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.

Were you born in New York?

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

Where do you live in New York?

-I live on Grymes Hill in Staten Island, New York with my parents and my little sister.

Do you enjoy living in the United States?

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

Do you feel that life here very different from life 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.

Which culture do you most identify with?

-I mostly identify with South Indian, although I have definitely assimilated into American society. Since my family moved from New Jersey to Staten Island, I’m not really around that many South Asian people on a regular basis. It’s definitely not like how Jackson Heights is, just a few of us here and there on the island. I still try to hold on to my roots and speak Tamil with my family and parents at home and at family gatherings.

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, it seems that there aren’t as many young people at the temple whenever I go.

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.

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

-I feel like the Indian population in extremely high and there are alot of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis too. However the other ethnic groups such as Hispanic people and Asians. I’ve also seen Hispanic and Asian people roaming the streets too, I’d guess that alot more people other than South Asians are moving into the neighborhood recently.

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 see non South Asian people attending temple a lot actually. I don’t think it's that strange at all and I feel it is only natural for the Temple to be open to those who are not predominantly associated with this faith in order to spread it's ideals to a wider demographic. Sure it’s definitely a little strange to see non South Asians in a place where pretty much everyone is from South Asia but it’s not that strange to me.

Do you watch Bollywood movies at home? Do your parents watch them?

-I mean, I've seen a lot of them, but I don't really watch them on a regular basis. It's not really my thing. They're so long and I get distracted, I'd rather watch different kinds of movies rather than watch these three to five hour long ones. Yea, my parents watch the Bollywood movies all the time, my grandma too, but me and my sister don't like watching the movies with them.

This interview was enlightening because she provided an outsider's view into the microcosm that is Jackson Heights. Being an infrequent visitor to the neighborhood rather than a resident allows her view to be relatively unbiased considering all things. Interestingly enough, living in an area where there are very few South Asian residents has made her fall out of touch with her culture moreso than the youth that hang out in Jackson Heights.