sunday in loisada

[rm]

Mostly we don't buy groceries at the Avenue C supermarket -- mainly because it sucks. But I do buy my eggs there (note to roommate: today's discovery, they have the organic eggs you like for half of what you're paying for them) and my corn muffin mix, as it's $.39 as opposed to $.45 and yes, that matters.

Said supermarket, unaffectionately and perhaps inappropriately known as the ghettomart, carries fruits and vegetables I've never heard of and parts of the pig I either didn't know the pig had, or that people ate. It's always interesting and always makes me feel both naive and ignorant.

I'm not a naive girl and in some very peculiar ways have seen a lot more of the world and human nature than a lot of people. But the fact is there are certain universes where I will always be an alien, almost entirely because of my body language and the way I pronounce words -- or so I've been told, screamed at by strangers for supposedly thinking I am better than them, because of how I walk, for, I am told, acting as if I am rich.

At any rate, it's Sunday -- and there's a street fair up the avenue, with cotton candy and Mexican ices and salsa music. There's a funeral a block over in the projects -- I saw the procession -- coffin in the back of a pick-up truck with flowers piled onto it two feet high -- and then about 20 rental black sedans, following it, as it turned the corner down to Avenue D, Chinese writing in the windows.

In other demographic news, I am reminded of my sudden but hardly inexplicable desire to go to Paris (I was opposed to it through years of laborious language education in private school and several disasterous trips to Quebec to practice said French) by an article in today's New York Times. I note this only because my parents vacationed there regularly for a while over the last decade, but have recently decided to stop going, because my mother says she's read that they are anti-semetic. I have no idea if this is true or not, but it struck me on a number of levels as I bought latke mix at the supermarket today.

People ask me what I am a lot -- am I Greek? am I Italian? am I even white? Am I French, am I American? Those seem to be the most common questions, well if you don't count the number of cab drivers, homeless people, and new New Yorkers recently arrived here from somewhere in-land who ask "you're not a Jew, are you?" It's always a slightly fraught thing you see -- especially for someone who is as many things as I am, and I never know which answer is right or safe. Most importantly though, that grammar is rude, and for me, it's not a yes or no question anyway.

In high school, my parents didn't let me apply for a study abroad program in Berlin because of the Jewish thing, even when so much of the art and music and stuff I had learned to love through my family was from that strange city, that I have also never visited. *shrug*

Maybe I sound naive again, but oh, we do not need to go looking for things to be afraid of and offended by. And I would still very much like to go to Paris.

Comments

[rezendi.livejournal.com]

The French kind of are anti-semitic, I think. Also anti-Arabic, anti-English, anti-American, anti-German, anti-Japanese...

[machiavellian.livejournal.com]

I think you would love Paris. I went, and I did not want to come back.

[rm.livejournal.com]

You just travel everywhere. (I'm totally marvelling at your balls with this Australia thing, btw).

And yeah, I'm sure I would -- when I have money again, definitely.

I adore everywhere I go really, just 'cause I like new things, so it's hard for me not to be enamoured of a place, or at least morbidly fascinated (LA).

[machiavellian.livejournal.com]

I used to travel frequently because I worked in the airline industry, so that's probably the biggest thing I miss about no longer working for "the man," so to speak.

Oddly, I found myself very disappointed with LA. I know this sounds silly, but to me, it was very dry and very flat. Misconception? Probably.

But I did have a blast in San Francisco. Give me north California instead! ;)

[rm.livejournal.com]

I loathe LA. It was just surreal enough to be interesting.

SanFran is okay -- I like the city -- the people sort of weird me out though.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

SanFran is okay -- I like the city -- the people sort of weird me out though.

How so? I've only driven through SanFran, but I've met numerous people from there - to me, they seem unusually strong exemplars of typical PNW fringe attitudes, but nothing terribly strange. What was you reaction?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Of course this doesn't apply to everyone there, but I've banged into this attitude on multiple trips and in dealing with people from there elsewhere:

They go on and on about how nice they are, and people are there, and non-judgemental and so much more enlightened that that whole East Coast style of being -- and the second you walk away, talk serious smack. At least here I know who doesn't like me.

Additionally, they are all about their labels as cred -- and I don't have time.

Also, I've never felt comfortable there -- it's a very ethnic city, but in a very different way than east coast cities, and I feel like I stand out in an uncomfortable way. I'm not blonde, and I don't hike and I am so the white girl who eats too much sushi. Just... could never live there. Ever.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

They go on and on about how nice they are, and people are there, and non-judgemental and so much more enlightened that that whole East Coast style of being -- and the second you walk away, talk serious smack. At least here I know who doesn't like me.

Additionally, they are all about their labels as cred -- and I don't have time.

Ah, that makes much sense, that's California ethos (ubiquitous in LA) combined with PNW sensibility. I don't know what it is about California, but duplicity seems to be remarkably common there.

Also, I've never felt comfortable there -- it's a very ethnic city, but in a very different way than east coast cities, and I feel like I stand out in an uncomfortable way. I'm not blonde, and I don't hike and I am so the white girl who eats too much sushi.

Ethnic? I've only had limited contact with that city, but I've never heard anyone describe it as ethnic. Howso?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Huge Asian population -- which makes me dig on the food. But not ethnic in the ways I am used to (latin, middle-eastern and mediterranean) so I feel out of place.

As a Sushi Eating Non Blonde SF area person myself...

[keith418.livejournal.com]

There are large numbers of non-hiking, non-blondes gorging on sushi in the Bay Area. It is, however, very different in the sense of ethnicity you speak of. I grew up on the East Coast and many of the "white groupings" of ethnicity seemed so more important. Being Irish or Italian really means something in NY, it doesn't mean very much in SF or Oakland at all. I actually like this aspect of the culture because I find the East Coast preoccupation with ethnic issues to be limiting and annoying. That may, however, just be due to the fact that I'm a WASP.

I attribute many of the differences between West and East Coast, in attitudes and approaches, to the fact that almost no one on the West Coast feels guilty about anything they do, ever. People from the East Coast, by comparison, are consumed and almost defined by their guilt and the stress that it creates. Guilt towards family, guilt towards God, guilt about the fate of the world - it's all guilt. This makes, I think, for deeper people on the East Coast- but they aren't as happy. It can also be irritating when people on the West Coast don't feel guilt about doing things they should feel bad about. It just gets in the way of the bliss.

Parlez-vous français ?

[espidre.livejournal.com]

Having been to both Quebec and Paris and making attempt pass off my bad french, I have to say that Paris is definitely worth the trip. For one, the French are pleased as punch, and pretty nice to you if you make any attempt to speak the language. Also, the Quebecois have a peculiar accent which makes them difficult to understand if you're a textbook French student. I think you'll find you can pick up more of what people are saying if you're in Paris, and they are less likely to become annoyed and switch to English on you when you do speak if you're unsure.

Do it. Do it because airfare to Paris from NYC is pretty close to going to San Francisco.

[genders.livejournal.com]

Great post. Paris is my favorite city, but go see them both.

My parents did that thing too, with German cars or anything like that. Sigh.