Diary of a South Dakota Summer: What I Learned Living in the Midwest for My Lemonly Internship
About a year ago, I packed up my car and moved from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was all for the Slice summer internship at Lemonly, which I had applied for after months of following the agency online and falling head-over-heels for their work.
Had I ever been to South Dakota? No. Did I know anyone in Sioux Falls? Not exactly. Did I have any experience living in a small Midwestern town? Unless you count Cincinnati, definitely not. But I’ve always been down for an adventure, and I knew my trip to South Dakota would be a big one. (Adventure is also one of Lemonly’s core values — just another sign that Lemonly and I were meant to be.)
Chapter 1: Deirdre gets a taste of small-town living and learns the language of the Midwest
At Lemonly, I quickly realized how different life in South Dakota is from the East Coast, especially hearing coworkers swap stories about farm life and cowboy dads. I also found myself decoding accents and picking up local lingo.
Here’s a quick guide for any other newcomers to the Mount Rushmore State:
Breakfast pizza
Pizza with egg, cheese, and bacon or sausage, usually purchased from a Casey’s gas station and eaten for dinner.
Chislic
Deep-fried lamb or steak tips, sometimes served on a stick — the official nosh of South Dakota.
Dinner
This could mean lunch. Or supper. Or breakfast.
Hotdish
Casserole.
Okoboji
A place that sounds made up, but is very real and located in northwest Iowa. You'll find water and rollercoasters here.
"Ope!"
Oops!
Pizza Ranch
Seemingly the greatest place on Earth (at least from my perspective, as someone who has never actually been there but sees a lot of ads for it).
South Dakota State University (SDSU)
The university north of Sioux Falls, known for agriculture, engineering, and making its own ice cream. I imagine that the entire campus looks like the dairy version of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Shop
Not a gift shop, unfortunately. A shed where people store tractors. A lot less cute, and a lot less fun.
"SoDak"
South Dakota. People don’t say this word out loud, though, probably because it makes them sound like a doofus.
"SuFu" (pronounced "SOO FOO")
Sioux Falls. Like "SoDak," people tend not to say this aloud for fear of sounding like a try-hard.
Taverns
AKA Sloppy Joes, barbecues, loose meat sandwiches, or Made-Rights.
University of South Dakota
The university south of Sioux Falls is known for its liberal arts, law, and medical schools. It has a big rivalry with SDSU.
Walking taco
A mini Doritos bag, cut open and stuffed with taco toppings for maximum portability.
Chapter 2: “I’ll give you a t-shirt if you drink a fish”
Several moments made me feel like I was truly living in South Dakota, but nothing — I repeat, nothing — made me feel like I was living in South Dakota more than the fateful day I learned about the “minnow shot.”
Here’s how the minnow shot was described to me by my coworker: Sometimes, small-town bars in the Midwest host events where you can order a shot with a live minnow in it. You drink the alcohol, and down the fish goes, into your stomach.
I was floored. But what better way to assimilate to a new culture than partake in their small-town traditions? When Lennox, South Dakota, hosted a “shoot the minnow” event at a dive bar on Main Street, I knew what needed to happen.
I won’t lie: I was nervous. I even went so far as to “practice” my minnow shot with water and a Swedish Fish for weeks before the big day. Unsurprisingly, not a single practice round was successful.
But I knew I'd regret not trying the minnow shot. So when the day arrived, I saddled up to the bar and asked — no, begged — the bartender to give me a small minnow. The fish went into my shot glass of Fireball (I was told the cinnamon flavor would counteract the fishy taste) and then into my stomach. Needless to say, I proudly wore my “I shot the minnow” shirt to work that following day.
Chapter 3: Deirdre fights for her life as she is killed by kindness
(Spoiler alert: Kindness wins.)
I come from the East Coast, where you owe someone a kidney if they do something nice for you. Living in South Dakota meant I had to learn to accept random acts of kindness from coworkers.
Even before my first day, I had to wrestle with an impromptu invitation to my soon-to-be-coworker’s wedding reception. I remember thinking, “She’s just being polite, right? She doesn’t really want me there…”
I was worried that showing up would be awkward but staying home would be rude, so I decided to attend. That’s how I met all my coworkers for the first time: in the middle of a dance floor during a wedding reception. It was bizarre, but it was also incredible.
Looking back, I realize that this is what makes the Midwest — and Sioux Falls in particular — a place unlike any other. Having lived in several other cities, I can say that the sense of community in Sioux Falls is unparalleled. It's normal for people to ask you what you're doing for the holidays and actually be interested in the answer. And if you don’t have anywhere to go, you can expect to be sitting next to their dad at their dinner table (yeah, that really happened).
If I could go back in time and tell myself one thing before I moved to South Dakota, it would be this: Go to every family barbeque. Take people up on their offers of kindness. The moment you do is when you really start to turn into a Midwesterner. It was never about drinking the fish.
Conclusion: Driving off into the sunset, or rather, the cornfields
After living in South Dakota for a little over seven months, here are some things that I have come to love (and not love) about Sioux Falls:
I was right when I predicted that moving to the Midwest would be an adventure, and luckily for me, the adventure continues!
I’ve joined the Lemonly team full-time, and so has my fellow 2024 intern, Alex. You can learn more about us in our intro Q&A, and don’t forget to sign up for the Lemonly Lowdown to keep up with the rest of the team.
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