Listening Post 3.

My third visit to Andy’s was short, but as pleasant as the second one, the place was crowded and I felt as one more of the customers. In this occasion I sit in the bar and spoke with Jamie.
She was a white woman in her mid twenties from North Carolina. She told me that she came down to Florida because she had some family in Clearwater and she was currently living with them.

"I am in Miami for the weekend bacause my cousin invited me," she said.

Then I asked her about her experience in Miami. She said that it was a big city, that there were many places to go and she was considering moving to Hallandale with her cousin. She also said that one of the problems in a city like Miami was that she didn’t speak Spanish. According to her in order to live in this city you needed to know at least some Spanish.
I asked about the idea that she had about Hispanics. According to her it deepened on where they were from. For her Colombians and Venezuelans were very different than Cubans or Puerto Ricans, but she also said that she didn’t care where they were from as long as they were respectful.
It was a very short conversation, but I didn’t notice any racial or ethnic tension with her or with the people in the bar.
In general I had a good time and for a moment I forgot that only white folks were around me. I am not going to say that for a Hispanic this is the perfect place to have a drink, but it is a good experience. I found people that didn’t like me just because I was Hispanic, but I also found people that were very nice and accepted my identity, at least partially.
I believe that sometimes the preconceive ideas and baggage affect the way we judge people from different backgrounds, but if you put aside those prejudices it is very possible that you can interact perfectly fine with respect and a good attitude.