I knew moving 1500 miles away from the Cache Valley in northern Utah would be a challenge but I really had NO idea just how difficult it would be for me to assimilate into this culture. I assumed that since I grew up in Nebraska and spent much of my adult life there, it would be a lot like moving home. It has actually been a lot like that. What I have come to realize of late, however, is that my culture in Logan was very unique to me and not necessarily linked to living in the Cache Valley.
First of all, if you live in Utah, the Mormon culture has a big impact on your life there. Since I am not Mormon, I did clash with the culture on many occasions primarily due to my love of coffee and an occasional margarita. For the most part though, I loved the people I met there and enjoyed their culture that was rich in family life, the arts and outdoor experiences. When I moved to Logan, I worked at a residential treatment program for adolescents with eating disorders. My role was that of the Parent Advocate and Education Coordinator so my work world consisted of interacting with people from all over the country on a daily basis. The staff at the center were from all over as well. It was a very multi-cultural environment.
After I left my work at the eating disorders program I worked for a local firm as an administrative assistant and then decided to go to Utah State to get my Special Ed endorsement. Right smack in the middle of that pursuit, Dean received a call from the company he now works for here in Minnesota. It was clearly the best career move for him and I thought it would be for me too. I went to work in January of 2011 at a local school here and culture shock began in earnest.
I found this information on Wikipedia about stereotypical behavior here. I don't like to believe in stereotypes but I figure this one is okay because when you talk to the natives here, especially anyone trained in understanding other cultures they will tell you this is generally true.
Minnesota nice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | Look up Minnesota nice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Minnesota nice is the stereotypical behavior of people born and raised in Minnesota,
to be courteous, reserved, and mild-mannered. The cultural characteristics of Minnesota nice
include a polite friendliness, an aversion to confrontation, a tendency toward understatement,
also refer to traffic behavior, such as slowing down to allow another driver to enter a lane
in front of the other person. Critics have pointed out negative qualities, such as
What I have come to understand in these weeks that I've been home full time is that my experiences in Logan were uniquely my own and one of the central themes of my life there from January of 2005 until we left in the spring of 2010 was eating disorder recovery and all that goes with that. Unfortunately a lot of what goes with that is just the opposite of "Minnesota Nice". Honestly, life in a residential program is definitely not reserved or mild-mannered. An aversion to confrontation is simply not allowed. Understatement is continually challenged, a fuss is made and we get used to standing out-clients regularly practice appropriate assertiveness. Emotional restraint is similar to chronic disease for many suffering from eating disorders. Self-depreciation is constantly challenged as well. I lived and breathed that open, raw culture for 5 years.
My best friends in Logan are the friends who worked with me at the residential treatment center. For 3 of our 5 years in Utah, my job was that of a parent advocate. I would be available for parents going through the surreal circumstances that came with putting their adolescent daughter into a treatment program for an eating disorder that had very likely almost taken that same daughter's life. It was my role to help them understand eating disorders, recovery, our team's approach, body image and the list goes on. I was living in a recovery-oriented culture and had NO IDEA just what a tremendous gift that was.
I also know that while it is true that I am adjusting to a new culture here in Minnesota, I sincerely believe, I'm also adjusting to life in the basic AMERICAN culture where the education, awareness and understanding of the basics of eating disorders is scarce at best, let alone understanding what changes have to occur to prevent them. Let me just say it's really hard out here!!
My friend Tammy is coming from Logan and she's after me to get involved in ED advocacy here. I need to get this old body healed up but I am guessing that this will be the road I travel down next. I'm still a bit in shock at this realization today but ever so thankful for what I've learned along the way. The work I have personally done in my own recovery, the work we did as a family and the work all of those brave girls and their families over the years deeply changed me. I am oh, so grateful!!
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