Read this on galpod.com.
It's half-term, and my kids are doing a music camp. So, today I walked around a neighbourhood I don't know very well and looked around. I found an indoor market and walked in. There were lots of shops with colourful clothes that I could never pull off. I counted five barber shops. I looked up and noticed I was a minority. I felt out of place. I stuck my chin out and walked around some more and looked at the shoes I would never even try.
Then, I walked out of the market and down the street. And I came across another market, not half a block away. I was impressed. I walked in. Here, I was not a minority. I would say about half the people were white. I counted three barber shops. I walked around this market and looked at the posh cafés, the hip pizza chain, the vegan chocolate shops, and the shoes I would never even try. I don't particularly like shoes.
And I sat down at one of the posh coffee shops and thought about gentrification vs integration. And how we manage to get it wrong every single time. And how I hope those markets got it right for once. Because what I like the most about London, in general, is the people. I love walking down the streets and seeing people from all over the world who live here or come to visit. I like that my kids have friends who are different from them. I never did.
Growing up, I only heard a single story. Our story. I'm a white Ashkenazi Jew, and there were no other voices back then in Israel. It wasn't patriotic. Then I moved to a different country. Although I lived in the whitest city in Canada, the university presented an excellent diversity hotspot. A funny thing happens when you're an immigrant. You learn to listen to stories that are not like yours. At first, it's because almost no one has a story like yours, unlike the place you came from. Then, it's because you find these stories interesting. You discover that you are curious about other stories. I LOVE hearing people's stories. I would love to listen to yours.
Hey there! Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, you can subscribe to my blog to get updates and stories straight to your inbox!
Commentaires