The Team
This is Part 2 of my reflections. Before I dive into what it was like to live in New York, I would like to say a few things about the people I spent a week with. Needless to say, we performed very well and our awards are the fruits of our labour. What impressed me the most was that everyone recognized the importance of this trip and prepared accordingly through research, speech preps etc. Most importantly, all of them realized their potential and took their individual skill sets to new heights. As the team's academic 'trainer' and one of its members, I viewed our achievement as an unequivocal success. It makes me smile to think that this victory will serve as a cornerstone or stepping stone (call it whatever stone you desire), to launch their individual careers. This trip came with a plethora of lessons - professional interaction, how to conduct yourself in distress, finding your niche in a room full of bright stars, taking and leading the charge, being responsible for your actions and how to present yourself as a respectable character. All of us took something out of it, and I'm very blessed to see their faces of joy, contentment and satisfaction when it was all said and done.
I would also like to mention that as a team, we were harmonious in the sense that our personalities complimented each other in a rather extraordinary way. From the trolling to the amazing moments captured on film, it was clear that team chemistry was always prevalent, and it flourished. Great personalities, talent and chemistry is the recipe of success in any venture. Under the leadership of a dedicated and committed Head Delegate, our team could not have asked for more. I personally felt like our team went in as an underdog, many in UBC did not believe in us, heck, I am culpable at times for not affording this team more confidence than it truly deserved prior to the conference. I was remiss to discount the potential buried deep beneath diffidence, and was I glad to see all the insecurities melt away to reveal budding stardom.
Much more could be say about this brilliant team, I'll incorporate an in-depth and personalized reflection in a separate post. For now, I'd like to address the topic of living in this big city.
Living in NY
I have placed a lot of importance on this because living here is something I plan to do in the foreseeable future. I say this because having been admitted to New York University School of Law's J.D. programme, I must of course prepare myself mentally for the staggering task of living in a big and expensive city like this.
While in NY, I made a very conscious effort to step out of the shoes of a tourist and tried to put on local lenses. Rather impossible, but I tried to view the city through their eyes anyway. This was done by studying and learning the extensive public transportation and Subway system; navigating myself through the streets of Mid and Downtown Manhattan and finding the easiest and most time conserving route; observing locals and their activities (of course, you must identify the locals first); and just getting into the Empire State of Mind.
I would caution the reader to exercise a certain amount of discretion when reading this however since: 1. I am not a local and would not claim to know what it means to be a local, at least not yet, 2. It is difficult to separate the notion of what it means to be a New Yorker ( as portrayed in the media) from what it actually means on daily basis, 3. Even if I was a local and live like a New Yorker (whatever that may mean), who am I to assert that this is how life is in NY? Here is a manifestation of that dynamism and fluidity that I mentioned in Part 1: The city means a lot of things to many people in different areas of the city , just like what Vancouver means to those living in Kitsilano vs those living in East Van, or what Kuala Lumpur means to those living in Kampung Baru vs those living in Damansara Utama. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying hard to piece together a narrative of the city, and I'm sharing the results of this effort to my readers.
Transportation - Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is located in the southern part of Queens, east of Brooklyn. It is quite removed from the city, but it is also easily connected to Manhattan via the NY subway. It is an extensive airport system, with 8 terminals, 2 parking areas and 2 Airtrain terminals. The Airtrain is an airport transit line that connects all of the terminals and facilitates passenger access to these buildings, since they are quite far apart. Like all other airports, they are essential, but the JFK Airtrain system is expensive. To enter through the turnstile (to board the Airtrain), you have to pay $5 and to exit you have to fork out another $5. I find this system ludicrous, since most airports don't charge for inter-terminal transportation. What's more, service is not as frequent as one would hope for having paid $5, it takes one around 12-15 minutes to get from the terminus station to let's say Terminal 7 for example, since the Airtrain goes in a loop, so it has to cover terminals 1-6 first.
JFK itself is ill-equipped, aged, lacking in many facilities, cramped, unintuitive in its infrastructure and undeserving of attention. Understandably, high maintenance costs, the dipping economy and presumable budget cuts have rendered many public transportation buildings in a state of disrepair, more on this when I rant about the subway. The airport reminded me of HK's Kai Tak Airport in the 90's - even as child I remember how busy, messy and unattractive the terminal was. Don't get me wrong, I am not posing any challenges on the efficiency or administration of JFK or LGA for that matter, it is simply an observation and assessment of aesthetics. Perhaps the North American mentality towards airport service is more of a 'get the job done' one rather than the Asian 'dress to impress' obsession with ultra-modern, sleek airport and terminal architecture. I am a fan of the latter, and I guess the same applies largely to airline service, but I digress.
