"Glendale? Where's that?"

It's no secret that I take pride in where I come from, maybe too much pride. But in my defense, NYC is great so I'm not ashamed about my hometown. When people ask me I always say "New York". The follow up question is always "New York City?". If pushed farther I say Queens which people still understand. But then things get complicated.

"oh where in Queens are you from?"
Glendale...
Oh where's that is that near Long Island?
No...it's...near Brooklyn.
Oh I never heard of it...

No one ever knows about this neighborhood and it is frustrating. But I'm always excited when I meet people from New York City. So last night I went to an all you can eat and all you can drink outdoor BBQ place in Taipei County with a bunch of fellow students at Shida. It was amazing food and only cost 12 US dollars (sorry just wanted to show off a little there). I met a couple (Japanese girl and Taiwanese guy) who studied at SUNY New Paltz. It turns out that they were actually living in Queens for a year as well. Of course I was elated and after all you can drink beers, more than happy to talk with them about it. An even bigger coincidence was that they lived in Woodhaven during that time! Woodhaven is the neighborhood next to mine, basically a few blocks away. They lived maybe ten blocks from where I grew up....and they had no CLUE where Glendale was. None at all. haha it was ridiculous. They have never heard of the place after living a few blocks away for over a year... I mean it's not like I'm from some little town in the sticks..

Ok fine...Glendale may contain more dead people (cemeteries everywhere) than living and it may only have an elevation of 89 feet....but it has its charm. Check out this blog. Maybe it will get some recognition one of these days...

-B