I’d like to summarize the past 3 days in a one post, it has been eye-opening, exciting, and very enriching to spend time here. We’ve kept being much together and have had many interesting and new experiences.

I’d highlight some of the top events and activities in to the following three:

⁃ Wal-Mart visit

⁃ NBA Game with Lauri Markkanen

⁃ Musical concert by local world-known pianist Jon Schmitt

So: Wal-Mart, NBA, Music.

Why these three? ☺️

Aren’t they all very different? Yes they are – but there’s a lot of surprising similarities in all those, you won’t believe, or actually, many connections and they definitely are interrelated, telling us parts of the American life.

Let’s start from Wal-Mart.

Gee!

Would not have thought.. this place is YUGEEEE! And: it has soooo much of chocolate, donuts, cakes, lemonades – and ready-made foods.

My wife summarized it well: Chinese want to yet fresh, Americans want to eat fast. At least many of them. Life is busy. People work hard. Long days. Families are bigger. Time is limited and precious.

I have probably never seen an “orgulloso” of so many different cheese options, flavors and brands. I mean, how do you even choose from them? It’s like HeMa x10 with steroids… 🙂

But having said that, there’s once again also some cultural and regional peculiarities, such as Lena Grenat, an excellent consultant on American culture told me before: there is not only one America, but several regional cultures and peculiarities, you need to be aware of before choosing where to settle your life, business. Colin Woodard, a fantastic American colonial era historian talks about regional “nations” that exist inside USA, Canada and northern Mexico. Yankeedom, Deep South, Far West, El Norte, Left Coast…

And I guess here we have a “Mormonland” or something like that. At least if it is to talk with all the locals – especially those who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This “Mormonland”, which I’d almost argue is an own individual larger-than-its-size of a “nation” inside the Far Western region. The “Mormonland” is totally unique. That’s what everybody says: weird, truly exceptional, inspirational, rigid, an American story… Today when I drove past BYU, you couldn’t think about who is this BY? Brigham Young, an American epic settler and the “Steve Wozniak” of J. Smith, the innovator and ideator of the first pioneers who left New York to establish a movement – which Brigham Young then brought up to Utah territory over 170 years ago. That legacy is living here still today. And strongly. But not as strongly as some might think.

“Hey man, Salt Lake City is already lost!” Too woke? “Absolutely!”

And a Uber driver analyzed to us: “I’d bet only 20% of the people in Utah are really committed to their religion and faith.

Other 40% are in the church by name, and find it too challenging to just leave, but they don’t actively go to the church or read much of the scriptures.

The rest of 40% have either left the church – or never joined it in the first place.”

Ok… interesting. Anyway, the church influence stays strong in the senate and House of Representatives – and in the national level too. In business and administration. Nobody disagrees that.

The alcohol laws, strong attitude towards safeguarding the traditional families, and other reasons have taken many of the younger generations off. YouTube “phenomenon” Johnny Harris also reflects that interestingly in his video.

Clearly we’re living in an era of change – also here in Utah, USA. There are multiple conflicting ideas and ideologies, which test and reshuffle the old ways of thinking and doing things. However after all the revolutions in science, military, thinking, arts, literate, we still have e.g. Bible which hasn’t lost its appeal in the centuries. How will it happen with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints? What will be “Mormonland’s” future? Will it renew itself? Or stay traditional, and still keep its attraction? Or will it start to get influenced by people from California, and other places, or from the current zeitgeist and start little by little “degenerating”? I’d bet that it’s so deeply rooted, that it cannot vanish totally, but challenges will come.

But back to the Wal-Mart… 🙂 why did I want to share about the churches influence, or the idea of a Mormonland? Because that’s what connects the experience in all these classically American institutions or experiences, Wal-Mart, NBA and music (in a chapel).

When you go to Wal-Mart in Utah, you notice that suddenly when there’s plenty of everything, you don’t have plenty of alcohols and beers available. It’s just a half of a two-sided corridor, much less than other products. But you have a huuuge section of Children’s apparel, toys, clothes and all kind of family related. I guess that’s what people buy and need. You have small kids and families Everywhere. Even the trolley is designed so that a small kid can sit on its frontside. (Our Lumi took though a deeper sleep with a big bear…) 🙂

Utah’s median age has been past years little over 29, Aurora’s age, whereas the US National median is around my age, over 37.

When you go to the basketball match, they don’t just have free tickets for everyone under 2, but all kind of kid-friendly details in the Arena: bathrooms are conveniently available (even a nursery room), guards and volunteers are very helpful for families with kids, even there’s a funny detail on the materials you can bring: any bags or cases are strictly forbidden – except if you have a kid, who need diapers, milk or other stuff. So Aurora could well bring her bag for Lumi.

