“50 East 34th Street.” I close the cab door.
Tall buildings revealed an inch of sky and grayness hung everywhere. Where were the autumnal colors I had left behind in Ohio? The triangle shaped advertisement on top of the taxi next to me flashed bright words, and the television set inside my own cab kept turning itself back on despite my turning it off. Coming back to New York City is always such an adjustment for me, and I wondered if other Stern students experienced this sense of the culture shock. Did they feel a significant difference between the culture they were used to and the New York City culture?
I decided to ask around and see what students thought about the New York City life. I left the question open-ended, simply asking: “Is there a distinction between the culture that you are familiar with and the Manhattan culture? If so, describe. Do you like this difference?” I allowed them to speak freely, and what follows are the responses I received.
For the students coming from their year in Israel, there is definitely an adjustment period. Numerous students I spoke with reflected on the inner tensions that arose from adjusting from a solely Torah environment to a culture more influenced by the secular world. Another point people brought up was the environment. Sophomore Meredith Shapiro from Chicago noted, “Last year, people were more concerned about you.” She felt that the nurturing and close-knit experience of seminary was replaced with an academic institution operating on a much larger scale.
According to many out-of-towners, the culture of New York City is vastly different from their hometown community. Shapiro explained, “Chicago is much cleaner and nicer.” Another student, Rena Leah Davidson, a senior from Atlanta, spoke about the South being “more friendly and open.” Davidson also commented on how religious expectations are different in New York, saying, “People from Brooklyn assume if it’s done in Brooklyn than it is a standard of religious practice, whereas in Atlanta it’s more of you do this and I do that.” Out-of-town places are more community-oriented, according to sophomore Ellie Chase. She explained how in New York “every community is separate, while in out-of town, it’s more like one community as a whole…everyone is together and everyone is helping each other out.” Students viewed New York City as more distant, cold and aloof compared to their smaller, supportive communities back home.
This aloofness was echoed by others. “Culture shock” is the word Shapiro used to describe her encounter with New York City. She noted “seeing all these homeless people; [there are] so many, I’m not used to that.“ She also commented, “I feel like there is more of a push-and-shove atmosphere here.” Malka Katz, a senior hailing from Lawrence, New York, explained: “The fast paced lifestyle always reminds you there’s work to be done and things to be busy with, which doesn’t really leave much room for laziness to settle in. On the other hand, the simplicity of eating a meal quietly, of taking a leisurely stroll, trying to stop and smell the roses, sometimes gets lost in the mix.”
The intense busyness was a unique component to the city environment that made students a bit uneasy. Another senior, Ayala Carl, commented on the experience of walking down the street. “People…don’t take time to look around at their surroundings. [We] see business people running from one place to another on a daily basis and barely batting an eye at the people right in front of them.” Katz described the experience of smiling at a stranger on the street. “The passerby may either ignore you, not notice due to zooming past you, or just think you’re outright crazy.”
She explained how different this environment was from the community she grew up in. “NYC culture can be hard to accept when brought up living within a community of caring for one another and loving the outsider.”
The question that ultimately arose from these conversations was whether the culture of Stern College for Women was similar to the New York City culture. During our discussion, Chase explained, “Stern is its own community within the community of New York City.” Davidson noted a distinction during our conversation: “We are in the bubble of Stern which is different…not classic New York culture.”
At the same time, it was suggested that aspects of the Manhattan culture have seeped into our Stern environment. Leora Tuchman, from Queens, New York, commented, “Stern girls are obsessed with getting to the next place in life and there is not enough enjoying where we are now.” Ayala Carl, however, noted the change she feels once leaving the Stern building and entering the street. She explained, “When I am in the [Beit Midrash] and studying, I feel a very meaningful environment. There is such a stark difference when I walk out and become just another person who is going from one place to another and sinking back into a mundane routine.”
By being cognizant of the culture we live in and its effect on us, we become more aware of the need for free-willed self-determination in order to maintain our unique identity and values in the vast home we call New York City. Carl later remarked, “I am thankful to Stern for giving me this little bit of bliss and Torah to carry around me and prevent me from living my life in a robotic way.”