When you think of New York City you think of an environment that is constantly in motion and never able to stop. This is true. This city never sleeps. It is always in fast-forward, and as you pass people on the street you find that they are so pressed for time, to get from destination to destination, that they are unable to smile or say "hello". This was hard for me to understand the first week of this trip, since at the Lutedome it's almost considered unkind to say "hello" to some one passing you on the walkway. So, the first week of this trip I was stuck with the stereotype that these New Yorkers are so vain and busy to even muster of the ability to just smile at someone passing by. I don't think I was looking through their eyes at first though. They do other things to let you know they are still humane. Their way of expressing kindness towards strangers is letting you slip into a crevice on the bus or train. This may not seem like a lot, but truly, I tell you, this is a big deal. Then you have the New Yorker that divulges information about their state, their burrow, their home...This, at first seemed like a bragging fest at first, but in reality it's their way of trying to make some connection with an outsider that has no idea what 'Uptown' or 'Downtown' on the subway means. The stereotypes of "rough" and "crude" New Yorkers are only stereotypes to those that fail to look through eyes that are similar to theirs.

I have been here almost three weeks, and I feel that I have in some ways become a New Yorker. I've become a person that is capable of putting on the "subway face" when I need to. For those of you that don't know this face, it's the face that is seen throughout the crowd of people waiting for the train or are on the train. It's an expressionless face, which creates a sort of mystery as to what kind of person is behind the face. It is also uninviting for conversation. It says, "no, don't talk to me, I have a mission and I don't need you to hinder my transportation process". I know as soon as I get back to PLU, my "Hi, I'm a Junior Sociology major, with a minor in Art. I'm 21 and I'm glad to meet you. Do you need any help? Oh, by the way my name is CC" personality will come into play, but for now, I have mastered the technique of a chameleon.