How Does a Transplant from Another State Prove They Belong in Idaho?

What does it take when you move to a new state before you are considered to belong? When you go somewhere and get asked where are you from, and you mention the city you live in, not the state you moved from? Are there specific markers that make an official Idahoan of someone who immigrated from outside state lines?

2 Huge Ways to Mark Yourself as Not From Idaho

I managed to mark myself as not one of the fold the first night after moving into the state. I didn’t have a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question ‘Do you want fry sauce?’. In my innocence, I replied, ‘What’s that?’. There was a moment of confusion on the teenager’s face at the restaurant. His answer was ‘Sauce for fries.’

That was just the beginning. I went to establish a new doctor for my daughter. New patient questionnaires can be tedious, but the doctor and I made it through at a good pace. The hiccup came when she asked the question ‘Are there firearms in the home?’ I answered ‘No.’ The doctor looked up bemused seeming to think I misunderstood the question, or she the answer. I realized, this again had marked me as an outsider.

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I feel more comfortable now that I have lived in Idaho for over 13 years. But time alone does not initiate one into a culture. It requires adapting to the environment. I know what rock chucks are and despise them. I own a kayak and have traversed many sections of the Snake River and watched jumpers from under the Perrine Bridge. I eat fry sauce on tater tots. I own a gun.

Actually, I own a few. I’ve even gone as far as to create a new sport. I sit on my front porch in my rocking chair drinking root beer and shooting wasps with a water gun as they try to drink at my hummingbird feeder. I spend fly season salting my house indoors and out target shooting with my salt gun.

RELATED STORY: 7 Simple Ways You Can Tell if Someone is New to Idaho