In New York

New York, New York. The city so nice they named it twice!! Manhattan is the other name, and while the city may be worthy of many more, the two words - New York - carry such such a history of ideas and rich connotation that no others are necessary. It simply is one of the great cities of the world, and one in which I think I could live for a time (and for any NY Uni's I'll be accepting job and fellowship offers from late 2008:-)).
The city was rainy and grey for the first 24 hours, which in the absence of a cold sunny day is just right for wandering and exploring. Walking through steam coming out of subway vents, drinking in the distinct NY smell of steam, hot underground air, metal loaded with electricity (subway?), rubber slightly burning (?), and litter, and gazing in awe at the waves of high-rise life that appear to be about to crash onto Central Park all made me wish for a longer stay. Next time...



The journey here was a cause for much thought. As I sat in LAX waiting for our connecting flight here, I was surprised to find myself reeling from culture shock, surprisingly similar to that which I felt upon arriving in India. Flying over the wide expanse of the continental United States I was again reminded that this is a vast and mighty nation. Town after town, city after city rolls by underneath, ceaselessly. Like India there are people everywhere, though of course not with the same density as found on the subcontinent. But making my way through the somewhat chaotic maze of LAX I found some sharp reminders, nonetheless. Here, again, I was seeing hundreds of people employed in roles that seem unnecessary or in numbers that seem unjustified: baggage handlers move bags often less than one foot, non-security 'security guards' man numerous 'check points' with such abrupt rudeness I laughed out loud at one point (all they were doing was looking at boarding passes a job the actual security guards also did), while lots of official looking people sit around chatting. Adding to the Indian likeness was the presence of taxi touts at JFK airport, each jovially vying for the newly arrived's custom. Abi said one even chuckled and mimicked my "No thanks, mate. Cheers." as I walked by, which I thought was a nice piece of cultural interaction on my behalf, albeit unconscious.
This, in combination with the saccharine advertisements, rampant commercialism, language differences, and often vastly different customs results in the feeling of being dropped in a wholly different culture. Admittedly there are similarities, such as the bulk of the language and the Christianity-based ethico-political systems, but the culture shock is well and truly there. Yet while some might bemoan such things - the most visible and aspects of U.S. culture - I take great personal and not un-selfish joy in them. The thing is, they make me happy. Happy that U.S. culture isn't so dominating (as some contend) that there is nothing different left in the world; happy that I am confused by its brash confidence, lack of a public health philosophy, or philanthropic drive; and happy that there is a U.S.A. out there that I don't know about. But mostly I'm happy that I want to know about it, that my confusion and lack of knowledge only makes me want to know more and explore this land and these people. Hopefully I can do this one day with more depth and breadth than two and a half days allow.