I Believe in the Diversity of Small Town Living

This is a very different post from my usual travel stories but it is indicative of the extent that America has absorbed persons from all around the world,even into the small towns.  It also tells the advantage of small town living for meeting those who are different from you.  This is based on the "This I Believe" series sponsored by NPR and was done for a book club gathering.

I believe in the diversity of small town living.  One of the first persons I met in Paris was my realtor, 30 years my senior.  We had just moved from Houston where our social circle’s average age was 30 and I had never had an older friend.  We bonded, often lunched together, and she became my surrogate mother.  Her friendship was the first of many diverse ones I have had in Paris.   

In large cities, ethnic and age groups tend to live close together.  There’s the black neighborhoods and Latino areas.  Little Asias and Middle Eastern pockets have begun to pop up.  Unless they frequent  ethnic restaurants,  long time residents don’t often socialize with the newly arrived or persons of different color.   The opportunity to meet and work with these various groups, including those with age and class differences, is much higher in small towns, if desired.

Our children’s friends opened doors with introductions to mothers of color.  Together, we had bake sales, put on harvest festivals and planned the graduation night party. Coaching girls softball and soccer brought in relationships from the poorer neighborhoods and a connection to the Middle East and India.  

With a husband in the medical community, we have shared meals with local Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos, Hungarians, Vietnamese and a doctor from Spain.  The dietary requirements at a recent dinner party included no beef for a Hindu guest, no pork for the Moslem, no meat for a vegetarian, and no cilantro for me.

This small town diversity is not entirely new.  Growing up in public schools in a small community in Texas exposed me to a variety of economic differences among my classmates.  And I had many an adult who followed my school career.    But the racial integration happened as I was exciting the system while the majority of Hispanics in our classes were migrants.  Today, the explosion of immigrants from around the world has now trickled down into small towns and our children benefited from this. 

Things aren’t perfect.  Racism still sits tightly with many.  Ignorance can be frustrating.  But I have danced at an Ethiopian wedding, attended a quincienera, toasted at an Indian birthday party.  We had kosher food at a bris, Thai offerings in a downtown restaurant, and watched black, white and brown vie for the top prize in a BBQ cook-off.  I have felt underdressed at black funerals and overdressed at white weddings.  Yet, the mingling offers opportunities to develop real relationships not available in ethnic clusters of the metroplex.  My friends from big cities are amazed and so am I.  I believe in the diversity of small town living.