that twist along rivers like the Minnesota, St. Croix, or Mississippi, the beautiful bluff country in SE Minnesota, quaint and historic towns to stop at along the way, or site-seeing along the North Shore.
See more about this topic and other favorite places of Minnesotans at
http://www.exploreminnesota.com/myfavoriteminnesota/
You can upload your own stuff too!"
-Alexandria: Milton, Carlos, Osakis, etc.. [Douglas County]
-Brainard: Clearbrook [Clearwater County]
-Bemidji
-Browns Valley [Lake Traverse County]
-Crookston: Argyle
-Duluth, Two Harbors [St. Louis County]
-Fergus: Clitherall, Pelican Rapids, Perham [Otter Tail County]
-Glenwood , Cyrus, and Starbuck [Pope County]
-Grand Rapids for a family vacation (see tourism) at a resort.
Travel to and from?
-International Falls, met someone from here
-Little Falls
-Litchfield: Cokato
Picture taken through the "wind mill farms" of Southwestern Minnesota in the summer of 2000
This is similar to the wind turbine one we just got in Morris-see environment page (4/22/05) recently!
-[Mahnomen County]: Mahnomen
-Marshall: Pipestone, Slayton [Lyon County]
*had the opportunity to see the band "Joshua Generation-Fire on the Prairie from Clarkfield. They played at Grace Church in Marshall
-Moorhead
-
I've visited many other small towns around these small Minnesota cities above, especially around Morris and the surrounding west central area region.
I just watched Jason Davis' "On the Road" on KSTP Channel 5, which I really enjoy watching Saturday evenings when I get the chance. Last night (4/23/05), they featured camera views from their sky cam helicopter of various beautiful scenaries of Minnesota. They called it High on Minnesota. There were sites that I haven't seen yet from my travel in certain areas of Minnesota.
Other Cities w/UMM connections that I would like to visit in the future:
-Mountain Lake (close to Worthington), where Jill M. (UMM 05') lives
My Favorite Minnesota - Camping - Campsites
Wabasha Street Caves Historic Cave Tour
Wabasha Street Caves 215 Wabasha St S, St Paul, MN 55107
Date & Time: Ongoing. Thu 5pm; Sat 11am
$5. (651) 292-1220
Winter:
Lovelines Healing Rooms Now Open
3-6p.m. every Fri. & Sat. at Lovelines, 2535 Central Ave. NW in Mpls. Those in need of physical & emotional healing are invited to come for prayer & healing. 612-379-1199.
Magazines
Maps
Newspaper
News Stations
Skating
Fire on the Prairie ~ Clarkfield, MN ~ Can you feel the heat?
I went here for the first time on Tuesday, August 12th of 2003 since it opened 11 years ago during my 1 week summer vacation in St. Paul. I found many famous people known all over the state, nation, and world that came or made an impact in Minnesota. For example: Hubert H. Humphrey (from Dalton, SD)-political figure; Prince-pop rock, Bob Dylan-folk musician, Excelssior-gospel group, Soul Asylum-rock; Charles M. Schulz-creator of Charlie Brown; Charles A. Lindbergh-history-making pilot; etc...
Jeff Foxworthy on Minnesota
If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling
Through l8 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, You might live in Minnesota.
If you're proud that your state makes the national news 96
Nights each year because International Falls is the coldest spot in
the nation,
You might live in Minnesota.
If you have ever refused to buy something because it's "too spendy",
You might live in Minnesota.
If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March,
You might live in Minnesota.
If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year,
You might live in Minnesota.
If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there,
You might live in Minnesota.
If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle
of his forehead,
You might live in Minnesota.
If you may not have actually eaten it, but you have heard of Lutefisk,
You might live in Minnesota.
If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time,
You might Live in Minnesota.
If you have either a pet or a child named "Kirby",
You might Live in Minnesota.
If your town has an equal number of bars and churches,
You might Live in Minnesota.
If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone
Who dialed a wrong number,
You might live in Minnesota.
If you know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, Edina and Shakopee,
You might live in Minnesota.
If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy,
You might live in Minnesota.
If every time you see moonlight on a lake, you think of a
dancing bear, and you sing gently, "From the land of sky-blue
waters," ...
You might live in Minnesota......
Series II. YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE MINNESOTAN WHEN:
1. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor
on the highway.
2. "Vacation" means going up north past Brainerd for the weekend.
3. You measure distance in hours.
4. You know several people who have hit deer more than once.
5. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and
back again.
6. Your whole family wears Viking purple to church on Sunday.
7. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging
blizzard, without flinching.
8. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.
9. You install security lights on your house and garage and
leave both unlocked.
10. You think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and
venison.
11. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend
knows how to use them.
12. There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Mill's
Fleet Farm at any given time.
13. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a
snowsuit.
14. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are
filled with snow.
15. You refer to the Vikings as "we."
16. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter
and road construction.
17. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
18. You have no problem pronouncing Wayzata.
19. You consider Minneapolis exotic.
20. You don't have a coughing fit from one sip of Pig's Eye Pilsner.
21. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer
next to your blue spruce.
22. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
23. Down South to you means Iowa.
24. A brat is something you eat.
25. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new machine
shed.
26. You go out to fish fry every Friday.
27. You know how to polka.
28. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
29. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
30. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."
31. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them
to all your Minnesota friends
