Having been a "resident" of New York City for a grand total of a month and a half, I have noticed myself slipping into the rhythm of the city much more than I ever thought I would. Taking the subway, going to work, the gym, and back home to my apartment has become a comfortable, familiar existence.
With this familiar existence come certain rules of city behavior that I feel obliged to follow in order to fit this definition of a true New Yorker. Rule #1 - Don't look up. Despite the abundance of beautiful buildings in this city, it seems no New Yorker ever actually notices them. I see the seedy stores at some of their bases and the ritzy stores at other of their bases, but these gigantic skyscrapers escape my notice. My New York is completely at eye level. It might be dizzying and breathtaking to look up, yet only the tourists gawk and being labeled a tourist seems to be a fate worse than death.
Rule # 2 - No eye contact. This is a big one and a little tricky. It seems to be acceptable to look at people, examine their clothes, their choice of shoes, but you need to master the art of "looking without looking." Stay away from their face and you won't catch their eye - that would be crossing an unspoken boundary.
Rule # 3 - Traffic signs mean nothing. This applies to both cars and people. Taxis don't stop on red, buses careen through any intersection and "Don't Walk" really means don't get hit as you run across the street. After stopping stupidly at one too many of these signal crossings, only to have others walk right by me, unperturbed into the street, I am adopting their policy. Apparently, I have been too used to following the rules of Driver's Ed.
However, maybe this is the problem. I am too used to following the rules, seeing how I have easily adopted these new arbitrary New York ones. Thus, starting now, maybe I'll just stop and look up at the skyscraper. Make eye contact and smile in the subway. Wait for the "Walk" signal. And, if I'm labeled a tourist, so be it - at least I won't be hit by the red-light running taxi!
