A southern girl in the north.

I'm a Texan, born and raised, through and through.  After 34 years in Texas, no matter where I end up, I will always be a Texan.  I'm not only a Texan, but I'm a Texan from a part of the state that doesn't get snow.  On the few occasions it gets cold, and there is a slight possibility for ice, the city *will* shut down.  So why am I mentioning this?  Because my long distance boyfriend is from Minnesota.

When I first met my boyfriend, it was clear from the start that he loves where he lives and is too close to his family to ever consider moving.  I, on the other hand, have spent my entire adult life working like mad to stay autonomous  in order to be able to pick up an move at a moments notice if I ever find my husband, where ever and whenever that may be.  So, it was no question that if anything ever came of us, I'd be moving to Minnesota rather then him moving to Texas. 

The first go around of dating him, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I'd need to do to move up.  I was willing to go the distance.  Then he broke it off.  4 years later, amazingly, we are back together.  This time, I'm once again willing to go the distance, but I'm looking and seeing a lot more of the minutia than I did before.  We are taking things slowly.  For me, about ever 6 weeks I come up to visit for a period of time.  It's both for us to learn about each other, bond, see how we like and get along, but also so I can acclimate and learn about what I'm signing up for.

I have to say, right now, I'm feeling so lost.  This Texan girl is quickly learning there is so much she doesn't know and I have never been one for not being in the know.  I'm learning things that my boyfriend, his family, and friend take for granted because they just grew up with it.

So, I figured I'd chronicle some of the unexpected things I'm learning about Minnesota that is different than my Texas.

1) It's country baby -  Even though Texas is country, we have tons of big cities.  Minnesota has the cities and everything else is a small town - regardless of what they think. PS:  It is not the Twin Cities or Minneapolis and St. Paul - it is "the cities".

2) It's pretty - I'm a  nature lover, but even if you are not, you can appreciate that Minnesota is a beautiful state.

3)It's hazy - The first time I visited in the fall, I couldn't understand why, even on a clear sunny day, I could see fog in the distance.  I figured the day was just foggy, but then it happened again and again and never burned up.  I finally asked my boyfriend about it.  Since the water is warmer than the air, and there is so much water in Minnesota, you get a fairly constant hazy around everything.  I'm slowly getting use to it, but it was a big shock coming form clear and sunny Texas.

3)It gets light later and dark earlier.  Since we are both central time, I was shocked when I first learned that it got dark almost 2 hours earlier than back home and lighter about an hour later.  As I love my sunshine, this will take some adjusting too.

4)It's very white - outside of the cities, you don't see a lot of people who are not white.  Not only that, but it is very common to be blondes, blue eyes, and tallish.  As someone who is brown haired, green eyed, and only 5 feet.  I definitely  feel like I stick out like a soar thumb.

5)You plow your drive way like you walk your dog.  It's just another chore that has to been done.

6)They have basements and split level houses.

7)Hunting and Ice Fishing are very common.  In fact, I'm noticing that many of the people from Minnesota country side are very similar.

8)Pop is soda.  Hotdish is a casserole.

9) If you see a tornado of snow, it is a snow blower.  A snow blower is not like a leaf blower. 

10) You have to plow the snow around your mailbox or the mailman will not delivery you mail.

11) If you shovel or plow your snow, you have to push it back further than you need to otherwise, as the winter continues, you will lose driveway space.

12) The roads don't get nearly as clear of snow, for driving, as you would expect.  So, when it snows, you will be driving on the snow.