From The Peopling of New York City

This is a part of an interview that I conducted with a South Asian friend of mine who would not like her name to be mentioned.

1.) Were you born in New York?

-No, I was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

2.) Where do you live in New York?

-I live on Grymes Hill in Staten Island, New York.

3.) Do you enjoy living in the United States?

-Yea, I love living in America. From what I hear from my parents, living here is allows for alot more opportunities than they could access when they were in India.

4.) Is life here very different from life back in India, how so?

-Life is moderately different in India. Technology is advancing in India and job opportunities are growing alot. I've only lived in India for small amounts of time but from what I could tell while I was there, household life there is alot different from household life here. I feel like living there would be a lot more strict than how my parents treat us here.

5.) Which culture do you most identify with (i.e. South Indian, Hindu, American)?

-I most identify with South Indian. Although I have definitely assimilated into American society, I still hold on to my roots and speak Tamil with my family and parents at home and at family gatherings.

6.) What changes have you experienced concerning the ethnic groups here?

-There are definitely some non South Asian people who attend the Temple and worship the Hindu belief. Also there has been a decrease in the youth population attending Temple, I'm one of few younger people at the temple whenever I go.

7.) How do you feel all the different ethnic groups of Jackson Heights deal with each other(+/-)?

-I haven't been to Jackson heights that many times but from what I've seen whenever I've gone there with my family is that there are lot of different kinds of people in the neighborhood, like Hispanic people and Asians but they don't seem to interact with one another that much. That's just how I feel anyway.

8.) What ethnic group do you feel is dominant in Jackson Heights?

-I feel like the Indian population in exceedingly high and there are alot of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis too. However the other ethnic groups such as Hispanic people and Asians.

9.) In your temple, do you ever see non South Asian people attending? Is that strange to you or do you think that anyone should be able to worship at the temple?

-Yea I often see non South Asian people attending. I do not think it's strange at all and I feel it is only natural for the Temple and it's visitors to welcome those who are not predominantly associated with this faith in order to spread it's ideals to a wider demographic.