Little by little, baby steps actually, I'm accepting being here in NYC while I walk through the crowded streets in disbelief. It's not the NY I grew up in, it's like going to an unfamiliar country and having to start completely afresh. With that comes all the comparisons of how it used to be. It is soooo very crowded nowadays that it shocks me at times. I don't remember the NY of my youth as being so congested and teeming with people. And so many foreign languages and different ethnicities! India has come to NY and so has North Africa and the Mid-East. Despite the street signs that read, "$215 fine for honking" it has no effect on breaking old habits brought to NY from the homeland.
Oftentimes I don't know how to relate especially when I can barely understand their accent, intriguing and confusing. I see myself aboard the Starship Enterprise landing again on another planet and newly being introduced to its inhabitants. They are different looking and hopefully friendly, it'll take time to get to know them once I can get passed the language barrier.
I find it fascinating and yet uncomfortable. I'm so embarrassed when I have to ask, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand, would you mind repeating what you've just said," and then have to ask again. I lived in France for quite a number of years arriving without speaking a word of French. Finally, when I began to get a grasp of the language, the French seemed to have no interest in grasping me and found a clever way of not having to deal with my poor pronunciation and broken French, they simply ignored me! A painful process.
