Jenny_in_Chico
Black Belt
Lot of gangs in SA, and it isn't as clean a town as Austin or even Dallas metro.
I miss Texas.
I miss the way people interact with one another, naturally friendly and open to everyone. People are fairly friendly here in NorCal, but usually in response to me being friendly first.
I remember spending 6 weeks in New York a few years ago. I was living in Queens, and my dealings with the shopkeepers would go something like this:
1. I approach the counter.
2. Shopkeeper remains silent and busy doing something, trying to ignore the fact that a customer is waiting.
3. I would greet the shopkeeper, and he would look up and I would smile and look into his eyes and tell him what I wanted, and he would light up like a Christmas tree and fall all over himself giving it to me, usually with something else thrown in as extra. This was not in response to the way I look (because he had already seen me and dismissed me) but the way I engaged with him.
Which demonstrated an important fact to me: genuine friendliness can be a powerful tool in disarming the apathy or misanthropy of another.
I miss Texas.
I miss the way people interact with one another, naturally friendly and open to everyone. People are fairly friendly here in NorCal, but usually in response to me being friendly first.I remember spending 6 weeks in New York a few years ago. I was living in Queens, and my dealings with the shopkeepers would go something like this:
1. I approach the counter.
2. Shopkeeper remains silent and busy doing something, trying to ignore the fact that a customer is waiting.
3. I would greet the shopkeeper, and he would look up and I would smile and look into his eyes and tell him what I wanted, and he would light up like a Christmas tree and fall all over himself giving it to me, usually with something else thrown in as extra. This was not in response to the way I look (because he had already seen me and dismissed me) but the way I engaged with him.
Which demonstrated an important fact to me: genuine friendliness can be a powerful tool in disarming the apathy or misanthropy of another.
