No Need to Say Hello...Just Draw A Picture

There are many things that I have had to get used to since moving to the New England and Cambridge in particular. One of the biggest cultural changes from Oklahoma has been the interaction, or lack thereof with strangers. Growing up in Oklahoma, children are taught "never talk to strangers but never be afraid to give a friendly wave or 'hello.'" In Boston, I think that all children are taught to "never talk to strangers and in all situations, be as cold as possible."

Over my 3+ years in the Northeast, I have become conditioned to many of the social norms in the area:

• Walking as quickly as possible to wherever you are going even if you are not in a rush
• Taking out your phone while sitting alone pretending that you are looking at something really important when in fact your phone is dead
• Passing people on the streets who are staring at a map clearly confused and just walking by
• Paying twice as much for a beer that is only 1/2 as good

There are however a few things I continue to hold onto from home:

• Holding doors for people (male or female)
• Helping someone who has dropped something (you'd be amazed at the number of people who don't)
• Stopping on the street if a car is broken down to see if they are alright (this one may depend on if I am in a hurry)
• Offering a place to stay to any guests of the area (to be fair, a lot of north-easterners seem to do this as well).

As I hold onto many of the cultural norms that I learned as a child, I continue to have unique cultural/social experiences. I had an interesting experience on the subway this evening. 

As I was riding home I found myself standing in the aisle as I generally do, leaving seats open for those whose legs are more tired than mine and keeping me from falling asleep and missing my stop. As I was standing with my eyes closed the train braked quickly causing me to stumble just a little and open my eyes. As I did so, I noticed a younger woman drawing. It didn't take me long to realize she was drawing me. My belt buckle must have caught her eye as she had clearly started there and was expanding outward. I quickly looked away and would see her looking up every 10-15 seconds to glance at me before promptly returning to her sketchbook. By the time I left the train the unknown artist had a relatively detailed sketch of me in my boots, jeans, buckle, north face and OSU hat. The work was quite impressive especially for the time she did it in.

While I have never received a hello from a stranger on the T (and likely never will), I have never had an experience as authentic and unique as the one on the train today while in Oklahoma. Oklahoma will always be home but this city continues to grow on me.