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I used to frequent this area 30 years ago, when I'd change from the #7 train to the Q12 bus. It used to be a fly blown, nasty place, with lots of failing cheap department stores.
What the Asians have done with it is incredible! Now it's a bustling hive of commercial activity, with signs upon signs and stores upon stores, sometimes stacked 3 - 4 high.
I wish they were a little more friendly (I went into a Chinese food court where I saw lots of tasty looking food, but it wasn't clear to me where to order; I was the only Caucasian in the place and I got the idea they'd just as soon I left) but you have to be a real nativist sorehead not to admire what is real American Free Enterprise in action.
I absolutely love going to the Flushing main street area. You really do feel like you are not in the US any longer. It's transformed incredibly from what it was years ago (as you mentioned).
As for the "friendliness factor", I don't notice it really. I am never expecting them to bend over backwards towards me with excess "nice." I am also caucasion and I get the feeling that they aren't even noticing me--I don't even think about it. Guess it's just what's on your mind at the moment.
Flushing, Queens is in some ways I feel cooler than Chinatown in Lower Manhattan. The area is just as vibrant, the street scene is incredibly lively and vibrant, and most tourists don't venture into the area making it seem more like a "real" neighborhood.
I absolutely love going to the Flushing main street area. You really do feel like you are not in the US any longer. It's transformed incredibly from what it was years ago (as you mentioned).
As for the "friendliness factor", I don't notice it really. I am never expecting them to bend over backwards towards me with excess "nice." I am also caucasion and I get the feeling that they aren't even noticing me--I don't even think about it. Guess it's just what's on your mind at the moment.
I don't expect that, either. But I'm wandering around this food court, looking to exchange some money for food, and they're ignoring me. Not that I got all bent out of shape over it, I just went elsewhere.
In China you generally have to be a little bit pushy when you buy stuff. Lots of people are all fresh off the boat, so that might have been what was going on.
Generally when I go to one of these places I have to fend off people trying to cut in line and whatnot.
The behavior over here is actually 100 times better than what Chinese people do in China. They all literally, shove and push when they are trying to order something from a counter over there.
So don't be overly timid in these types of situations. You have to be a little bit forceful, talk loudly, use a lot of pointing, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dedalus
I don't expect that, either. But I'm wandering around this food court, looking to exchange some money for food, and they're ignoring me. Not that I got all bent out of shape over it, I just went elsewhere.
I grew up in Queens and Main Street, Flushing was the hub of my life from the age of 12-16. I bought comics from the comic store across the street from Stern's (formerly Gertz') department store. I've seen many a movie at the RKO Keith's movie theatre. I browsed the books at B. Dalton's, and bought my first record at "the Wiz". The Asian element was still a strong presence in the early to mid eighties but not yet overwhelming. I remember buying delicious pork rolls at the northwest corner of Roosevelt and Main, down the block from the "Clam Bar". There was a great pet store down Northern between College Point Blvd and Main Street that had exotic reptiles for sale. It was down the block from Galaxy Army and Navy.
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