Minnesota in Korea

So pretty much everyone who knows me outside of Minnesota knows that I am very proud to be Minnesotan. I love Minnesota! Especially when I'm not there in January. So I was super excited when I found ties to Minnesota in South Korea. The first full day I was there, I was shopping around with Jun, and I overheard a couple talking to someone in the store. I recognized their accent immediately and said to Jun, "They are from Minnesota." When I walked over closer to them I saw that the lady and I had the same purse! So I used it as a talking point. "Hey we have the same purse!" I exclaimed. Had this woman not have been from Minnesota, she probably would have said something like, "yeah...that's nice..." and had a look on her face like "please don't talk to me again you weird stranger." But this nice lady said, "Oh my goodness, we do! It's the best purse ever for traveling!" This was all I needed to confirm my suspicions. This couple put the "nice" in "Minnesota Nice." They asked me where I was from and when I told them they said, "We're from Minnesota too!" (I told you so.) So we chatted and introduced ourselves. They are the lovely Tim and Pam Anderson (of course their last name is Anderson!) Tim even took a picture of Pam and I with our purses and Jun and the store owner gladly posed for the picture as well. Tim even gave me his business card and they said, "If you ever need anything, Marla, you feel free to get in touch with us." Sigh. That's why I love Minnesota! :-)

The Minnesotaness didn't stop there! I was shopping later that day and I started looking through a rack when I came upon a shirt that said Minnesota right across the front. It was really cheap, so I bought it. I can't believe I found a shirt that said Minnesota in Seoul, Korea! As we walked around the city throughout the week, I saw other Minnesota things for sale and I saw several people wearing shirts with Minnesota on them. I would yell out, "Minnesota! Yeah!" But they never looked over at me because I honestly think they had no clue what their shirt said or that they were wearing apparel from the coolest state ever. It's really too bad for them.

And then of course I saw my high school friend from Minnesota and ran into my friend Starla from Minnesota. So it was pretty cool. I had a Minnesota nice experience in South Korea. :-)