Response 5 of 5: Walking/Eating Tour
By: Mariam Esa
When I was a kid, I used to go to Manhattan almost every day with my dad. He’d take me to work with him and afterwards we’d head out to different places such as Central Park, Toys R Us and Planet Hollywood. I thought then that I had a pretty good understanding on the diversity of the city. However, I learned this past Tuesday just how little I actually knew.
As New Yorkers, we know that we live in a place filled with diversity- but how much do we actually know? Soon after getting off the train at Canal Street, I was reminded of when Professor Rabinowitz told us of the time she was identified as a New Yorker for knowing how to navigate the crowd really well. There were so many people around and yet no one really bumped into each other; it was a skill acquired by every New Yorker. We have a way of just knowing how to get around.
As the tour got underway, it was amazing to see how different cultures sort of blended into each other in a way. I think I’d have to say that visiting “Di Palo’s” was my favorite part of the tour, not only because of the store itself but because of its location as well. The inside of the store gave me an insight into what a marketplace in Italy must look and smell like. What I think made this location even greater to me was learning that it was one of the last remnants of Little Italy within the new Chinatown. I recalled the several Chinese fish markets we passed by on the previous block and it was truly a beautiful sight to see how these immigrant enclaves seemed to grow within each other and coexist together.
Along with visiting multiple immigrant enclaves was trying various foods from different cultures. I always considered myself to be fairly well-rounded in trying cultural foods and yet I am continuously amazed by just how much more there still is out there and just how close it is to me. Within the span of 30 minutes, I got to try Italian cheese and Malaysian beef jerky- it doesn’t get any better than this. The thing about New York City is that it seems to always have that quirk of there being so much more to see- just when you think you’ve seen it all, you turn the corner into a different street and find so much more. This tour taught me that and it showed me how the best way to truly learn about different cultures in New York City is to take a lovely walk in just the right place.
Questions:
Do you think we ever fully grasp just how diverse NYC is?
Some immigrant enclaves have grown within each other, how do you think this has happened?
Do you agree that NYC has this quirk of holding so much more than first perceived?
