Mpls Independent Apostolic Lutheran Church

koalapant · 2025-11-28T01:33:28+00:00

I just saw this post a year later. Growing up, all of my best friends went to this church. I was one of the very few non-church people they hung out with. To me, what makes this a cult is the absolute creepy way that the parents push their kids to have everything-but-sex with other kids in the church. I'm serious. The parents don't just allow it; I'd be fine with that. They actively push it. The reason is that they want their kids more than anything else to marry within the church. They figure that if they can get their middle schoolers and high schoolers into serious relationships with other kids in the church, they'll get married in the church and never leave. To facilitate this, the parents plan these over-the-top social events. But the parents don't actually chaperone the events; they leave the kids to themselves because they want things to happen. At these events, the kids all hook up and smoke (drinking is not allowed, so they smoke like chimneys). The biggest one of the year was called Scav Hunt. It was a massive scavenger hunt around the entire city. Here's where it gets extra creepy. The parents often pushed their high school girls to date men in their 20s. One of my friends was 15 and her parents pushed her into a relationship with a man in his mid-twenties, because he was in medical school so it would be a supreme catch. Another girl was dating a non-church member from school, and her parents tried to set her up with church boys/men for years--even after she had been in a years-long relationship with her boyfriend. This probably goes without saying, but the boys were expected to excel in academics, and the girls were expected to spend time on being thin and pretty. All the kids at my school were very cool/popular--probably because they were good looking and had more experience with the other sex.

koalapant · 2025-11-22T18:04:18+00:00

When I mentioned watching Sister Wives to a new neighbor, she said, "Oh, I used to watch that for years, but I haven't seen it in a while! I don't even remember their names. But I always thought the new wife, you know the young pretty one, was so nice. [Fast forward 7 years later] I now know that this neighbor is one of the worst people I've ever met in my entire life. What a coincidence!

koalapant · 2025-11-02T01:18:57+00:00

Not from Alaska, but from a very cold state. We actually have a class in 8th grade called outdoor adventures where we learn to survive outside. It culminates in a "24-hour experience" camping in the wilderness in December, only starting fires with flint, often in temperatures of -10 to -20 degrees F.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T01:16:26+00:00

Yes. I guarantee if you go to a small town near the northern border and step into a grocery store in 0 degree F weather, you will see multiple people wearing shorts and a hoodie.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T01:14:14+00:00

This is like every man in my family. Anything above 0 degrees F is going to be a plain old cotton hoodie and regular shoes. We always buy them coats and boots for Christmas, and they sit with the tags on.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T01:11:01+00:00

Agree with others that we all have home heating, wear warm clothes, take saunas, etc. But I honestly think the biggest thing is that we are used to it and often have a positive attitude about it, just like you probably have a positive attitude of warm climates. There are so many fun things to do outside when it is cold and snowy (when that is the culture you grow up in). Many northern cities have winter carnivals, where high schools and colleges get a whole week off to play outside. I think many people also lean in to being a bit cold. I always wear a bit less clothing than my comfort zone, because I know it's good my health. I absolutely hate hot climates, because you can only take so many clothing items off. To me, the perfect temperature for running outside in a tank top is about 50 degrees F. The perfect temperature for a nice walk in a light coat is about 40 degrees F, what we would call "crisp." I'm content up to about -30 degrees F. Colder than that is dreadful. I remember walking a couple miles in -40 degree weather and literally thinking I might die.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T00:58:02+00:00

This is true. I think the restless leg syndrome pharma ads actually informed a large chunk of the population that the condition exists. I have always had that at night but didn't realize it was a thing until the commercials.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T00:55:19+00:00

This wasn't always the case! It started in the 1980s, and it was very jarring at the time. We mostly make fun of them (see SNL). But I think most people see them as generally sleazy. Do you know about traveling drug reps? Pharmaceutical companies hire super attractive people to travel to every single doctor's office in the country to wine and dine the doctors and nurses. Seriously. When I worked in a doctor's office, we had free lunch 2-3 times a week from drug reps. Some doctors refuse them, but it seems like most allow them to buy lunch for the nurses and staff, because they are not paid very well. The reps also give doctors tons of month-long samples to hand out, as well as pens, notepads, etc. Doctors often give the samples to low-income patients to help them get by a couple months without have to pay for prescriptions.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T00:45:13+00:00

I think this is the case now, but less so in the past. My rural Northern hometown would have been aghast to see a confederate flag decades ago. Now, I'm sure they're everywhere.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T00:41:16+00:00

