Wisconsin Worldwide
As winter settled in last month, I bolted for the warmth of the South Pacific.
While I’ve grown accustomed to surviving Wisconsin winters, I wouldn’t say I thrive in them. I am not into skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling or any other activity that might make northern winters enjoyable.
The only thing I’ve found valuable about Wisconsin winter is that it ends and it makes me intensely appreciate summer.
So, I traded 20s and 30s for 80s and 90s for two weeks while touring Vietnam and Cambodia. Both countries are well worth a visit, by the way.
From the lively streets of Hanoi to the rice paddies of the countryside in Vietnam, and from the tragic Killing Fields to the grandeur of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, it was an interesting and lively trip.
Aside from the new experiences, one of the great pleasures of traveling is meeting other travelers. On this most recent trip, I spent time with Brazilians, Australians, Germans, Italians, Brits and a few other Americans.
Most get-to-know you conversations on vacation start with the simple question: “Where are you from?”
When you say you’re from the United States, most people will delve deeper and ask, “where in the U.S.?”
When you say “Wisconsin,” fellow Americans will almost immediately bring up cheese, the Packers, snow or the bitter cold.
I met one middle-aged couple from Atlanta, who spent two years living in Milwaukee. That was a clear “mistake,” they said. Wisconsin Winter was too irrepressible for them.
Most non-Americans will have a blank look on their face when you say “Wisconsin.” Aside from a few random places in the world, Wisconsin is not widely known internationally.
Although, there was this one time in New Zealand… when I ran across a Five Guys-style chain restaurant called Burger Wisconsin.
It was coincidentally right next to a hostel I stayed at in Auckland. Seeing “Wisconsin” on a sign down under blew my mind.
Burger Wisconsin’s website doesn’t do a great job of explaining the name’s origin.
“While we’re very proud to be a NZ owned and operated chain, leading the way for delicious healthy food in the burger market, we pay tribute to the history of great burgers through our name Burger Wisconsin, which reflects Wisconsin, USA’s title ‘Home of the Hamburger.’”
Hmmmm…. OK.
But, back to the point at hand. When I am traveling, I usually explain where I am from by saying I live near Chicago or the Great Lakes. That generally seems to register with most non-Americans.
In some cases, these days, I can say I live in the state where the Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer” takes place. But that’s a dubious footnote.
When you have these “Where are you from” conversations, more often than not you try to sell the highlights of where you are from as if you are trying to get them to visit.
“We have four seasons, a bunch of lakes, good people, good beer, and we really dig our cheese. We even wear cheese-shaped hats.”
It is hard to not caricature.
After a decade of traveling internationally on a regular basis, I haven’t yet figured the best way to describe Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is hard to explain. It is definitely cold though. That is on the money.
CRAIG SAUER is a writer, communicator and former journalist living in Fitchburg, Wis.
