Assimilating, Sorta

I am going home in eight days (as we used to say in college, "home is in the ten-day forecast," which is weather.com's farthest date, and we were always on there checking driving conditions.) I can't wait. I really do love it here, but it's been six months since I've been in Jamestown, and that is a long time. I had to "give notice" at the bookstore since they don't give time off for holidays, at all, but that is ok (and there are far more important things than work. Aw.). However, I will miss my co-workers tremendously.

I bemuse (and amuse) my co-workers, as a recent Brooklyn transplant (I mentioned in a previous post about how they kept asking me what nationality I was, and it's still a popular conversation starter.) I say things like, "it wasn't far, I walked for 2 miles" and they will say, "ooh sweetie, where are you from? We don't measure in miles here. We measure in blocks." And don't even get them started on sub/hero differences. Thank goodness I've avoided the WNY pitfall of saying "pop" for "soda." One of the policemen on duty told me, when asking (again) where I was from, "Buffalo? How do you people get AROUND? I was there once, and there was an IHOP across the street, and I was real hungover and that's all I wanted, but I would have had to walk across the highway, so I said fuhgeddaboudit. [note: this is exactly what he sounded like. Not resorting to ugly NY stereotypes here.] Went to the Irish bar next door instead. Buffalo has got some good bars." And another co-worker, "is Jamestown near Utica? I was in Utica for 3 weeks. Never again."

On the subject of bars, it was probably my first week at work, and we were talking about good drink specials, since drinks are so expensive here. Offhandedly, I said, "there is a place in my hometown that has 25 cent drafts." It got dead silent and everyone was staring at me. One of them said, "why would you ever LEAVE there? Maybe we should visit." I tried to explain that there is not much to do, otherwise ("no really, there aren't any buses. Or subways. Or Indian restaurants.") Another co-worker told me recently that she wants to move somewhere where she can drive. "It must be so cool to have a licence," she said wistfully. Is it? Maybe it is.

I was talking about holiday-stuff with one of my favorite co-workers, a totally sweet Pakistani girl. "You're so lucky your family doesn't live here," she said. "I live with three generations and brother-in-laws and random cousins and I just want to be someplace where people just know me." I told her that it's just as bad in smaller towns, too, if not worse. And being away from my fam does mean that when we do get together, it's more exciting than if I saw them all the time. Hence: eight days. The countdown starts now. Yay!

P.S. Happy Sankta Lucia Day to all you Scandinavian folk! (yes, I know we stole it from the Italians.) Apparently there is big doings in Manhattan, my Swede co-worker told me today. Maybe next year I will check that out!