Palo Alto Personality

I typically blog when I travel.  And when I travel, I'm able to see the cultural differences between myself and the place I'm visiting.  Usually it makes for some funny fodder, if nothing else, but also a worthwhile experience when learning about and adapting to other cultures.

However, I really haven't done the same since I've been here.  In part, it's because I'm back in the States and feel like I should already know the culture and know what to expect.  And for the most part, I do.  Furthermore, it almost feels like a betrayal to my home country to critic the culture... especially when for so long I was part of it.  But since I have lived in Montreal for the last four years, I think I am able to compare and contrast.  So I will try to be diplomatic... but really... I am just speaking about Californians... I mean, they are a different breed, aren't they? ;-)

I have noticed that Palo Alto, and the greater Silicon Valley, is nothing like anything I've experienced.  The people are nice and open but disingenuous.  And while the scenery here is beautiful, you could go from one Valley town to the next and you wouldn't know the difference - you would have no idea where you were at!  It all looks the same, feels the same, smells the same.  Every place, every day is exactly the same.  I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day sometimes.  That's kind of how I see the people here as well.

There seems to be little personality reflected in the people - how they dress, the homes in which they live, the cars they drive.  You know the saying that "all Asians look a like" or "all white people look a like" or "all Indians look a like"?  Well, I believe that all Silicon Valley people look a like - it doesn't matter their race, skin color, or hair color.  You can't tell them a part.  However, you can tell when you've met one.

There doesn't seem to be any individuality around here.  Coming from Austin, where originality is abundant, or Montreal where they live to separate themselves from the rest of the country, I've become accustomed to being different, to speaking freely, dressing freely, acting freely.  And yet, here, I feel very stifled. The air is clean and the skies are blue and clear (partly because Californians are very eco-friendly), but I feel like I can't breathe.  I just don't get the impression that people are who they present themselves to be.  I feel like there is an entire community here that needs to be liberated and set free.  They need to escape from this bubble they've built around themselves and just be.  I see that the people around here fill their days with many activities, but they don't look like they're really having fun.  I get the impression that they're doing those activities because everyone else does them and it's been deemed acceptable.

One last story and then I will stop my rant... Many weeks ago when I was shopping for my 49ers shirt, I went to the outdoor shopping center that is right by my apartment.  It's a very nice shopping center that includes stores such as Burberry, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's... the list goes on and on.  But I couldn't find one single athletic store or sporting goods store.  However, I finally came across a Nike store, and thought, "this place must have something!" 

I asked the girl at Nike if they have any "team gear" like the 49ers.  She looked at me like I was crazy and in the snottiest voice said, "no." And that was it.  She didn't elaborate.  So then I told her that I was new to the area and did she have a suggestion as to where I could go to find something like that.  She said (in the snottiest, snobbiest voice you've ever heard), "Oh. You'll have to go to Eeeasssttt Palo Alto.  You know, that's on the other side of the highway.  They may have something like that over there."  Hmmm...ok.  I found out from someone that East Palo Alto is considered the "ghetto."  Maybe there are poorer parts of the area but what I saw looked like suburban middle class to me.  I mean, there was a Sports Authority, IKEA, Home Depot, Best Buy... the list goes on.  It looked like a normal neighborhood to me.  I didn't even see any clunker cars or cars with hydraulics.  I'm not quite sure what world these Palo Alto people live in, but it certainly isn't my world.  East Palo Alto seemed perfectly acceptable to me. :-/

Anyways, there's my two cents on the personality and culture of the Silicon Valley.  It could just be that I haven't met the right kind of people yet.  And luckily, I have the other people who are in the fellowship program here to help ground me.  They are an incredible group of people so I still get a sense for what's "real."  Plus, I have Mikey and Brett and all of the Castro.  If I ever want originality and authenticity, I just need to travel 45 minutes north. :-)