This past week I was feeling a wave of homesickness for Minnesota. Wanna know the reason why? I could run outside in pair of shorts and a tank top. It's February, people, that's not supposed to happen till May or June. The winterless winter here is really making miss home, so I decided to make of list of things only Minnesotans know (and you can know now, too)!
1. Caribou is not just an animal, but a place to go get a cup of coffee.
Only Minnesotans know what Caribou Coffee is, because it only exists there (and in the Atlanta airport, strangely enough). For those non-Minnesotans: Caribou Coffee has a scary cult following in Minnesota. Everybody goes to Caribou (unfortunately).
2. When someone say "the Great Minnesotan Get-Together" you get all excited.
This is our state fair. Generally about 1.5 million people come each year, and everyone in the state knows about it, because the local new stations camp out there for the entire two weeks to tell you the latest fair news and eat as much fried food on a stick as humanly possible.
3. You know not to buy alcohol on Sunday.
That's right, people. I'm not kidding. There is no alcohol sales on Sundays in Minnesota. You're screwed if you forgot to stock up for your Sunday night party. Why does Minnesota do this? Something about mom and pop liquor stores. Which reminds me there's also no alcohol sold in grocery stores. Seeing alcohol at grocery stores still freaks me out, it feels illegal.
4. You pronounce it Minne-SO-da not Minne-so-TA
This is especially funny because we also call that sugary drink that some of you may call soda, pop.
5. You can also pronounce Wayzata and Shakopee correctly
Here's a hint: it's not WAY-zat-a or SHACK-o-pee, but I won't tell you the right pronunciation. If you really want to know you can look it up.
6. You know what -30 degrees Fahrenheit feels like
This is not something I can really describe to you. You have to live through it, and practically every Minnesotan will tell you they have.
7. You've experienced true 'Minnesota Nice'
There's two versions. There's the actual nice version where someone will help scrap ice off your car at -30 degrees and jump start your car. The other version is when someone is telling you nice things with a smile on their face, but you have the strange sensation that they're actually insulting you (in fact, you know they are). So it's less nice.
8.You don't think Skyways (Skywalks) are cute. They're practical. You also know what they are (and no, they have nothing to do with Star Wars).
See the bridge connecting the two buildings? That's a skyway. They're there so you don't have to walk across the street at -30 and freeze. (They're heated, it's nice). The Minneapolis Skyway system is the largest continuous skyway system in the world (because only Minnesota would care about having that world record).
9. You've played Duck, Duck, GREY DUCK
It's not goose. It's grey duck, people. If you played Duck, Duck, Goose you played it wrong (You're also from anywhere other than Minnesota).
10. You've spent time up north.
If you live in Minnesota, someone you know probably has a cabin up in northern Minnesota. And you've probably asked or been asked to go up north with them (And before you ask, this isn't a euphemism).
11. Lastly, you never got a snow day.
What's a snow day? I never had one. I had an its-too-cold-to-go-to-school-today-because-you-could-freeze-to-death-in-5-minutes, is that they same thing?
All in all, I'm glad this state is my home state.
Thanks for reading!
