New York City, being an American and the Naked Cowboy
by Kirsten Medice, Staff Writer
May 28 , 2010
New York City: bright lights, the sounds of sirens wailing and impatient cab drivers honking, people from all walks of life carrying on conversations in almost every language you can think of. This scene could send anyone’s senses into overload. Imagine viewing this from the perspective of a foreign student.
My visit to New York City would not have been the same without our Dear Tongkoom, our exchange student from Thailand. Never in my life have I witnessed anyone so excited to participate in classic American traditions: eating a hot dog from a street vendor, attending a Broadway musical, visiting the Statue of Liberty, even getting her picture taken with New York’s famous “Naked Cowboy.” I watched as Dear, wide-eyed and all smiles, walked through the streets of the city. Everywhere we went and everything we saw made her smile brighten just a little more. Not once did she stop talking about how in love she was with New York City.
As great as all of these things were, the most moving experience was watching Dear walk through the halls of Ellis Island. She seemed so thoroughly interested in every bit of American history, all the stories of immigrants from all around the world, all the treasures of our country’s past. I walked beside her, absorbed in her reactions to the different artifacts. The vision of her walking through the halls almost brought me to tears as I realized that she will leave us all too soon.
At one point Dear passed a group of Asian students on a park bench. Teasingly we told her to go ask where they were from and she answered, “No, I am not Asian!” Confused, we looked at her and ask what she was if she wasn’t Asian? She responded, “I am not Asian! I am an American now!”
I completely believe this statement. Dear is more American than most people I know who have lived here their whole lives. Watching her enjoyment in everything causes me to feel pity for every American who takes our country for granted. Never once have I heard her complain that she wants to leave. In fact, I’ve heard nothing but the opposite. Dear only ever talks about how sorry she feels to leave and sometimes she even mentions coming to the U.S. for college one day.
Meeting Dear has completely changed my outlook on life. I now realize the advantages and opportunities we Americans enjoy – except most of us are too busy complaining about and dismissing them to enjoy being American. Maybe we need to look at America through “new eyes,” eyes not filled with hate speech from talk radio and TV, constant criticism in the media about and toward our government from just about everyone including members of the government themselves, disappointment from citizens who haven’t yet captured their American Dreams and even from those who have. We are a privileged country that constantly puts itself down.
If all this negativity gets to you and you have yet to talk to Dear, I urge you to do so quickly. Just sit down with her for 15 minutes and listen to the stories she has to tell about her country. I promise you will walk away with a new sense of pride. And you’ll also walk away with another best friend.
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