North Dakota and Don't Forget It

Every so often, I am called out on my accent here on the east coast. I think I have a generic midwestern accent, but through the thick Philly elocution of the english language, I am at times called out as a 'foreigner'. See...if you have not spent the last 20 years in the Philadelphia area, you will never be "from Philly" so you must be from somewhere else.

After a long conversation with a 'native', I was asked, "Are you from Canada?" She asked it with such enthusiasm like she was going to share a really fantastic tale from the Great White North. I replied that no, I wasn't from Canada, but rather from North Dakota. As I said this, I saw her face sink. This was not as glamorous as maple leafs and hockey. What she didn't know was that, oh yes, North Dakota has hockey.