I get to experience a different culture at least once a year. My aunts, uncles, and cousins live in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and I visit almost every summer. While they still live in the United States, it is a completely different world to me. Everything is different from Wyoming, the food, speech, activities, and cultural influences.

Wyoming and the Upper Peninsula are different in many ways; one difference is the food. In Wyoming I eat a lot of game meat because we shoot our food. We also eat trout that we occasionally catch. We eat regular food like pizza and stuff to. My family in the UP eats store bought food to, but they also have some of my favorite treats that you can’t get in Wyoming. One of the best parts of the UP is the Pasty. It is a type of meat pie; it is filled with carrots, potatoes, rutabagas and served in a pie like crust with ketchup or gravy. The pasty was brought to America by my Finnish ancestors when they came to work in the mines. There is nothing close to pasties out in Wyoming. Nothing smells better than a fresh hot pasty straight from the oven. Another delicacy that I only get to experience in the UP is trenary toast, another Finnish treat. Trenary toast is hard bread that has cinnamon baked into it. I enjoy dunking mine in coffee or milk. The last treat from the UP is Vernors. Unlike pasties or trenary toast I can sometimes get this in Wyoming. Vernors is a ginger ale type soda made in the Copper Country. It is by far my favorite soda. Experiencing different treats is only one of several fun experiences.

I Love to go up to the UP because I always get to do something new and fun. One of my favorite things to do in the summer is swim in Lake Superior. I can swim in the lakes in Wyoming but they are frozen most of the time. Lake Superior however gets warm in Michigan and it makes for great swimming. Last summer I went out on my uncle’s boat for the first time. I spent the entire day swimming and fishing with my cousins. My favorite activity in the UP skating on the lake. I play hockey in Wyoming but I play in a rink, when we visit the UP in the winter however I get to go play on black ice. Lake Superior is known for great clear ice before the heavy snows. I got to play hockey with my entire family and at the same time we had fishing lines out. How many people can say that they have caught a fish while they were playing hockey? I know I can. Along with hockey and swimming, I also get to go four wheeling, biking camping and much more.

The most noticeable difference is the cultural influences that surround Wyoming and the UP. Wyoming is very western, while the UP is influenced by European culture. My everyday life is different from that of my cousins’. I am surrounded by ranches, log cabins, horses, cattle, and forests. Wyoming people have normal jobs but there are also jobs centered around the past. I work on a dude ranch in the summer. I love Wyoming but to go to the UP is so much fun. When people began to immigrate to the U.S. for the copper mines they brought home with them. The Upper Peninsula is filled with history from the mines; on your way to Laurium you pass a mining elevator. There are even tours of the old copper mines. The mines are not the only difference. There are coble streets and old brick buildings everywhere. You can see the past in some of the Old Catholic churches made from stone many years ago. Brick buildings line the streets in old downtown Houghton. Like Wyoming there are normal jobs and jobs based on the past. My cousins work on the docks of Lake Superior helping the fishermen. I spent a day down there and it was so unique to be a part of. I got to see how culture affected life.

It might not have visited a different country or hosted a foreign exchange student but I still got to learn about a different culture. The coolest part is that I have this opportunity each year. I enjoy seeing and learning about the differences from where I was born to where my dad and most of my family was born. I love to eat different food and try new things. I am so grateful to have that opportunity.