When I came here about five years ago I was not very shocked to see many different things and different ways of living that exist in NY. We all know that what you see in American movies is not a real image of America and especially NY, since most of the movies are made in NY, but one gets accustomed to seeing all those tall buildings, big lights and different people. I guess I saw so many movies that when I came here almost nothing was very surprising to me.
Some things did make me feel a bit annoyed. For example many people in NY are loud, wear pants much lower than they should, chew loudly...But also what i noticed is that there are no street dogs or cats which was weird to me because where I come from one can see a cat or a dog anywhere, and can even play with them sometimes. What surprised me the most was that almost no one has his/her own washing machine in the apartment. Everyone from the building use the same machines and if you live in a private house you have to use the laundromat outside. That was very strange to me because in my country everyone has a washing machine in the house or apartment and the process of washing is longer and better. Therefore clothes over there lasts much longer and one does not have so many t shirts, pants or pairs of shoes.
NY is very unique because you get to meet people from any corner of the world. I have friend from many different places and I had a chance to learn about their cultures and points of view. Out of all the people i met I got a chance to meet very few "real" Americans who were born and raised here. But somehow all people are acting American in the way that everyone is watching his/her own business, time is very organized and precious and getting to know a person or becoming close friends is extremely hard.
I totally agree that New Yorkers are loud and wear their pants inappropriately. I find it quite rude that people can actually walk around in such a way. Instead of dogs and cats roaming the streets, we have rats roaming the subways and garbage lurking the streets. When it comes to the laundry situation, I think it depends where you live. In most of your apartments in the city you do have to share washing machines with others but if you live outside of the city you usually have your own washers and dryers in the comfort of your home.
ReplyDeleteI really share the same feelings about the washing machines.I also feel they there is not way there is some magic that the cloths can be as clean in 30 minutes instead of 90 minutes.
ReplyDeleteAshley is right,it is just a New York city thing,if we want to have a washing machine in the apartment we will probably have to give up on the great adventure of living in the city.
Regarding the people,I wouldn't conclude all New Yorkers are loud or goes with low jeans,I definetly agree New Yorkers are louder than Europeans but that makes it much more interesting than Europe :)
i agree with you saying that it is hard to make friends in america. everyone is always busy with their own things that they don't have time to really go out and meet new people. the ones who do, however, are usually the ones who are looking to get to the top. even in baruch classrooms, i feel like if there is nothing in common with a classmate, it's hard to be their friend.
ReplyDeleteHey Bosko,
ReplyDeleteI second you on the point where you mentioned that you got a chance to meet very few "real" Americans who were born and raised here. I went to school for two semesters in Alabama, and comparing the friends I've made or the most people I've known till date from NY and AL; I would say that New Yorker's are mostly diverse than the ones I know from AL.
(P.S. pets are also seen in the streets in my country, Nepal.)
New York can be a very intimidating place; everyone's in a hurry and doing their own thing. The bad thing is that it's hard to slow down here because there's always a deadline for everything. I was born here so it's not strange to me, but I like to slow down whenever I can afford to. The opportunities here are endless though, and you'd actually be surprised at how many nice people are around =)
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