I am in the United States of America where the diversity keeps on increasing.. if that is possible.
At Seattle Airport the announcements are in English and Japanese, in San Antonio I can see the etchings of Monctazuma in the faces of most of the population, and spanish is heard and the refried beans smelt at every corner.. Few hours later at the Chinatown part of Seattle, one can recognize that distinct smell of Chinese cooking..
The driver who took me to San Antonio Airport was from Jordan and the driver at the Seattle Airport was a young Sikh from India without the turban, who informed me that there are lots of Punjabi speakers in Seattle area and he showed me the local punjabi news paper!
At Lunch time, I had chicken curry rice Malay style cooked by a malaysian chinese from malacca who had emigrated here in 1981 who was still longing for his home.
If you come to America and look for bad things you would find it everywhere but if you come to this country and look for good things, the streets are paved with that. I am staying only for the second time in this hotel in Seattle, i am greeted warmly like a friend by the doorman who is from Chiapas in Mexco and the receptionist is of Chinese Origin, recalls the last time I was here!
all these friendliness are not shaped by their countries of origin but shaped here in America.
In the short space of a few days, I have celebrated the Jewish Sabbath in Portland with my two brothers singing in both ashkenazic and sefardic traditions, i sat and listened to the spiritual leader of an indian tribe deliberating over my requests, shared an incredibly good mexican dinner presided over by the most attentive of all waiters, a wonderful japanese meal with a visitor from Nagoya who may become a friend, looking forward to meeting the chief nurse of another indian clinic, a direct descendant of the earliest of spaniards to come to this continent.. the list goes on and on
I celebrate the diversity, not look down upon it. Understand what separates us but not celebrate that separateness. Our uniqueness is moulded by the hundreds of interactions, from Tehran, from Kuala Lumpur,from Yakima, from Eagle Pass, from Miami, from Quiberon.. all carrying loads and loads of love and emptying them into your heart
Bienvenidos a los estados unidos y sus playas!
