After spending 2 full days in the suburbs, walking, and hanging around i have come to some profound conclusions. America does not really have an urban city structure. even where we live, not 5 minutes from the downtown of boston, is suburban, and low density like. the further out you go the more thinly spread the poeple are. the kids all mope around in their rediculesly low jeans, all looking pretty much the same with the same antics, of post avril lavigne hair style, and accessories, and the guys are all droopy and wear sports clothes. they all have pimples. but there is something amazing about the way these poeple lives their lives and grow up in the environment. it is a completely new way of human existence, not even 40 years old.this is perhaps the second generation of humans to grow up this way. this whole missconception of what is a city in the US leads to all kinds of strange behavioral patterns. its not that they are colturally deprived, or primitive even, not that they listen to bad music and watch bad TV and think its all the best in a very typical american way but that they are unique. there is something cute about this life style, however this cuteness comes at a very high price - the adverse affects of low density urban sprawl.
on the other hand, i went shopping in our local supermarket, located across from a huge projects complex, but also across from our trendy, rich yuppy american gentrified neighborhood. and so you can find all kinds of fancy health food options, vegan food and a large section of organic stuff, along side a huge selection of spanish stuff. you can guess how of the residents buys what and what side of the tracks they live on (did i forget to mention there is a railroad track, in a trench dividing the two parts of this neighborhood?). but what was amazing is that i met 2 poeple i know, by chance, we were all in there at the same time. just like living in some city center, where you meet the poeple who live around you all the time.
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