Thursday, December 30, 2010

Things I never expected to see...

...Where I Live Now. In fact, a pair of stone lions and two stone pillars flanking the entrance to a shopping center full of Chinese stores -- and one Japanese restaurant -- might be darn near the last things I would have imagined I'd see here.

Nonetheless...


Let it be said I wouldn't be surprised to see these Where I Grew Up. Yes, when I was a mere yoot, the population was made up primarily of Anglos and Latinos. But sometime in the 1970s the Asians began to arrive. Today, my home town is largely Chinese, with huge conclaves of Koreans, Vietnamese, Japanese and Heaven-knows-who-else filling the surrounding towns. You can drive many blocks without seeing shop signs in English.

But I'm not there anymore. And I hope I'm not going back.

Culture shock is what it is, Jim.

4 comments:

aka mag said...

Definitely true that it really doesn't scream...Where You Are Now

MrScribbler said...

Y'all got that right, "mag!"

Anonymous said...

If Where You Are Now is anywhere near Houston, Houston has a ton of Vietnamese and other Asian immigrants. Some of them move to Other Cities, possibly near Where You Are Now.

MrScribbler said...

C-F -- I'm not close to Houston at all, but I know there are quite a few Vietnamese in this area. Also Middle Easterners.

One thing I appreciate: Where I Used to Live, this was called "diversity" and much was made of it by politicians and media. Where I Am Now, it's just a whole bunch of people living in the same area.