The Subway [caution: long rant ahead]
This is by far my favourite part of NY, but it is not exempt from my criticism or evaluation. As the cities arteries and nodes bustling with human capital and energy, I am a big fan of its comprehensive coverage, uniformity, predictability and efficiency; however, I don't have too many fond things to say about its non-intuitiveness, steep learning curve, lack of signage and inadequate West-East lines. That being said, the Vancouverite or Malaysian in me would always envy such public transportation systems because they are a result of years-upon-years of economic development, the largely urban demographic and population density.
The subway is a testament to the city's maturity and is iconic of its gravity and magnitude; however, it is also the meeting point of all walks of life, and it is fascinating and depressing to see so diverse a crowd converge in a station out of sheer necessity, then disperse to pursue their own schedules. In those few, short minutes, stories are told through their faces, body language and demeanour. I've had the privilege to study some of those faces, and I have been blessed by many but at the same time discouraged by the many portraits of poverty. The reality of hardship and the 'grind' is ubiquitous, especially if one were to enter the suburbs such as Harlem, Brooklyn, Jamaica bay, Queens or the Bronx. Not all suburbs are slummy; far from it, but here you can tell that people are spread thinly when it comes to their wardrobes, the shops are small, the streets are dirty and the apartments or projects are dirty. More on this later.
Subways have entrances at the NW or SW corners of the streets. Depending on where you're going and which transit line, there are normally two directions or platforms: Uptown & the bronx and queens or Downtown & Brooklyn. Going South is going Downtown, while going North is going Uptown. The subway lines in New York are linear and they are North-South oriented. My hunch is that most traffic and physical movement is Up to Downtown and vice versa during those rush hours, and the subway lines have to deal with those primarily. Personally, I strongly feel that the city could do more with East-West subway connections. The only such connection available in Mid or Downtown Manhattan is the number 7 train that connects Times Square with Grand Central Station. This is a short line, but a very vital one, since it services everywhere from 42nd St. Port Authority to Lexington Av. & 5th av. It has many important connections with A,C,E (Local) and 1,2,3,B,D express lines as well as the 4,5,6 (green) lines that go into Lower Manhattan. However, anyone not on this 'latitude' of 42nd street will find such a connection tedious, and would opt for either the bus, the cab, walk it or the long winded way of switching platforms. Of course, you had to go south or north to other hubs such as 59th street, 34th Penn or West 4th Station, and there are other lines to such as the L train but their stops are few and far apart.
My point is that between 42nd St. and 4th St., there is a lack of East-West connections that would greatly facilitate cross-town travel. Indeed, it would be rather presumptuous of me to be giving this analysis, knowing nothing about the NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) or its history. However, upon closer examination I soon realized why such measures to increase East-West has not taken place: the NY MTA is more concerned with the flow of commuters in and out of the city, ie. from suburban locales to workplaces and vice versa, more so than intra-city movement. It seems like the philosophy or emphasis is to get commuters as cost and time-efficiently from their homes to their jobs in Manhattan, so the lines have grown in a linear fashion, branching out to the suburbs instead of a 'loop' in the city.
There are a few escalators that service subway stations, but one usually descends into them through dirty stairwells. The scent of urine, white plastered walls, gum-ridden floors and the occasional breeze greets you as you trot over to the turnstile to either scan your Metrocard or head over to the machine to purchase/refill one. During this, you should have walked past the Subway operator's booth, they're more often than not Afro-American, and none of them, judging from their perpetual frowns and abrasive attitudes, like their jobs (at least from the many I've seen). This is to nobody's surprise, I wouldn't be happy sitting behind a bullet proof capsule waiting for the occasional tourist to ask me the most obvious question in the world either.
