Meet Francine.

So please, let me introduce to you my other half, my best friend, Francine.

(Please spare with me on the amount of photos, there are just too many good ones to share)

Sporting of her more infamous outfits

Franny getting into her Sun Devil Spirit

Showing her love and appreciation for the fried foods of America

Some evening stretches on the hood of my car

The one night she transformed into a Sarasota Surf Boy

And the other night she spend in the hospital after getting her finger chopped off

Francine as Kanye West and Audrey as Kendrick Lamar

And here is a prime example of me annoying her. (If you are wondering what is happening in this video, I was filming her picking up firewood for our campfire when a bug flew onto her face. I hesitated getting the bug at first and thought about filming it instead but then finally decided to smack her face to kill it. Good friend, right?)

The Minnesotan.

So after being here in Arizona for nearly 2 months now, I can confidently say I've discovered one thing: Minnesotans are weird. Weird as in very different. VERY different. This has become obvious to me in three categories: the attire, the morals, and the language.

1. The Attire

I obviously knew that the weather in Arizona may be a little bit warmer than it is back home in Minne"snow"ta, but by golly, you don't know how hot 110 degree heat is until you walk 3 miles in it. Dry heat doesn't make it less miserable. I can't say I have adapted to the heat yet, which kinda sucked at first but now as fall comes, we are experiencing morning of high 70s/low 80s which, to be, is the Minnesotans ideal day whereas my friends here consider it freezing and bundle up in layers before going outside. I know I had mentioned before that I had a hard time packing up to come here, as I found myself packing multiple sweatshirts, long pants and sweaters (which I still have yet to use) but it felt ridiculous to not pack them! **side-note: that is a lie, I actually HAVE found use them.. Our dorm room's A/C is broken and seems to automatically reset itself to 50 degrees no matter what we adjust the temperature to. Suddenly having a bed by the window and the A/C unit isn't as nice.....** In addition to my natural winter instincts, I've learned that there are certain trends in Minnesota that don't seem to expand as far as Arizona. For example, a few of my friends (from Arizona and California) found a pair of black cowboy boots in the back of my closet, "AUDREY! *laughter* What are you a cowgirl? What are you doing with these things in your closet?" To which I explained that lots of people wear black cowboy boots in Minneapolis without being country (Paige can side with me on this) and that I had gotten the boots at a Vintage shop back home which gave off the opposite of a country vibe. They wouldn't have it though. I am now far too scared to wear the boots in Arizona and it looks like they will be staying in the back of my closet for a good while.

2. The Morals

This one is a trickier situation to talk about, as I can't tell if these things come from me being from the Midwest or from me being a Kruse, but it's funny seeing the differences in morals. My most recent observation is dining etiquette. I am know to be the slowest eater here because I tend to talk more than I eat, but I couldn't help but notice that I was one of the only ones who cleared their plate entirely before announcing I was finished eating. Naturally, I typically don't stop eating until all of the food on my plate is gone and if I became full before finishing all the food, I would need to still continue to eat the food because it would be my punishment for taking more food than I was hungry for! I can't remember a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner where I left the table with food still on my plate. This doesn't necessarily mean I eat large quantities of food, though. I have learned to help myself to smaller amounts to make sure I clear my plate while consuming the healthy amount of food. On the contrary, my friends here will stop eating as soon as they are satisfied. This sometimes includes two bites of a hamburger or an apple. I don't find it rude if they don't finish their plates, it doesn't bother me at all actually but the thought of my tossing away an apple I took a single bite of keeps me up at night. Other differences seem to happen in hospitality. I impulsively decided to get my eyebrows threaded with my friend Drew, which I ended up loving, and I had paid through an iPad payment. After paying for the service, I realized they didn't leave an option for tipping and I didn't have cash on me to leave them one. Immensely stressed, I left the place and went to an ATM where I took out $20, walked to the nearest Starbucks, purchased a drink so I got change for the $20 and walked back into the place I had gotten my eyebrows done an hour earlier and tipped her. Once again, the thought of not tipping someone, especially on a service I enjoyed, haunts me. It is a pain for me but if there is an option for a tip on the receipt, I will always leave one no matter how bad the service. I can't help it.

3. The Language

Oh yes, this is the big one. I truly did not realize how strange Minnesotans had talked until coming here. Going on vacation other places, I had been occasionally asked if I was from Minnesota or even Canada, but I never thought anything of it really. My friends here, however, don't hesitate to ask me to pronounce words and phrases and immediately laugh afterwards. Below are some examples of where the differences are: (Please note I do not get offended by my friends "making fun" of me, I find it funny as well!)

- What is a carbonated beverage?

Audrey's friends: Soda

Audrey: Pop

*Insert loud laughter leading to me correcting myself to say soda to save their guts*

- What do you call the events that happen in high school during homecoming to get you excited for the game?

Audrey's friends: Pep rally

Audrey: Pep fest

*Once again, insert laughs and claiming it's cute and Smurf like of me to say it "pep fest! pep fest! pep fest!" with arm gestures*

- Hammock

Audrey's friends: Hamm-ICK

Audrey: Hamm-OCK

- Roof

Audrey's friends: Roof

Audrey: Ruff

- Aunt

Audrey's friends: Ant

Audrey: Ont

- Couch, House, Mouse, etc, etc...

Audrey's friends: Couch, house, mouse

Audrey: Cooowch, hooowse, mooowse


*Quite frankly, I don't hear difference in pronunciation for these, but apparently I "scoop down" on the OU sound, whatever that means..*

- What do you call a designated driver?

Audrey's friends: DD

Audrey: Sober cab

*They had never heard of this term in their lives*


Some other sayings they make fun of me for saying:

- Oh ya!
- Oh for sure!
- Uuuufda (embarrassingly enough, uuufda is a word in my vocabulary..)
- Ya know?
- Oh ya, you betcha! (I don't actually say this, but whenever they want to hear my accent at it's fullest, they have me say it.)

Since I've been here, my accent has mellowed out I've heard, but as soon as I am on the phone with family or friends from back home, it's as if nothing's changed.

So year long story short, I'm basically from another planet.