Seven weeks in, and Sioux Falls turf still finds new ways to surprise us. You’d think by now we’d have seen it all — but this week alone brought talking parrots, a newspaper debut (two, actually), a new Minnesota Twins fan, and a whipped-cream-based team competition that got a little too enthusiastic in the best way possible.
By now, the rhythm of Southwestern life has settled into our bones: up early, coffee if we’re lucky, hours of walking, knocking, talking, laughing, getting told no, getting told yes, and somewhere in between, growing a little braver than we were the day before. Week 7 didn’t slow that rhythm down one bit. If anything, it reminded us why we keep choosing to knock on one more door, even when our feet are begging us to stop.
Stories from the Turf
Let’s start with Mari, because honestly, nothing this week topped her afternoon with ten parrots. Not one or two — ten, all trained to do tricks, in someone’s home like a tiny feathered circus. One parrot had apparently mastered the art of hospitality, cheerfully saying “hello” to anyone who walked in. The other parrot had… a different vocabulary. Let’s just say it skipped the pleasantries and went straight for a phrase that will not be repeated here, but that had the whole team laughing when Mari told the story. Turf has a way of humbling you, and apparently that includes being told off by a bird.
Parvin, meanwhile, has moved out into the villages, which means his days now involve a lot more driving and a lot less walking between houses. He’s summed up the scenery about as perfectly as anyone could: “To the left, corn; to the right, corn; and behind, soybeans.” If South Dakota ever needs a new slogan, we’ve got one ready. But the real headline — literally — is that Parvin made it into the local newspaper last week. And not to be outdone, Gabriel followed him into print this week, showing up in the Lennox Independent. Two team members, two headlines, one very real possibility that Team 7UP is quietly becoming local celebrities in South Dakota. For all the right reasons, we should add.
Michael made a headline of his own this week, even if it’s only official within our group chat: he’s now the proud owner of a Minnesota Twins hat, which apparently makes him a Minnesota Twins fan. We’ll let the state decide if that counts.
Not every story this week came with laughter attached, though. Luise had her patience and problem-solving tested twice by bike trouble — not exactly convenient when your bike is how you get to your houses. But if you know Luise, you know she didn’t panic. She stayed calm, worked through it, and got back on the road both times. And in the middle of all that, one homeowner left her a note letting her know there was a supper waiting for her — a small, unexpected kindness that showed up exactly when she needed it. It’s easy to talk about resilience in the abstract; it’s another thing to watch a teammate quietly demonstrate it twice in one week, and have the neighborhood look out for her along the way.
What Strangers Keep Teaching Us
Every door really does teach us something, whether it ends in a sale, a genuine conversation, or just a smile and a “not today.” This week reminded us that some of the best moments on turf have nothing to do with the sale at all — they’re the parrot encounters, the corn-field jokes, the newspaper photographers who show up unannounced, the small kindnesses from homeowners who didn’t have to be kind at all. We keep learning that the people of South Dakota are funnier, warmer, and more unpredictable than we ever expected, and we’re grateful for every single one of them.
7UP Spotlight
This week’s spotlight goes to the whole team, because honestly, everyone earned it.
To the one who turned a parrot’s rude outburst into the story of the summer, curiosity and warmth clearly aren’t going anywhere. To the one who keeps showing up with steady, positive energy no matter how long the day runs, thank you for being the glue. To the one who stayed calm through two separate bike breakdowns and just quietly solved both, that’s resilience in its purest, most unglamorous form. To the one adapting to village life, driving past corn fields in every direction and still bringing humor to the long stretches between houses, your work ethic hasn’t slipped one bit. To the one who keeps saying yes to strangers and letting unexpected moments turn into real conversations, that openness is what makes this whole summer worth it. To the one who showed hospitality all summer and is now, quite literally, a local headline, we’re not surprised people want to write about you. And to the one who stays composed and funny no matter what a door throws at them, you make every conversation better just by being in it.
But if we’re being honest, the real spotlight of Week 7 belongs to Pie-in-the-Eye.
Girls versus boys, one simple rule: whoever landed the most sit-downs during the week would get to end it by covering the other team’s faces in whipped cream. What started as a lighthearted little competition turned into a full week of trash talk, strategic scheduling, and everyone suddenly a lot more motivated to book that extra appointment. The girls pulled ahead, and by the end of the week, the boys knew exactly what was coming.
And it delivered. Whipped cream everywhere — on faces, in hair. Nobody was spared, nobody complained, and the photos from that afternoon might be some of our favorites from the entire summer. It was silly, it was messy, and it was exactly the kind of moment that reminds us why this team works so well together: we can grind all week, knock on hundreds of doors, and still find a reason to laugh until we’re crying in someone’s front yard.
That’s the spirit of 7UP. Hard work, real growth, and never taking ourselves too seriously.
Sundays That Recharge Us
All seven of us spent Sunday together, and it turned into one of the best days of the summer. Gabriel took us to visit the family he’d stayed with at the very start of the summer — the only one of us who knew them beforehand — and they welcomed the rest of the team like we’d been friends all along. We played tennis, watched the World Cup final together, celebrated Spain’s win over Argentina, cooled off in the pool, and ended the day with pizza. It wasn’t just a day off. It was generosity, new friendships, and laughter — exactly what we needed to recharge before another week on turf.
Thank You
To our families, friends, and everyone following along back home — thank you for cheering us on from thousands of miles away. Every message means more than you know.
Seven weeks down, and we’re more convinced than ever: this summer was never just about knocking on doors. It’s about becoming braver, building friendships that will outlast this summer, and collecting stories we’ll be telling for years to come.
Onward to Week 8.
Team 7UP
SW Eesti 