Onto the financial impact of the Subway - it is expensive. A trip on the Subway is $2.25 per swipe of the Metrocard. The weekly unlimited pass is $29, while the monthly unlimited I believe is $100. Surely, for the local this is a necessary expenditure, but for all its expansiveness, hygiene (or lack thereof) and state of disrepair, I expected the system to be subsidized a lot more and be made more affordable to all. Nevertheless, it is a very reliable system and the only way to get around in Manhattan. During my week in New York, I did not take a cab even once, but I've heard that they those yellow cabs are pretty cheap and would very much fit within the overall transportation scheme without burning a large hole in your pocket. The final assessment is an aging and costly (in the long run), yet effective and reliable system. I've grown familiar with it and I'e grown to love it.
Riding the Subway
Onto to the humanity in the subway, it is really a reflection of the city's grit and pace. Don't know where to go? Which train to take? Got on the wrong train? Forgot to get off the train? Well, too bad!
That is the attitude that emanates from the NY Subway. Missed that train? Well, wait for the next one! The system isn't exactly new-user friendly, but there are abundant rewards for learning it and having it at the tip of your fingers. Everyone uses the subway and I've been continually amazed and intrigued by the characters that populate the underground. The underground is a vibrant community in itself - people scurrying from one tunnel to the next, like mice on a mission to find out who moved their cheese; up and down flights off staircases like hamsters in a wheel. Perhaps this is what capitalist society has come to and Marx would have a field day observing the alienation of the worker from his craft, from his peers and from himself.
However, it is in this underground complex that individuality shines through radiantly. In these putrid, hollow and damp caverns of industrial metal and concrete, millions of people strive to survive; survive and thrive. Their colours and cultures form a kaleidoscope of personalities; a mosaic that has become the motif of New York's underbelly, with their voices and music echoing vividly, turning heads and giving the city it's unique rhythm - its heartbeat is then punctuated by the clanging and screeching of metal upon metal as the train approaches the station. As people clamber onto the crowded carriages, the pungent odor of humanity wafts through your nostrils, and as the doors close the music played by the very talented saxophonist from Brooklyn or the blues band become muffled and slowly fade away in the distance.
The voice of the conductor is then heard over the public announcement system: 'Stand clear of the closing doors', 'Please report all suspicious activity', 'Please be aware that large containers are subject to random searches', 'This is an express train, next stop is [inaudible]'. Looking over to your right you might see an impeccably dressed Caucasian male in a business suit, and to your left you might see a grungy-looking Puerto Rican teen in a hoodie. I may incur the risk of profiling, but the point I'm trying to make is the range of people that you can identify in these metal cars called subways. Occasionally, you will have peddlers come on the train to either ask for charitable donations or to sell snacks for a profit, homeless people who sleep in subways and some people who just harbour animosity for the other.
I was once asked to get up and 'get away from' an Afro-American male. He was resolute and absolutely adamant that I vacate my seat, which was adjacent and apparently too close to him. I was infuriated and initially I thought this was because of the colour of my skin. Blacks, I thought, may not be too fond of Asians like me. Upon further discussion with Peter, another side of the story surfaced - that perhaps it isn't so much to do with my skin or race; instead, it was the clash of class inequalities that agitated the man. Nevertheless, my anger gave way to an understanding of the harsh reality that permeates NY's suburbs.
The subway is also a gateway to various neighbourhoods. The train stops at each borough or district or 'hood' are like quick snapshots of the surrounding area. The demographic changes are quite drastic as well. What I can say about all this, is that there isn't just one type of 'New Yorker' or a 'one-size-fits-all' definition, and to come up with one would be to grossly oversimplify the ethnic, social and economic diversity and complexities. Therefore, I try my best to avoid any one definition.
I hope all I've written so far has afforded you a few glimpses of what life is like in NYC. Reiterating my goal of discovering NY's true essence, I can proudly say that I have discovered some of the underlying trends and consistencies that many New Yorkers can relate to: the subway and diversity. More to come in Part 3, stay tuned.
P.S. I will add pictures in these posts to illustrate my reflections, when I revive my cellular device.
