Silver Spring A Destination To Experience International Culture

[G1..]

Originally Posted by bufflove

You've been to Ethiopia enough times that you know what the country "feels" like better than the travel writer? Kudos. Personally, I've never been, but SS's Ethio scene certainly isn't Americanized, so I figure their markets, festivals, restaurants, lounges, coffee houses, and bars are more Addis than not. I certainly defer to your experience if you're that well-versed in the country and culture.

+1

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by DistrictSonic

You really don't spend much time there do you? You have only been in the little downtown shopping area near the movie theater. It is extremely obvious by your post already mentioning the chains. Go south on Georgia. Explore the side streets a bit more. Your experience from what I can tell is extremely limited.

Go south on Georgia and it is little Ethopia, especially on the side streets. Explore the area a bit more.

You just proved my point. You have to tell me where to find little Ethiopia. But I can guarantee you if you took a survey of people in the DC area when they think of Silver Spring, MD, Ethiopia doesn't come to mind. ANd that's my point. The article suggests that when people think of Silver SPring, they think of Ethiopia. No, not true.

I made it clear in my posts that I'm not arguing that an Ethiopian presence doesn't exist. My point is that it isn't the dominant culture. And I offered a perfect example of a city, right next to Silver Spring, with a dominant culture where when you say Langley Park, certainly there is no confusion about the culture. And you certainly don't have to be directed to any side streets to find it. The Latino culture is the dominant culture of the city and you realize it immediately.

A person getting off the Metro in Silver Spring is greeted not with Ethiopian culture, but an American edge city.

Taking your reasoning to its logical conclusion, would people think of DC as a China outpost because of Chinatown? Even though it is not readily apparent driving in that a Chinatown exists?

The author could have written the article better by saying, "Sections In These Cities......"

And I don't have to go to China to recognize Chinatown or travel to South America to recognize the culture in Langley Park.

I still think Langley park is a better representation of the intention of the article. Again, the author missed a great opportunity to highlight Langley Park. My point in that regard was, Langley Park is not as pretty (wealthy) as Silver Spring. So, it is passed over. I think Langley Park is a great cultural experience. Too bad people don't see it that way.

[papichulo2]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

You just proved my point. You have to tell me where to find little Ethiopia. But I can guarantee you if you took a survey of people in the DC area when they think of Silver Spring, MD, Ethiopia doesn't come to mind. ANd that's my point. The article suggests that when people think of Silver SPring, they think of Ethiopia. No, not true.

I made it clear in my posts that I'm not arguing that an Ethiopian presence doesn't exist. My point is that it isn't the dominant culture. And I offered a perfect example of a city, right next to Silver Spring, with a dominant culture where when you say Langley Park, certainly there is no confusion about the culture. And you certainly don't have to be directed to any side streets to find it. The Latino culture is the dominant culture of the city and you realize it immediately.

A person getting off the Metro in Silver Spring is greeted not with Ethiopian culture, but an American edge city.

Taking your reasoning to its logical conclusion, would people think of DC as a China outpost because of Chinatown? Even though it is not readily apparent driving in that a Chinatown exists?

The author could have written the article better by saying, "Sections In These Cities......"

And I don't have to go to China to recognize Chinatown or travel to South America to recognize the culture in Langley Park.

I still think Langley park is a better representation of the intention of the article. Again, the author missed a great opportunity to highlight Langley Park. My point in that regard was, Langley Park is not as pretty (wealthy) as Silver Spring. So, it is passed over. I think Langley Park is a great cultural experience. Too bad people don't see it that way.

Its true silver spring is mix of lots of ppl. In langley park is mostly latinos and other people live there its not a place for visiting, unless u go to la union mall. No when I think of silver springs I think of downtown and traffic not ethipoians lol.

[LesLucid]

Silver Spring seems an odd choice to me....but I’ve not been there in a while. I would think Bethesda before Silver Spring. There are at least 25,000 people working and living around the NIH main campus, Navy Med, USUHS and Walter Reed. It’s a very international mix and Bethesda, I think, reflects that....tons of ethnic restaurants right around that area.

[MDfinest]

Originally Posted by LesLucid

Silver Spring seems an odd choice to me....but I’ve not been there in a while. I would think Bethesda before Silver Spring. There are at least 25,000 people working and living around the NIH main campus, Navy Med, USUHS and Walter Reed. It’s a very international mix and Bethesda, I think, reflects that....tons of ethnic restaurants right around that area.

Yeah, there is this myth that runs around that Bethesda is not diverse. That could be further from the truth. Is it diverse from a racial standpoint? No. But it is pretty ethnically diverse.

You'll find a notable Jewish community along with the mostly Anglo Saxon residents.

There are however small but growing communities of Italians, Greeks, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Brazilian, Eastern European (Ukraine, Hungary, Polish) and Russians.

There's also a growing number of Middle eastern residents too especially with regards to Lebanese, Turkish, Persians and Armenians (if they consider themselves to either be European or middle eastern).

There's also a small Asian presence too (Chinese, Filipino, Indians).

Either way, Bethesda is diverse but it could be easy to see why it isn't from a racial or cultural (socio-economic) standpoint. But I do think Silver Spring is more ethnically and racially diverse than Bethesda by a longshot.

It's like the "Toronto" of the Maryland.