Carolina,a 48-year old immigrant from Romania who has resided in the United States for over 13 years, relates the difference in sense of community between her hometown Onesti and her current residence in Maspeth, Queens:
You know, in Romania, in that block we live in Romania in a city, in an apartment… in a block… how you call… in a block, no? And each family in each door know the other family. We are like a big family, you know. So if you meet one on the stairs you talk and talk and talk and someone else passes says, “hi, how are you? How is life? How are the kids?” So now it is a big, big difference. […] Here, I barely know the name of the lady next to me up and the house next to me down… since you say only “Hi” and “Bye” once in a while.”