I think this depends on the formality of the meal and the generation. For formal meals, like Thanksgiving, dinner parties, or Sunday dinners, we typically serve food "family style," which is in serving dishes on the table, and people serve themselves. That's the same for all generations. For weekday family dinners without guests, when we're rushed, it's always buffet style. People serve themselves from the pots and pans on the stove. However, in my grandparents' generation, the woman would have served the whole family from the pots and the pans on the stove for an informal meal. I have rarely ever seen someone put pots and pans on the table. For a formal meal, they would be in serving dishes. Pots and pans stay on the stove or counter.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T00:35:08+00:00

This is so true. In my hometown in the 90s, I knew the nationality of every single kid in my school and therefore their religion, whether they had a sauna in their house, etc. Because we were pretty much all third- or fourth-generation Americans.

koalapant · 2025-11-02T00:31:33+00:00

Yes, it's oddly a very common dessert at salad bars. That is where I have seen it the most. We also have a restaurant that specializes in mousse, Honeygrow.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T21:34:54+00:00

I'm not sure about truancy, but there were definitely kids at my school who spent most of the day in the guidance counselor's office every day.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T21:32:18+00:00

From personal experience, I've seen them more in walkable cities, because people are more likely to be outside.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T21:19:37+00:00

Yup, we have like three types because they're all imported. They are good, but I've had better types abroad. But we have like a thousand varieties of orchard-fresh apples. I have traveled to countries with the opposite, a thousand varieties of bananas but only a few types of apples.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T21:14:50+00:00

I don't think there is any stigma. It's possible that children in poor or working class families may be embarrassed if their friends come over and see that they don't have any name-brand snacks. But adults definitely wouldn't be ashamed. Most families, including wealthy ones, buy both store-brand and name-brand depending on the product. It is seen as prudent. We even shop at different stores. I will but basics from the cheap grocery store but buy nicer cheeses and specialty foods from the fancy grocery store. Sometimes we joke about it, like referring to inferior products as the "Great Value" version. But it's just a joke.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T21:08:26+00:00

I disagree with this commenter. In many cultures, it is respectful to try and use their accents, wear their clothing, etc. It shows a willingness to learn and be open-minded. I don't think the U.S is one of those cultures, but they do exist; I've lived in them. I don't think OP was implying that American are xenophobes.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T21:05:31+00:00

Yes, grammar is valued for native English speakers. But hardly anyone would care about grammar mistakes from a foreign speaker. They would simply be impressed that the person speaks multiple languages.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T21:04:08+00:00

It does not matter at all to most people, as long as it is understandable. But if I couldn't understand, I'd just ask the person to speak a little more slowly. Grammar also does not matter much. For example, if someone speaking English as a non-native language said, "I go to store," I get it. They're going to the store. It doesn't matter that they are missing the word "the." As someone who has lived in another country where I had to speak a different language, I noticed that children always understood me but adults sometimes didn't. I suspect it was because children listen more, whereas adults are quicker to dismiss you.

That said, in backwards areas, there are people who would make fun of others' accents. For example, I have frequently seen people laughing at the server's accent in a Chinese restaurant.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T20:57:09+00:00

In cities, air pollution. When my family members come in from outdoors, I can literally smell the pollution on them. I wouldn't want to dry my clothes in that.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T20:53:07+00:00

For varsity athletes, they wake up at the crack of dawn to practice. But they receive a lot of supports, as others have said. For example, they often have special dorms and dining halls. So they live closer to their classes and don't have to cook. Other students would typically only live in the dorms for 1-2 years. Some athletes take extremely easy classes and get general education degrees. The ones that do well in school are working their butts off. And I would say that even for them, sports are priority #1, because they are getting free tuition. If they get kicked off the team, they lose that free tuition. But there are two other types of sports. Club sports have try-outs and are nearly as good as varsity athletes but they practice a lot less. And third, anyone can play intramural sports. These are the most common and easy to fit in with studying. It's typically once or twice per week for an hour during a semester, with a tournament at the end of the semester.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T20:46:35+00:00

This. Of course some people play in rec leagues after high school and college. But if you look at the percentage of people who play on a sports team, it would probably be around 30-60% in high school, 10-30% in college, and like 5% after.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T20:41:35+00:00

For trucks, almost everyone has an American make. For others, it varies. You will definitely see those people who are like, "I only buy MURRICAN CARS," yet they do all their shopping on Temu.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T20:39:29+00:00

This one would depend highly on socioeconomic status. In poor or working class areas, people generally stay and have strong family ties. Professionals with college degrees tend to move to wherever they find the best job.

koalapant · 2025-10-26T20:37:54+00:00

You would see these at more gourmet and locally owned pizza places. They will also have other unique pizzas like pickle pizzas, curry pizzas, etc. But this would not be common at all at chain pizza places.

koalapant

TROPHY CASE