I am currently in a hotel in Sonora, California. It is 6:44
of Sunday; August 12, 2012. Tomorrow, I will be in Yosemite for the first time in 15 years! My mom told me we went to Yosemite twice: once when I was two and when I was five. When I was five, I was only in Kindergarten and I certainly do not remember any of it. Perhaps a few memories will be jogged tomorrow. I'm not sure what to expect. I'm a bit scared I will be disappointed. When a place you've never been to before but have heard about and held in awe is about to become a reality, I certainly feel that fear of disappointment is only reasonable.
After checking into the hotel and putting our stuff into the room, my mom, brother, and I went to drive around the small city to see what was around us. Although not completely new to me yet still foreign, there is still a sense of cultural shock that hits me. I immediately notice my heightened awareness to the fact that I am the only Asian in my vicinity. Everyone else is of Caucasian descent. I don’t have a particular dislike for Caucasian people, although I do feel like Caucasian people generally value partying more than socializing to getting to know someone. Obviously it's a generalization but honestly, that's how I feel about it. I do try to accept those of any race though. Race is not a criterion of my judgment; however, the way one dresses, acts, and their level of social class does impact my judgment. One’s personality, whether they are nice, hard working, and humble all stand out as characteristics I look towards in people I would like to be friends with.
After checking into the hotel and putting our stuff into the room, my mom, brother, and I went to drive around the small city to see what was around us. Although not completely new to me yet still foreign, there is still a sense of cultural shock that hits me. I immediately notice my heightened awareness to the fact that I am the only Asian in my vicinity. Everyone else is of Caucasian descent. I don’t have a particular dislike for Caucasian people, although I do feel like Caucasian people generally value partying more than socializing to getting to know someone. Obviously it's a generalization but honestly, that's how I feel about it. I do try to accept those of any race though. Race is not a criterion of my judgment; however, the way one dresses, acts, and their level of social class does impact my judgment. One’s personality, whether they are nice, hard working, and humble all stand out as characteristics I look towards in people I would like to be friends with.
The main reason I felt like writing this post is due to the
fact of the similarities I noticed between rural small towns and suburbans but
the seemingly dislike I have for rural small towns/ cities. I love where I live;
it’s the place that I grew up. On the drive over to our hotel today, my mom was
telling me about how the neighborhood we live in has changed since 30 years ago
or so. My mom worked as an active real estate agent in 2004 through 2006 and
during on open house, she talked to a neighbor of the house for sale of how the
neighborhood, about 30 years ago, was much more noisy and loud. The teens
growing up then played loud music and loud cars, my mom said. I thought to
myself, “I think many teens are still like that today”. Hearing my mom tell me
how our neighborhood used to be more noisy and filled with raucus made me feel
glad that I grew up there in a time where it was already quiet. Don’t get me
wrong. The people here are more introverted than you’d might find elsewhere but
people here are nice. People are not angry hot heads who ignore each other.
People are nice, the neighborhood is really quiet, and I love the scenery of
blue skies, moderate Mediterranean temperature, and the perfect amount of
greenery and trees for my taste. People are nearby although you can’t hear them
being loud and noisy. The problem with small towns is the fact that it feels so
isolated and lonely. Sonora is likely a town of tourists. There are no
neighborhoods. It’s that small of a town. We drove the circumference of the
town in less than 10 minutes. There is anomie here: people are disconnected
from one another here. At least it seems to be that way from my perspective. It’s
a quiet town besides the main road. It’s in the mountains so there’s greenery
as well. The buildings are quite run down and the designs resemble that of cowboys
and old western country. I’m sure the
people are mean or rude individuals either although it seems not to be a town
with people in the higher middle class. It’s very hot here: 105 degrees according
to a sign. Besides the weather, it has the same attributes of my home. It’s
quiet, there’s greenery, and decently nice people I suppose. The social class
and weather differ.
I absolutely love upper-middle class suburban neighborhoods
that are quiet with educated and well-mannered individuals with relative
diversity as well. The neighborhood I live in has a high Indian community and
the vast majority of people I know are Indians as well. Yet this fact has not
and does not make me feel like I am different and stick out like a sore thumb. When
walking in the parking lot of our Sonoran hotel, I felt that self-consciousness
feeling of being Asian. This relates to the interesting fact I learned in
sociology this past summer at De Anza that a White man who is of the same class
as an Asian man automatically has a tacit degree of higher status, simply for
being Caucasian. From rereading what I’ve typed, I realize that the
environment, social class, diversity, and personality of the individuals all
matter when it comes to where I come to call a place reminiscent of home.
Qualities of My Hometown Neighborhood that I Love:
Environment:
-
Higher-upper middle class area
-
Relatively wealthy families
-
Very quiet, but you know that people are around
in their houses or out in nearby businesses or work
-
Comfortably sized and well-developed houses and
backyards
-
Lots of greenery reminiscent of forest and mountains
with a bit of a Hawaiian feeling but not too crowded with trees that elicits a
feeling of being in the middle of the wilderness
-
Clean, well-developed parks, neighborhoods, schools,
and businesses with no obvious qualities of drug activities
-
Comfortable Mediterranean weather
The People:
-
Individuals with more introverted qualities:
people tend to value academics, hard work, humility, cooperation, and getting
along rather than valuing having fun through partying, enjoying the here and
now over working hard, attitude, and competitiveness.
-
Nice people
-
Little people participating in activities
associated with the lower social class or immaturity such as drugs, smoking,
alcohol drinking. If there are, it’s not obvious or apparent to everyone. ß done in privacy if
present.
From typing up this list, I realize the importance of
identifying my values and living in accord with them. My values that I discern
from this list:
-
Quiet
-
Being in touch and having a sense of connection with people (not being in
the middle of nowhere with no one around in the nearby vicinity)
-
Working hard
-
Being relatively successful despite of strife
-
Being in touch with those of similar (Upper)
social class
-
Being in touch with nature although not being
psychologically alone
-
Value hard working people who focus more on
being cooperative rather than competitiveness, understanding of oneself and of
others rather than judging, focus on getting along, and humility despite of
success earned.
Our friends are usually those who have similar beliefs and
values as we do ourselves. In a way, it feels great to understand what I value
and know why I value these things. On the other hand, it makes sense why I seem
to have a harder time forming relationships with people who have been exposed
and converted to America’s extrovert ideal. Susan Cain’s book: Quiet: the Power
of Introverts is book full of insights that help me understand who I am. I may
want to keep note on all the parts of the book that stand out most to me.
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