It’s funny for me to be in a new city where I feel out of place and so obviously foreign, but no one suspects that I feel that way. Today a lady on the street stopped me to ask directions. She quickly realized that I was not as clued in as she had hoped, but it was shocking and nice to be confused for a local. This just shows what a diverse city this is--it's a real mix of people from a huge variety of backgrounds, although shockingly few people with truly dark skin. I stopped to talk to this guy Sylvester from South Africa today who was selling cheap jewelry on the street. He told me about how terribly he is treated by Argentines, and that he began by working construction here but couldn't stand being the "slave" of an Argentine boss. He says they have a small community here, but he can't wait to make enough money and get himself back to his home country and away from "these Spanish people." Pretty strong words coming from a South African.
It's also possible that people don't look at me funny here because no one looks at each other at all. I'm more accustomed to traveling to small towns where people know each other rather than big cities where people act anonymous. This is a reminder that I can't act like I'm in a small town where people take care of each other. Of course there are plenty of helpful people who are happy to help me figure out the bus system or give me directions, but I can't count on everyone to be watching out for each other.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment