At a recent going away party for my husband and me, someone asked a question that stumped me at the time - What will you miss most about Minnesota?
At the time, I gave the cop-out answer of friends and family, but now that I’ve had more time to reflect, I think I have some better answers.
- Sub-zero winter morning walks, listening to the snow squeak under my feet while the cardinals sing. (And yes, the snow does make different sounds as it gets below zero!)
- Related to #1, walking on lakes in the winter, especially for the Lake Harriet Kite Festival.
- Minneapolis’ urban tree canopy that few cities can rival.
- Being able to understand what strangers are talking about as I walk past (at least until my Japanese language abilities improve).
- Weekly dinner followed by intense games of Rumicube with my parents and grandmother.
- Washing dishes for my church’s lutefisk dinner - I love seeing members of the community gather to eat cod preserved in lye, which is then baked until it becomes like translucent jello. Plus, the aroma of lutefisk is so persistent that I have family members that won’t enter the building until at least a week after the dinner.
- Chinese-American food, especially the chicken chow fun from Xin Wong.
- A top-tier bike trail network that makes biking to work easier than driving (especially since the bike lanes are usually plowed before streets in winter).
CI’m interested to see how this list changes once I’ve been in Japan for a few months.
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