After growing up between Manhattan and the South Bronx, I've got to say I definately left NYC for a reason. I can't stand it there anymore. To live there, you either have to be super rich or dirt poor - the middle can barely survive anymore.
I think it was funnily characterized by Yenni too who said "Not even Chinese people want to go to Chinatown now." My dad and I used to tear across Chinatown, exploring, eating, getting lost, learning all of it until we knew it better than the people who lived there. Then the tourists/residents of the city began shrinking the "no white people zone" until Chinatown became a hip place to get bubbletea. I hate it. I LIKED the fishy smell. I LIKED not knowing what the hell they were feeding me at the dim sum restaurants, being stared at by shop keepers until I tasted it, and having them getting the biggest kick out of me inhaling every morsel with delight. I remember when it used to be weird for anyone but asian folks to be able to use chopsticks.
By the time I was in HS, I was relegated to the deepest parts of Chinatown. I thought nothing of it and took Ari to show him the heart of the area. I thought nothing of it until a Chinese friend and resident of the area actually TRACKED me down because she heard whispers of a white girl fitting my description roaming the streets where NO ONE but asians roamed. I shit you not, she actually went looking and found me. She was shocked, we were happy to see her, she asked us if we were lost. I told her all my local faves, she was more shocked (I was all proud of myself), and we had a great time. I guess the whispers were the "oh shit, here comes another bubble tea and mochi sucking, pocki hunting Chinatown ruiner." NYC has lost the feel. It's all turning into the midtown/upper east side. It's a huge part of why I'll never go back.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-04-02 02:27 pm (UTC)I think it was funnily characterized by Yenni too who said "Not even Chinese people want to go to Chinatown now."
My dad and I used to tear across Chinatown, exploring, eating, getting lost, learning all of it until we knew it better than the people who lived there. Then the tourists/residents of the city began shrinking the "no white people zone" until Chinatown became a hip place to get bubbletea. I hate it. I LIKED the fishy smell. I LIKED not knowing what the hell they were feeding me at the dim sum restaurants, being stared at by shop keepers until I tasted it, and having them getting the biggest kick out of me inhaling every morsel with delight. I remember when it used to be weird for anyone but asian folks to be able to use chopsticks.
By the time I was in HS, I was relegated to the deepest parts of Chinatown. I thought nothing of it and took Ari to show him the heart of the area. I thought nothing of it until a Chinese friend and resident of the area actually TRACKED me down because she heard whispers of a white girl fitting my description roaming the streets where NO ONE but asians roamed. I shit you not, she actually went looking and found me. She was shocked, we were happy to see her, she asked us if we were lost. I told her all my local faves, she was more shocked (I was all proud of myself), and we had a great time. I guess the whispers were the "oh shit, here comes another bubble tea and mochi sucking, pocki hunting Chinatown ruiner." NYC has lost the feel. It's all turning into the midtown/upper east side. It's a huge part of why I'll never go back.