am i a leper?
in poland i lived in a huge block of flats. five separate entrances, eight storeys high, 36 flats in each entrance. built by russians, as an answer to the housing problem. in 20 years i did not find out the names of people that lived in the same entrance, save for the families of kids i went to school with. i do not mention folks living in other entrances, i don't think i could even recognize their faces. faces of my generation - yes, we all used to play outside, communism, you know, no games other than cheap board ones or chess, no computers, no electricity, and even if there was - no cartoons. the answer to the shortage of living space was... well... short. my family of four lived on 41 sq meters, two rooms, kitchen, bathroom, toilet. my biggest dream was MORE SPACE.
i will honestly say, i did not care about my neighbours and i still don't. i am not a very social person, one could even say i am socially impaired. as i grew up i managed to learn the basic social behaviour, some form of mimicry. i do participate in all the social occasions with my new family, i dress and behave accordingly. but all this friendliness is foreign to me.
on the rare occasions when we drive through the barrio first thing i notice is people. they are outside. they walk. they sit outside, do their washing outside, eat outside. in the rich people quarters you see none of that. it's empty, save for the armed security guy on a single chair. and i prefer that. i hate people prying into my things, knocking at my door to chat. can't they see there is a reason why i keep my doors shut and locked? that's because i don't WANT visitors. and then, there is the music. very loud, always. i don't like music much, maybe because i am completely tone deaf, i can live without it, thank you very much.
one thing is miss about life in a big city is a sense of anonymity. of being just a face in a crowd. being oudeis.
yes, barrios are interesting and colourful. but i'd prefer to see all this on tv than have it outside my door.