-Dennis
 |
| Triumphant UBC Team with our 'Outstanding Delegation' in the United Nations Headquarters, Manhattan, New York. We represented the Republic of Madagascar in the National Model United Nations conference. (April 1st-5th 2012) |
This is Part 2 of my reflections. Before I dive into what it was like to live in New York, I would like to say a few things about the people I spent a week with. Needless to say, we performed very well and our awards are the fruits of our labour. What impressed me the most was that everyone recognized the importance of this trip and prepared accordingly through research, speech preps etc. Most importantly, all of them realized their potential and took their individual skill sets to new heights. As the team's academic 'trainer' and one of its members, I viewed our achievement as an unequivocal success. It makes me smile to think that this victory will serve as a cornerstone or stepping stone (call it whatever stone you desire), to launch their individual careers. This trip came with a plethora of lessons - professional interaction, how to conduct yourself in distress, finding your niche in a room full of bright stars, taking and leading the charge, being responsible for your actions and how to present yourself as a respectable character. All of us took something out of it, and I'm very blessed to see their faces of joy, contentment and satisfaction when it was all said and done.
I would also like to mention that as a team, we were harmonious in the sense that our personalities complimented each other in a rather extraordinary way. From the trolling to the amazing moments captured on film, it was clear that team chemistry was always prevalent, and it flourished. Great personalities, talent and chemistry is the recipe of success in any venture. Under the leadership of a dedicated and committed Head Delegate, our team could not have asked for more. I personally felt like our team went in as an underdog, many in UBC did not believe in us, heck, I am culpable at times for not affording this team more confidence than it truly deserved prior to the conference. I was remiss to discount the potential buried deep beneath diffidence, and was I glad to see all the insecurities melt away to reveal budding stardom.
Much more could be say about this brilliant team, I'll incorporate an in-depth and personalized reflection in a separate post. For now, I'd like to address the topic of living in this big city.
Living in NY
I have placed a lot of importance on this because living here is something I plan to do in the foreseeable future. I say this because having been admitted to New York University School of Law's J.D. programme, I must of course prepare myself mentally for the staggering task of living in a big and expensive city like this.
While in NY, I made a very conscious effort to step out of the shoes of a tourist and tried to put on local lenses. Rather impossible, but I tried to view the city through their eyes anyway. This was done by studying and learning the extensive public transportation and Subway system; navigating myself through the streets of Mid and Downtown Manhattan and finding the easiest and most time conserving route; observing locals and their activities (of course, you must identify the locals first); and just getting into the Empire State of Mind.
I would caution the reader to exercise a certain amount of discretion when reading this however since: 1. I am not a local and would not claim to know what it means to be a local, at least not yet, 2. It is difficult to separate the notion of what it means to be a New Yorker ( as portrayed in the media) from what it actually means on daily basis, 3. Even if I was a local and live like a New Yorker (whatever that may mean), who am I to assert that this is how life is in NY? Here is a manifestation of that dynamism and fluidity that I mentioned in Part 1: The city means a lot of things to many people in different areas of the city , just like what Vancouver means to those living in Kitsilano vs those living in East Van, or what Kuala Lumpur means to those living in Kampung Baru vs those living in Damansara Utama. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying hard to piece together a narrative of the city, and I'm sharing the results of this effort to my readers.
Transportation - Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is located in the southern part of Queens, east of Brooklyn. It is quite removed from the city, but it is also easily connected to Manhattan via the NY subway. It is an extensive airport system, with 8 terminals, 2 parking areas and 2 Airtrain terminals. The Airtrain is an airport transit line that connects all of the terminals and facilitates passenger access to these buildings, since they are quite far apart. Like all other airports, they are essential, but the JFK Airtrain system is expensive. To enter through the turnstile (to board the Airtrain), you have to pay $5 and to exit you have to fork out another $5. I find this system ludicrous, since most airports don't charge for inter-terminal transportation. What's more, service is not as frequent as one would hope for having paid $5, it takes one around 12-15 minutes to get from the terminus station to let's say Terminal 7 for example, since the Airtrain goes in a loop, so it has to cover terminals 1-6 first.
JFK itself is ill-equipped, aged, lacking in many facilities, cramped, unintuitive in its infrastructure and undeserving of attention. Understandably, high maintenance costs, the dipping economy and presumable budget cuts have rendered many public transportation buildings in a state of disrepair, more on this when I rant about the subway. The airport reminded me of HK's Kai Tak Airport in the 90's - even as child I remember how busy, messy and unattractive the terminal was. Don't get me wrong, I am not posing any challenges on the efficiency or administration of JFK or LGA for that matter, it is simply an observation and assessment of aesthetics. Perhaps the North American mentality towards airport service is more of a 'get the job done' one rather than the Asian 'dress to impress' obsession with ultra-modern, sleek airport and terminal architecture. I am a fan of the latter, and I guess the same applies largely to airline service, but I digress.
