BT and I were on the phone last night when I informed her that I always sent the dogs out before I stepped outside, to shoo away any neighborhood moose that might be nearby. She laughed and told me she had never thought of fearing moose before... Her analogous fear is stepping outside the hospital at night after visiting her brother, and being in a rather unpleasant neighborhood of Oakland. How different our respective fears and risks!
One feature that Fairbanks shares with the Sili Valley, though, is one that I very deeply appreciate in both. It's that no one respects you more or less based on what clothes you wear. Both Fairbanks and the Sili Valley have their share of wealthy people who dress in holey jeans and dirty sneakers, and in neither place is anyone so short-sighted as to be rude to a person who is poorly dressed. In fact, I would venture to say that both places indulge in some reverse snobbery, and in some situations, wearing very expensive or fancy clothes will get you suspicion. I recall that when I had nice dinner plans after work and wore something nicer to the office, colleagues would tease me and ask whether I had a job interview with a competitor, and whether I was planning to leave them any time soon. Of course they were joking, but they definitely made me feel less comfortable than when I was in my regular uniform of jeans and a T-shirt!
A few weeks after I moved into my current home, I thought I'd introduce myself to my neighbor. So I baked a batch of brownies (link for my non-American readers. Do they have brownies in the rest of the world? If not, I urge you to try making them, and having one with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!) and dressed to make a good first impression. I put on an old, but clean T-shirt, and a pair of dirty, but not appallingly filthy, jeans I had been wearing to do yardwork. Then I combed and re-braided my hair tidily, and put on a pair of old sneakers. Such is the best look for meeting your neighbor in a rural area outside of Fairbanks! In the Sili Valley, I'd venture to say that the only thing I'd change is the jeans--they'd be clean, but still old and worn. :)
6 comments:
We may not have corn dogs, but we most certainly do have brownies! I skip the ice cream though.
I went to see a neighbour today in my dog walking trousers, complete with holes in the front and mud up the back. The best people see you for who you are, and not what you look like ;-)
Well, thank goodness you have brownies! :)
Yeah, you're not missing much with the corn dogs, I think. But yes, thank goodness for brownies. In fact, the house is getting chilly, it's time to turn on the oven and bake a batch, I think!
It's nice living in such a casual area, isn't it? And I think it carries over to how we talk to each other too. When I first started working at HP, I was APPALLED at how everyone addressed eachother by their first names. I was to call my manager, three times my age, by his first name? It took some getting used to.
Hehe in South Africa we have both corn dogs AND brownies! :D
NOT MISSING MUCH WITH THE CORN DOGS?!?
Harumph!
;)
When I eventually visit the US (maybe even next year, if I make it to my cousin's wedding) I'll give up being veggie for ten mins, just to try a corn dog!
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