The Hood

I love our street.

Its a sweet place to live.

I love that we have so many different types of people who live right on our street.

Four doors down is Cand her family from South Africa. You only have to listen to her for a few minutes to fall in love with they way she speaks.

Next to her is C and J who are very New York. Her parents live acrosst the street from them. So nice because she watches their little baby for them while they work.

Across the street from us are A and R's family. They are 10 and 8 and speak fluent Spanish and English. In addition to their parents who are both military, Gramma lives there too. They also have a sweet curly haired toddler named A.

Next to us is H and his family who speak either Urdu or Bengali...not sure which. Of course they speak English too. They are from the Bengali region I believe. To listen to them when they are speaking to each other is wild...their language is so harsh sounding to me. They sound angry when they are not angry at all.

And of course there are Hright next to me and B now right across the street. (B and Co used to live next to C and Js parents but moved down the street to be closer to the hub of activity..haha. just kidding. They were renting and when their new house came up for sale they bought it!)

I grew up in the Dutch circles in Chicago. Specifically those of the West side. The Dutch are very clannish and while that is very good for keeping everyone the same, it isnt very good for showing the variety of life. I went to a Dutch school, attended Dutch church and played with my cousins and kids from school. While that type of upbringing certainly lends itself to a huge sense of community and security, it doesnt allow for tasting the variety life has to offer. I do miss parts of the Dutch community alot. That sense of family. The knowledge that people do the same things you do. The predictibility of it.

And Im also glad that the girl will be able to enjoy the differences that surround us now.