I'm not alone...

I thought I was the only one in Minot, but last night I shared a drink with two football-loving (soccer) Englishman. It felt unreal to be hearing such accents in the middle of North Dakota, and for a few hours I could have been sat in an English pub for all I knew, had it not been for the lack of cider (no Bulmers/Magners here), 15 screens showing NFL, and the sight of George Washington’s face everytime I opened my wallet. Still, it was nice to be able to say ‘alright mate’ and ‘ proper/well good’ as well as sharing some North Dakotan cultural observations.

Last Monday was labor day, a holiday dedicated to the working in which they are encouraged to take a day off. It was therefore ironic to discover that some people I knew were being paid double time to show up, giving great incentive to work on a day which encourages the exact opposite.

In true spirit of labor day, we kicked back and relaxed at the nearby lake with Morgan and Travis. The weather was beautiful and the beers were cold, so as we laid on Travis’ boat, it was hard to complain. Whitney and I tried our hand at water-skiing, which we did surprisingly well at. It took a few attempts to get going but we soon got there. Whitney held the record for staying above water the longest, although did have one comical fall (see video). After an assured start, she suddenly looked as if she’d turned into stone and fell straight back.

Although I’ve felt comfortable in Minot since first arriving, I still find myself feeling frustrated and isolated due to the lack of surroundings. It’s like a lone spot/zit on your cheek. Although the spot itself is fairly admirable, it’s the only one around, and surrounded only by skin (farmland/open grassland in this case). I miss having the option of jumping in the car and taking a day-trip to a nearby spot… I mean city/ attraction. But then on the other hand I’m sick of jumping in the car and having to drive everywhere. I like being able to walk to the shops and the gym. Like I said in an earlier post, when I attempted to go running along the pavement last month, it just suddenly ended, as if giving a huge middle finger to anyone stupid enough to be on-foot.

Right now Whitney and I are sat on the sofa. I’m blogging, while she watches a tv program on an old lady who houses cats; too many cats. And whilst we’re both leaning valuable life lessons from this lady, it’d be nice to have more to do on a weekend. When considering our options for the day, I typed ‘attractions in Minot, North Dakota’ into Google and concluded that our options were either to go to the zoo (which we did a few days ago), go to church (I wasn’t keen), play golf (Whitney wasn’t keen), or go see a movie. So guess what we’re doing this afternoon? Yep, another movie. I just find it hard to imagine myself living in a place like this for a considerable length of time, which is something we’ve recently discussed. Don’t get me wrong, Minot has a special place in my heart, as well North Dakota as a whole (I’ve never experienced such a friendly environment), but I just know there’s more out there to see.

After recently reading a friend’s blog (a fellow Brit also living in America), he noted the different countries in which people had asked if he was from. Like him, I often get asked if I’m Australian, which, although way-off-the-mark, is understandable. However, I’ve also been asked if I’m Austrian, Italian and French to name a few bizarre ones. Au Revoir.