I recently wrote a blog post about how there was a “culture shock” when I arrived upstate and I wanted to further unpack the differences I have experienced.
The environment itself is very different from what I have grown up knowing. Geneseo is a village, and it is barely a town and it has a very “small town” feel. The speed limit seems extremely slow, and there is barely anything around that is open past four or five at night. Main street is very quaint and it does not take more than ten minutes to walk all of it. I know it sounds as if I am bashing Geneseo but I do enjoy it, but to explain the difference is to explain the rural environment here and the suburban/town feel of my home in Long Island. Around my town it is very commercial, I do not mean I have a highway in my backyard, but almost any chain or place you can imagine is around me. Not to mention, New York City is only half an hour to forty-five minutes from me. This especially juxtaposes the idea of Rochester as a “city” to many Long Islanders because honestly, all of us do not consider Rochester to be a city. It is all very different Rochester is very independent rather than commercial and it simply seems small so to Long Islanders it’s like a town, and in fact it‘s similar to a town called Mineola. I also was not aware that there is more to upstate than just calling it upstate. I always assumed everyone above the Long Island/New York City area was upstate. That is definitely not the local sentiment. I have learned that there is western New York (where we attend college), central, upstate and northern New York.
Next, the food seems to be a little different. Downstate treasures iconic foods such as pizza and bagels, there is also a great variety of ethic food that is just amazing because of the great diversity of New York City and the Boroughs have to offer. A lot of Long Islanders have expressed their disappointment in the lackluster pizza as well as the bagels. I once had a conversation with my suite mate when she claimed bagels were supposed to be “chewy” rather than the great bread consistency they are on Long Island. I also tend to miss a lot of food from my favorite local places like Chinese, Spanish and Indian.. Etc.
I have also noticed besides certain areas, upstate has an especial lack of diversity. Not to be political either, but there tends to be an abundance of republicans and guns. Back home, I would never see guns in a Walmart or see so many people who enjoy hunting. Many Long Islanders joke that upstate is like the south, just way colder.
I think Geneseo’s GLOBE recognizes that Geneseo is a community with many people of diverse backgrounds and differences. There are many differences between all of us, even me who lives in the same New York state has experienced an opposite upbringing. One of GLOBE’s goals is to work effectively in a “pluralistic society.” This also reminds me of GLOBE’s goal of global awareness and engagement that recognizes there are many different individuals in our community but that is not a negative aspect, but how we may all foster cooperation through partnerships and understandings. This also reminds me of the Tlic and Terran relationship in “Bloodchild.” They are both very diverse to each other and they cooperate peacefully. They use their differences to each other‘s advantage and see their diverse backgrounds as a positive in the partnership rather than a hindrance.