A Different Point of View

"We need diversity of thought in the world to face new challenges."

- Tim Berners Lee  

Saturday night Dan and I went out for dinner, in celebration of my first complete week of school (no kids yet, though), my first day of grad school, and his being half-way done in the re-mastering process of his music. We live in a neighborhood within Brooklyn called "Park Slope." Right outside our door is practically any type of food you could possibly think of. So we walked along the bustling row of restaurants on 5th Avenue and decided on a Peruvian place, partly because it had opened its front wall of windows out onto the street, which allowed us to eat while enjoying the beautiful night.

As a man came to serve us water, Dan, in his usual friendly manner, asked, "Are you Peruvian?" I cringed in fear that he may not be and that our cultural ignorance might offend him. But he smiled and said, "No, I look like I could be, but I'm from the Middle East. Turkey." We rarely meet someone who is from New York. It's comforting to know we're just a couple of misfits in a sea of misfits. He chatted with us throughout the night, and told us a little of his story.

Another friendly face has been one of the ladies in our apartment building, Anita. She is one of the first people we met here, and we often see her taking out the building's trash, sweeping the halls, or standing outside. She is always chatty and sometimes speaks so fast and with such an accent that I can't tell whether she's actually speaking to us in English or Spanish! She's from the Dominican Republic, but has been living and raising her family in this very building for 25 years. It's amazing to here stories of people like Anita, who have somehow made ends meet here for so long.

Dan just told me another interesting story about the man who works the counter at the corner deli. He is from the Middle East, and his family remains there while he works. He spends 1 year here working, and goes back home to his family for 1 year, and then repeats the cycle. I can't imagine spending an entire year away from your family in order to provide for them.

It's incredible to meet people everyday from so many different backgrounds. That is one of the very reasons Dan and I moved to New York. What better way to learn, grow, and be immersed in so many different cultures than to live amongst such diversity! Sometimes, yes, it makes for frustrating, confusing conversations at the convenience store or a miscommunication at the hair salon, but all in all it is such a fantastic experience! It reminds me of my conviction to not be concerned with being "American" so much as being a Child of God. As we are facing new challenges in our life, it is humbling and exhilarating to discover peoples' diverse stories, their unique challenges, and how they manage to "keep on keepin' on."