I first traveled abroad in the winter of 2018-19. My time away from home was not just some weekend-trip across the Atlantic, however. It was an exodus, an international trek of self-discovery that began in Ireland and took me as far east as Ukraine, with several stops in other countries along the way. Gone, as I was, from any system of support or regular source of income that I had ever known, my journey was budgeted with cheap, overnight stays in hostels.
These establishments were hardly anything like an Eli Roth movie, and in most instances I would describe them as “dormitory hotels,” but every now and then I was lucky enough to stumble upon one with a very distinct personality and communal energy. Though fleeting, the relationships I made abroad were very impactful to my character, but hardly ever could an international friendship begin without somebody asking: “Where are you from?” When my answer of “America” didn’t suffice for specifics, I would usually say “Minnesota.” Though not my state of birth and upbringing, it was where I had just completed college and had lived for about three years.
Here in the US, we often deride Minnesota among several others as “fly-over” states. They’re no big deal, and have nothing of renown. But, when I was introducing myself to foreigners far away from home, I cannot tell you how many of them beamed at the mention of the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, this supposedly insignificant little patch of earth. This excitement of theirs at the word “Minnesota” was usually followed by one more additional question:
“Have you seen Fargo?”
Continue reading “Fargo Season 4: A big “uffda!” in an otherwise storied franchise” →
