Minnes”0”ta
That plane ride to Minneapolis was nerve wrecking for me. I was nervous. There was no staff members to run to if I was confused and there was me reminding myself that I was the staff member now. This was my first city set up as a PR.
I was excited and afraid. The same feelings anyone would have on their first day on the job. But the moment I heard the voice of Mr. Witte, the husband of the vice president of Arts Connection, our beneficiary, on the phone, I knew I was going to be alright.
Minnesota was amazing! It was more than that, it was nice…”Minnesota N-I-C-E”. People here are just so accommodating and friendly. Though you have to make sure that you read the signs. When they’re not into something they might call it “different”. That’s their polite way of saying “WTF?”
And they love their chocolate covered bacon. I tried some at the Minnesota state fair…which, mind you, is one of he largest state fairs in the USA. It looked like they had a whole city to themselves. They carve faces of dairy princesses out of slabs of butter and dip everything in batter, fry it and serve it on a stick. Their fried cheese kurds were awesome though. Everything you could possible find was on a stick. Even candy bars. I tried a recees dipped in batter and friend…wasn’t that bad but I actually want to live a long life and could do without the cholesterol. The exhibits were amazing and you just have to watch the movement in the crowd to realize how big the state is. Also, they have the biggest Mall in America…Yup Mall of America! @_@ it’s a big mall thought our own Mall of Asia is it’s only competition ;)
My hot family was AMAZING…LEGENDARY…EPIC! The Kieffers! Mary and David opened the door and welcomed us in to their lovely home that was to be mine and Marlos’ for the next 7 weeks (8weeks for me). I had the most amazing time with them. What i love most was how interesting and amazingly talented everyone was. David, my host dad was an actor and pianist…I’m pretty sure he sings too but I never got a chance to hear it. He had a day job too but even that took a back seat to his passion for cooking and fishing. Mary my host mom was lovely! She’s a nurse and such a fun person to be around. I really appreciated how patient she was and how particular she was with things around the house. I also noticed that she was also very generous and thoughtful and would get upset with me sometimes when I’d be too shy to accept little things.
My host siblings Olivia, Caroline and Jo were ….in a word…supercalefragelisticexpialidocious! They are all talented in their own respect. Both Olivia and Caroline sang beautifully and they both share my passion for music and theater so we all got on well. I most especially liked CSI nights with Caroline. Jo is an intelligent and amusing boy. Boys will be boys and I missed my brothers terribly when he was around because he reminded me a lot of them.
I most especially loved sitting on their terrace sharing the silence or talking over a glass of red wine. Minnesotans relish the warmth and the fact that you can be outside before winter came and it would be too cold to even think of leaving a window open.
The twin cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul…. Minneapolis holding the title for the arts while St. Paul serves as the city for governance and policy, where the Capital building can be found. We saw it all during our visit. Spoke to state representatives and marveled at the natural beauty everywhere, the lakes, the Mississippi river and the changing leaves of Autumn. Duluth and Lake Superior….But nothing really was better than Woodbury…the small but booming town Up with People impacted on their visit. A community is only as good as the people in it and we had the best.
By the last week that I was there the weather had started to cool. Wild rice soup and Minnesota tater-tot Hot Dish was now in season. Good food, good company…nothing could dampen my spirits after that.
In short….I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Woodbury Minnesota. And hope to visit the wonderful people there soon. I couldn’t of had a more perfect first set up!
Cheers!
Next stop Philippines! Homeward bound at last!
