Since I came to New York, I love to think about nationality and what it means. About what is it exactly that extinguishes people of different nationalities, cultural differences and those little things that make us, humans, so interesting. And New York such a vibrant, colorful place. Yes, I still think New York is an interesting place, in spite of a lot of people calling it "Disneyland". I recognize that the city might not be as hard core and culturally electrifying as it used to be, but it still kicks the heck out of a lot other cities that I know. Maybe it's because I never want to get tired of it or maybe I didn't live here long enough, but I still embrace all the craziness and sparkling energy of the city. I heart New York.
And I really, really heart its ethnic and cultural mix. There's so much to learn here, so many people to meet, so many things to find out about other cultures. Take for example my friend from the bar, J. guy from the neighborhood, who'd spent a lot of time living in Asia - he can tell by the way people look (duh! who doesn't? :); which reminds me of
this website) but also by their gestures, mannerisms, where exactly in Asia they are from.
I think it's fascinating - I feel like I could see that, too, were I to spend more time with Asian people. But since I work in an Irish bar (I mean, technically, it's American, but two thirds of my bosses are Irish) I get to see a lot of Anglo-Saxons and Europeans in general. Eastern Europeans among them. And since I myself am Eastern European (although would rather think of myself as European, as nobody in USA calls themselves "Southern American" or "Northern American", not since the Civil War, at least not out loud) I can see our European differences black on white. And even though I know it's often stereotypes that make us think something of somebody, there is always a little grain of truth in every stereotype.
So, even though I generally don't like to generalize, I like to have fun with stereotypes sometimes. And I tease my international friends, as they tease me back, for example, calling me Russian ("Russian, Polish, same difference" they would say, and I, playing the game, would say, depending on their nationality - yeah, "Finnish, Swedish, same difference", or "Irish, English - all the same"). So I would try to imitate the "real" New York accent, or try (without success, I'm thinking about taking accent classes) Australian, Scottish and Irish. I love them all. But, as often happens in cases like this, I can't figure out what my own accent is like - obviously, I speak with it, but I can't hear it.
Also, even though tried for the last 5 years that I live here, I could never figure out what it is that makes me recognize people from my own country right off the bat. Is it skin color, bone structure, non-verbal language, way of dressing or maybe some sub-conscious, genetic code and recognize them instantly, even though we didn't even exchange words? Or maybe it's the smell, and we always sense that somebody is "ours" or not. After all we are still Monkeys, only bigger, maybe smarter (although that's questionable). Aren't we?