In the music concert it was given free at a local church – and all the families could come to listen some world-class piano music. I enjoyed a lot. Lumi was mainly sleeping, but I listened carefully, cried twice, and we could talk a long time with the pianist after the show. There were free pizza and fruit for the families…

It’s kind of like when I visited Russia in the football World Cup 2018. You couldn’t go to the VIP hip places and was rejected: but if you showed a World Cup Pass, suddenly all doors started to open. I feel a little that a baby and a stroller is often really that kind of a “pass”. Actually if you don’t have a baby or small kid, you should make one for yourself, or get some clothes and a doll or something to a stroller and start going around in places. Life may get much more convenient and supported…

Having said that, people seems to be nice here though almost anywhere. The people of the church try to avoid the feeling of pride and judging other people. It’s in their bones, DNA, scriptures and mobile apps…

I talked with a local employee in Wal-Mart. He gets paid 17$ / h, which is much of a minimum here. So even if it’s a strongly Republican and “red” state, people seem to have some decency in their lives, regardless where you are or work. The retired guy was working there for fun, and maybe topping up pensions. But kids and grandchildren had moved away already, so economically they were fine, he said.

Utah is economically I guess pretty much in the good middle, you don’t see many homeless people, neither crazily rich folks (even if some are), a little bit like Finland.

We were pondering why many people still look like not so very smiling, optimistic or even “happy”, in the terms of Finland or China. After watching the interesting and hilarious theater version by South Park creators on the “Mormonland” – and talking with Utahns in e.g. Hangzhou – I’ve created the impression that folks here are really positive. Well, Wal-Mart told us another reality: some people are really just wandering, loss of direction, lack of connection, even numb… (like a scene when I went to a bus in finland as a kid 🙂 ).

But wait when these guys got into the Vivint Arena from Wal-smart? Woooow, it’s suddenly all cool and buzzing! I’m somebody! I belong! I’m being entertained! And what a show the Americans can make, anywhere. In the NBA match, but also in the music concert.

— ok let’s talk about the NBA match. This was something REALLY special, there’s a few reasons for that:

⁃ 1) we could so conveniently bring in Lumi and my 7.5 months pregnant wife – I didn’t feel probably even an inch awkward, or that we should not be bringing kids in a basketball match.

⁃ 2) Amazing quality basketball by Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz, it was exciting to watch.

⁃ 3) “All-Star” Lauri Markkanen, the “Finnisher” is playing the basketball of his life. He’s consistent game-after game. Yesterday he got over 20 points again.

The seats were nice and we got in pretty well. Tickets cost $40+, but if we’d got a season ticket it would be closer to $20 per person. Of course more expensive ticket there are too, up to several hundreds or VIP rooms going for.

I guess we were the only two Lauris in the arena yesterday…!

Markkanen started calmly, but improved a lot and played once again a nice consistent match with 22 points. Interesting experience and absolutely world-class NBA basketball. I caught one of his steady 3-pointers to my Apple, crowds were crazy about Lauri:

As mentioned, it’s really easy and convenient to take kids to the game. Or anywhere. I don’t feel the same in many other places. Everyone’s very supportive. It’s much family centered.

Ps. Probably the best sports game nachos we’ve ever eaten… 🙂 I’m wondering how a big my stomach will get here in the US… 🙂 In China I eat nicely, sometimes even pretty much – but won’t easily get too fat. But it might be different here in the USA.

After returning home I realized how important basketball is here on a federal level too. Check how “wholeheartedly” President Biden just hosted the last season winners, Golden State Warriors. Before I was watching these kind of clips with an outsider view… “oh those folks there in the US…” Now it feels perfectly natural and normal, it’s how local life also looks like – everywhere. 🙂 With the local flavors.

——

On a Saturday eve we spent the “Chinese New Year” and the turn of the Year of Rabbit eating dumplings with Antonio and Ivy’s family – and visiting Provo, driving around BYU, and hearing really touching music concert by amazing pianist Jon Schmidt, famous from the Piano Guys. We had a chance to talk with him, ask questions… local Chinese in the area were mainly invited and they seemed to be really happy about the concert. The talking between the songs was translated into Chinese. A nice way to appreciate the Chinese New Year. We met some cool local folks with Chinese background from Shanghai, Taiwan, Beijing and many other places. Aurora felt familiar. Lumi was sleeping early and dreaming… 🙂 (She slept from 4pm to 4am, 12 hours in a row…)

That was it! A long writing! 3 days in a row… a little more than 15 minutes! 😁 Great if you had a chance to get through it all! ☺️👍 Thanks for your comments and feedback, public and private! Really appreciated! Let know if you have questions or something you’d like to know more about… let’s keep it up! 🙂