My first month in Minneapolis

One month ago, I left my family and hometown and moved from the Land of Lincoln to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

My parents and sisters spent their 4th of July weekend to set up Ikea furniture.  (God bless them!) When Sunday rolled around, we parted ways in the parking lot.  I bawled my eyes out because the fact that I wouldn't be seeing them as often as I'd like to had finally sunk in.  I spent most of that next week in bed, feeling sad and lonely and sorry for myself.

As the week passed, I had to deal with silly problems with moving, like figuring out what to do with all the moving boxes...

... forgetting to buy shower hooks and having to tie the curtain on with yarn...

... also I couldn't find the right box with the silverware, so I ate cereal out of a coffee mug with a fork for like three days straight.  Anyway, I eventually got settled in.

I started venturing around the uptown area and found hidden gems painted into its nooks and crannies.

The downtown nooks were just as nice.

It took a little trial and error, but since my first week, I:

managed to figure out where to buy Asian groceries so I can finally get my Japanese/Korean food fix,

joined a book club and made some new friends,

visited 5 of the 10,000 lakes (there are officially 11,842 lakes in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"),

and celebrated the Aquatennial (Minnesota's celebration of water. They really love water here).

...

Despite all these fun outings, I was still homesick for Chicago.  

Fortunately, my girlfriends visited me, and this past weekend alone, we:

had our first Jucy Lucys (a Minnesotan hamburger w/ a slide of cheese in the middle) at Matt's Bar, where Prez Obama hung out previously,

walked through the exhibits of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts,

rode roller coasters at the Mall of America,

and enjoyed the Scandinavian fare at The Bachelor Farmer.

They left for home and again, I was feeling wistful when I knew I would have to stay behind while they returned to Chicago.  However, I felt a little happy knowing that I was also making friends here and keeping busy with the fun events in the bustling city of Minneapolis.

...

Speaking of fun events, today was National Night Out, where I got to meet more "Minneapolitans" at a block party, hung out with people I am getting to know better, and even received a jar of jam, canned salsa, and chocolates from a kind neighbor!  

Though I did struggle with homesickness, loneliness, and the stress of beginning a new job, it's been a good month.  A month into my new life in Minneapolis, I have a new church, new friends, new neighbors, and a more positive outlook on new changes.  I'm sure that shortly after I post this, I will go through more of the ups and downs of being a Minnesota-transplant, but I am happier knowing that I've checked off my first month!