The Subway [caution: long rant ahead]
 |
| Us waiting for a train. To counter the boredom, we often had a fun time documenting each other's silliness as we waited for the trains, which were infrequent during late nights. |
The subway is a testament to the city's maturity and is iconic of its gravity and magnitude; however, it is also the meeting point of all walks of life, and it is fascinating and depressing to see so diverse a crowd converge in a station out of sheer necessity, then disperse to pursue their own schedules. In those few, short minutes, stories are told through their faces, body language and demeanour. I've had the privilege to study some of those faces, and I have been blessed by many but at the same time discouraged by the many portraits of poverty. The reality of hardship and the 'grind' is ubiquitous, especially if one were to enter the suburbs such as Harlem, Brooklyn, Jamaica bay, Queens or the Bronx. Not all suburbs are slummy; far from it, but here you can tell that people are spread thinly when it comes to their wardrobes, the shops are small, the streets are dirty and the apartments or projects are dirty. More on this later.
 |
| We were all too familiar with the yellow glow in subway cars. That and people staring at us and listening to our rather foreign tongues. We conversed in English, but we may as well have been from Albania. |
Subways have entrances at the NW or SW corners of the streets. Depending on where you're going and which transit line, there are normally two directions or platforms: Uptown & the bronx and queens or Downtown & Brooklyn. Going South is going Downtown, while going North is going Uptown. The subway lines in New York are linear and they are North-South oriented. My hunch is that most traffic and physical movement is Up to Downtown and vice versa during those rush hours, and the subway lines have to deal with those primarily. Personally, I strongly feel that the city could do more with East-West subway connections. The only such connection available in Mid or Downtown Manhattan is the number 7 train that connects Times Square with Grand Central Station. This is a short line, but a very vital one, since it services everywhere from 42nd St. Port Authority to Lexington Av. & 5th av. It has many important connections with A,C,E (Local) and 1,2,3,B,D express lines as well as the 4,5,6 (green) lines that go into Lower Manhattan. However, anyone not on this 'latitude' of 42nd street will find such a connection tedious, and would opt for either the bus, the cab, walk it or the long winded way of switching platforms. Of course, you had to go south or north to other hubs such as 59th street, 34th Penn or West 4th Station, and there are other lines to such as the L train but their stops are few and far apart.
 |
| Myself standing in a train. Seats come at a premium - should you manage to get one, you would find plenty of chances to offer your seat to the many senior folk or disabled commuters. |
There are a few escalators that service subway stations, but one usually descends into them through dirty stairwells. The scent of urine, white plastered walls, gum-ridden floors and the occasional breeze greets you as you trot over to the turnstile to either scan your Metrocard or head over to the machine to purchase/refill one. During this, you should have walked past the Subway operator's booth, they're more often than not Afro-American, and none of them, judging from their perpetual frowns and abrasive attitudes, like their jobs (at least from the many I've seen). This is to nobody's surprise, I wouldn't be happy sitting behind a bullet proof capsule waiting for the occasional tourist to ask me the most obvious question in the world either.
Onto the financial impact of the Subway - it is expensive. A trip on the Subway is $2.25 per swipe of the Metrocard. The weekly unlimited pass is $29, while the monthly unlimited I believe is $100. Surely, for the local this is a necessary expenditure, but for all its expansiveness, hygiene (or lack thereof) and state of disrepair, I expected the system to be subsidized a lot more and be made more affordable to all. Nevertheless, it is a very reliable system and the only way to get around in Manhattan. During my week in New York, I did not take a cab even once, but I've heard that they those yellow cabs are pretty cheap and would very much fit within the overall transportation scheme without burning a large hole in your pocket. The final assessment is an aging and costly (in the long run), yet effective and reliable system. I've grown familiar with it and I'e grown to love it.
Riding the Subway
Onto to the humanity in the subway, it is really a reflection of the city's grit and pace. Don't know where to go? Which train to take? Got on the wrong train? Forgot to get off the train? Well, too bad!
