First, let’s define friendly.  For the sake of this short article, I would define a friendly town as a place where people are approachable, and there is a culture of helpfulness and hospitality.  Here in Minnesota, we often call it “Minnesota Nice”. This culture makes us feel accepted and safe, and it also makes visitors to our community feel accepted and safe.  So, walk down the street in Faribault or Northfield and take notice of the number of people who make eye contact and greet you with a kind word.  Here is where, in my experience, we do great.  But let’s talk about something that goes a little further, the likelihood of people you meet in stores and public places to ask you how you are doing, and seem to care about the answer you give.   Grocery stores, coffee shops, walking paths and the dog park are places in Faribault and Northfield where the people I meet seem to be genuinely helpful and kind.  It does not hurt that we have tons of walking paths around town where we can meet and greet others.  We are definitely a kind lot.

Now, let’s talk about the situations where the kind hello and conversations exuding helpfulness seem to be lacking.  I have noticed that we still have a bit of a tendency to be shy to greet those who are from different cultural and racial backgrounds.  The reason I describe this as shyness, is that I believe we are not sure of what to say and whether or not the person approaching us really wants to talk with us, and we are afraid of being rejected.  The natural human response when unsure of whether or not our overtures will be reciprocated, is to back off.  This is precisely the time to pluck up the courage to step forward and express all of the friendliness we hold in our hearts.  According to a 2022 study by Dr. Gillian Sandstrom, 87% of the time, across hundreds of encounters, strangers will respond positively when you engage them in conversation.  Those are pretty good odds, and when the conversation or greeting is to someone from outside of your ethnic or racial group, the benefit can be amazing.  “Minnesota Nice” is catchy.

When all is said and done, Faribault and Northfield are both pretty friendly places, yet in both communities, we can benefit by improving our interactions with others from different cultural and ethnic groups.  We can make everyone feel accepted and safe by overcoming our fear of rejection, and engaging in kind conversation or a simple kind greeting.

“Maalin wanaagsan”,

“Que te vaya bien”,

“Have a nice day”,

Sue Stout
Outreach Coordinator
Ruth’s House/Sarah’s House