That is the attitude that emanates from the NY Subway. Missed that train? Well, wait for the next one! The system isn't exactly new-user friendly, but there are abundant rewards for learning it and having it at the tip of your fingers. Everyone uses the subway and I've been continually amazed and intrigued by the characters that populate the underground. The underground is a vibrant community in itself - people scurrying from one tunnel to the next, like mice on a mission to find out who moved their cheese; up and down flights off staircases like hamsters in a wheel. Perhaps this is what capitalist society has come to and Marx would have a field day observing the alienation of the worker from his craft, from his peers and from himself.
 |
| Spontaneous crowd gathering to watch a rather talented saxophonist and a blues band |
However, it is in this underground complex that individuality shines through radiantly. In these putrid, hollow and damp caverns of industrial metal and concrete, millions of people strive to survive; survive and thrive. Their colours and cultures form a kaleidoscope of personalities; a mosaic that has become the motif of New York's underbelly, with their voices and music echoing vividly, turning heads and giving the city it's unique rhythm - its heartbeat is then punctuated by the clanging and screeching of metal upon metal as the train approaches the station. As people clamber onto the crowded carriages, the pungent odor of humanity wafts through your nostrils, and as the doors close the music played by the very talented saxophonist from Brooklyn or the blues band become muffled and slowly fade away in the distance.
The voice of the conductor is then heard over the public announcement system: 'Stand clear of the closing doors', 'Please report all suspicious activity', 'Please be aware that large containers are subject to random searches', 'This is an express train, next stop is [inaudible]'. Looking over to your right you might see an impeccably dressed Caucasian male in a business suit, and to your left you might see a grungy-looking Puerto Rican teen in a hoodie. I may incur the risk of profiling, but the point I'm trying to make is the range of people that you can identify in these metal cars called subways. Occasionally, you will have peddlers come on the train to either ask for charitable donations or to sell snacks for a profit, homeless people who sleep in subways and some people who just harbour animosity for the other.
I was once asked to get up and 'get away from' an Afro-American male. He was resolute and absolutely adamant that I vacate my seat, which was adjacent and apparently too close to him. I was infuriated and initially I thought this was because of the colour of my skin. Blacks, I thought, may not be too fond of Asians like me. Upon further discussion with Peter, another side of the story surfaced - that perhaps it isn't so much to do with my skin or race; instead, it was the clash of class inequalities that agitated the man. Nevertheless, my anger gave way to an understanding of the harsh reality that permeates NY's suburbs.
The subway is also a gateway to various neighbourhoods. The train stops at each borough or district or 'hood' are like quick snapshots of the surrounding area. The demographic changes are quite drastic as well. What I can say about all this, is that there isn't just one type of 'New Yorker' or a 'one-size-fits-all' definition, and to come up with one would be to grossly oversimplify the ethnic, social and economic diversity and complexities. Therefore, I try my best to avoid any one definition.
I hope all I've written so far has afforded you a few glimpses of what life is like in NYC. Reiterating my goal of discovering NY's true essence, I can proudly say that I have discovered some of the underlying trends and consistencies that many New Yorkers can relate to: the subway and diversity. More to come in Part 3, stay tuned.
P.S. I will add pictures in these posts to illustrate my reflections, when I revive my cellular device.
-Dennis
"...next stop is [inaudible]"
ReplyDeleteoh man, i laughed at that!
Dennis,
ReplyDeleteFirst off I would like to compliment you on your rather substantial vocabulary. Though you may come across as a pompous, patronizing, and colossal douchebag, I've never seen it done with such a fine choice of words. While I appreciate that you refuse to join us New Yorkers with a "one size fits all" label, I would argue that this is generally a good rule of thumb for all mankind.
Perhaps I can enlighten you as to some of the behavior you experienced on the Subway, particularly by us capitalist mice who are scurrying to find out who moved our cheese. You are correct in that the subway serves the main purpose of getting those outside of Manhattan into work on a daily basis, so that average people (mice) can earn a living (cheese). At one point the New York subway system was innovative and state-of-the-art. Now, we accept that it can serve a practical purpose despite its many flaws, one of which is that we are forced to deal with ignorant tourists who assume the "Afro-Americans" to be racist/jealous.
The energy and diversity of New York City are incredible traits, I'm sure you would agree. One of the great benefits of living here is that you learn to drop your assumptions about people based on their race, gender, religion, etc., or even about the way they talk or dress. To be honest, I think a little more time in New York would do you a world of good, even if that means putting up with our certain brand of grungy-looking, hoodie-wearing charm.
Until next time,
Eric Thibault